Nehru Trophy Boat Race annual grant, prize money increased

PC Vishnu Nadh | Photo credit: ANI

Kerala Tourism Minister PC Vishnunadh on Sunday said the state government will increase its annual financial assistance for the Nehru Trophy Boat Race to ₹2 crore. The announcement was made at a meeting of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race (NTBR) executive committee attended by the minister here.

Vishnunadh said the annual grant was increased on the request of Congress MP KC Venugopal. The minister also said that the government will take a favorable decision to increase the grant for maintenance of snake boats after considering the budgetary provisions.

He said that ₹ 11 crore has been earmarked for the Masters Boat League (CBL) this year and assured that there would be no difficulty in its functioning. Vishnunadh said the CBL was modeled on the Indian Premier League (IPL) and if implemented in the envisaged manner, it would eventually become financially self-sustaining. However, he said the league will continue with its current format this year.

Venugopal said the prize money and bonus for the Nehru Trophy Boat Race will be revised upwards. He said the first prize for the winning snake boat will be increased to ₹25 lakh, second prize to ₹20 lakh, third prize to ₹15 lakh and fourth prize to ₹10 lakh.

Bonus to walk

He also said that the government should take administrative steps to increase the grant for the maintenance of snake boats and urged the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) to provide adequate support as the boat race is held around the Onam season. The minister assured him that the financial assistance to Alappuzha DTPC would not be reduced and said that the allocation to the districts has been rationalised. Venugopal said the bonus for participants will also be increased to 25 percent.

District Collector Shaji V. Nair presided over the meeting. The meeting was attended by MPs KC Venugopal and Kodikunnil Suresh, MLA AD Thomas, Chairperson Alappuzha Municipality Molly Jacob, senior officials of tourism department and representatives of various committees.

The NTBR is an annual event held at the Punnamada Lake that features traditional boats such as snake boats. The event attracts tourists from all over the world and from different parts of the country. This year, the event will be held on August 22.

Published – 12 Jul 2026 20:49 IST