Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 15 The Keralam Cabinet on Thursday approved the draft State Data Policy 2024, aimed at promoting secure and regulated data sharing among government departments and improving data quality and interoperability, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said.
Addressing a press conference, Satheesan said the proposal for the policy emerged from the need to establish a technical mechanism for sharing data among government departments.
“The proposal for the State Data Policy emerged from the necessity to establish a technical framework for sharing data mutually among government departments. Consequently, the Kerala State IT Mission drafted the State Data Policy, and its draft has been approved,” he said.
The Cabinet also raised the annual family income limit for availing assistance from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
“People are facing severe difficulties in accessing medical assistance. The income limit has been increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh so that more families can be included in the scheme,” Satheesan said.
He said the authority to sanction financial assistance through the portal had also been enhanced.
“The Chief Minister’s sanctioning limit has been increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, while the Revenue Minister can sanction up to Rs 1 lakh, the Revenue Department Special Secretary up to Rs 50,000 and district collectors up to Rs 25,000,” he said.
The Cabinet also decided to allocate an untied fund of Rs 1 crore to each district collector to address emergency situations.
“To tackle emergency situations, it has been decided to allocate an untied fund of Rs 1 crore each to the district collectors. This will give them the flexibility to spend the money when urgent situations arise,” Satheesan said.
The tenure of 56 fast-track special courts in the state has been extended with effect from October 1, 2026, he said.
Satheesan said the government had also received widespread complaints about the shortage of vehicles in the Revenue Department.
“Funds have been allocated to purchase new vehicles to replace 152 vehicles that have completed their 15-year registration period and are currently unusable,” he said.
In another decision, the Cabinet extended until April 30, 2027, the period for providing bitumen price variation benefits introduced as a relief measure following an extraordinary increase in prices due to the West Asian conflict.
The extension will apply to all engineering departments and public sector firms undertaking road works, Satheesan said.
“Many road works have come to a standstill due to the increase in bitumen prices. The decision has been taken to extend the benefit until April 30, 2027,” he said.
(PTI News)
