Overview

• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrapped two days of meetings with the Prime Minister and senior Union ministers seeking relief on finances, disaster aid, highway works and health investments.
• He said the Centre signalled approval for an India Reserve Battalion focused on marine operations, along with ₹108 crore to upgrade cyberforensics and consideration of a regional forensic campus.
• The state sought a ₹2,221.03 crore National Disaster Response Fund grant for Wayanad landslide rehabilitation to be treated as non‑repayable, which Vijayan said remains under consideration.
• Kerala asked to restore borrowing space, exclude off‑budget debt such as KIIFB from public‑debt calculations, refund ₹965 crore in IGST recovery, permit an extra 0.5% of GSDP borrowing and allow an immediate ₹6,000 crore loan for highway land costs.
• Vijayan pushed to speed up NH‑66 and other corridors and requested AIIMS at Kinaloor and a National Institute for Geriatric Care, with Gadkari reviewing projects and a news‑agency report saying he assured quicker completion and release of land acquisition funds.