2 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: May 18, 2026 03:41 PM IST
Free bus travel for women in the state-run Kerala State Transport Corporation became the Congress-led United Democratic Front’s (UDF) first Cabinet decision after it was sworn in Monday.
The scheme will be rolled out from June 15, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said after the Cabinet meeting that immediately followed the swearing-in. Speaking to the media later, Satheesan said free travel for women in KSRTC buses was one of the “five Indira guarantees” announced in the UDF election manifesto. “Details will be worked out,” he said.
Other major decisions include a welfare department for senior citizens in a state that is rapidly ageing. “This was another guarantee of the UDF. Kerala will be the first state in the country to form a department for aged people. Japan was the first country to implement a special department for the aged. That model will be studied within two months. A society’s approach toward its elderly people is one of the key yardsticks by which its level of civilisation is measured. A day will come when Kerala will tell the world how it is taking care of aged people,” Satheesan said.
Allowance for ASHA workers will go up from Rs 9,000 to Rs 12,000. “This was our promise to the ASHA workers when they had staged an agitation in front of the state secretariat. I had promised them that when the UDF comes to power, the first Cabinet will take a decision in their favour,” he said.
