Kerala Budget: Expert panel to focus on overhauling Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board

Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board office in Thiruvananthapuram.

An expert committee will be set up for “comprehensive structural reforms and overhaul” of the operating framework of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), Chief Minister VD Satheesan said while presenting the revised budget for 2026-27 in the assembly on Friday.

The budget speech noted that the KIIFB relies on off-budget borrowings with interest rates significantly higher than standard government borrowings. “This inexorably pushed government borrowing and debt burdens beyond tolerable limits, triggering serious macroeconomic imbalances,” it said.

White paper

The comments in the budget are in line with those made in the White Paper on the Fiscal Health of the State presented by the UDF government in the Assembly on June 4. The committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar, which drafted the white paper, recommended the redrafting of the KIIFB Act, 2016 and a forensic audit of KIIFB accounts. He also noted that dismantling the KIIFB framework, which had built up valuable capabilities over the years, would be a “waste”. Parallel governance structures like KIIFB have siphoned off part of the revenue stream on the one hand and created huge liabilities on the other, the White Paper noted.

Presenting the revised budget, Mr Satheesan said his government was “burdened with the settlement of an aggregate accumulated liability of ₹87,012 crore”, noting that this included the impending debt repayment obligation of ₹21,000 crore for KIIFB. Other liabilities included arrears of ₹21,670 crore in arrears of contribution (DA) and ₹14,387 crore in arrears of relief (DR), ₹3,431 crore owed to banks and suppliers through bill discounting, ₹9,245 crore, social security liabilities of Kerala, Ltd. ₹17,279 crore.

Published – 19 Jun 2026 16:42 IST