Kerala's Chief Minister,V.D. Satheesan, announced plans to rethink how non-resident Keralites' (NoRKs) pensions are handled. He suggested changing the rule for Life certificate submissions from every year to once every two or three years. This came up during an Assembly session Wednesday,June 24,2026,in response to concerns from Najeeb Kanthapuram,MLA for Perinthalmanna.
Kanthapuram pointed out delays NoRKs face getting pensions . Out of 7,90,886 members on the Kerala Non-resident Keralites’ Welfare Board,only 94,666 get pensions . He noted many NoRKs, especially in remote labor camps,struggle to submit Life certificates to Indian embassies,making things worse.
Satheesan admitted the backlog's a big issue, especially with applications stuck since before January 2026. Nothing done on those submitted after. He promised the government would dig deeper to improve pension distribution for NoRKs.
Right now,board allows Life certificates to be sent But Satheesan warned less frequent submissions might cause problems. Pensions could keep going out even if beneficiaries die,with no timely status updates .
Kanthapuram also pushed for a higher welfare pension, stressing better support needed for NoRKs who boost state's economy. But will changes truly happen…?
