Kerala: Government disburses salaries, pensions for August in advance on occasion of Onam

Amid efforts to cut down on non-pandemic related expenditure, the government decided to disburse in advance the August salaries, wages and pensions of all central government employees and pensioners in Kerala on the occasion of Onam.

“In view of the ‘ONAM’ festival, the Government have decided that the salary of all Central Government employees in the State of Kerala for the month of August 2020, may be drawn and disbursed by the Central Government offices (including Defence, Posts and Telecommunications) on 26th August, 2020,” said a memorandum from the Controller General of Accounts on Monday.

Wages for all industrial employees and pensions for all pensioners of the central government in the state may also be disbursed on the same date, it said further.


Onam is a 10-day harvest festival celebrated in Kerala, which begins on August 22 this year. As with most festivals, the period is associated with an uptick in discretionary expenditure, but the pandemic has dampened the trend this year.

However, the reluctance to go out shopping has translated into higher spending on e-commerce platforms like Flipkart and Amazon. Recently concluded sales on these marketplaces, largely aimed at capturing the festive season spending beginning August, resulted in an estimated combined gross merchandise value (GMV) of Rs 6,000 crore.