Kerala Government Departments

The offices of all the members of the Cabinet headed by the Chief Minister are located in the State Secretariat. Each department functions under the State Ministers. The present number of State Secretariat departments is 44. Out of these 44 departments, 42 Secretariat departments, excluding Finance and Law, are known as Administrative Departments. The Chief Secretary acts as the chief advisor to the Chief Minister in all areas of state administration. Secretaries are the officers in charge of various departments. In each department of the Secretariat, the posts of Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, etc. are held by IAS cadre. They are assisted by Special Secretaries, Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries, Under Secretaries, Section Officers and Assistants.

Kerala Government Departments

■ Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare Department, Kerala

■ Animal Husbandry Department, Kerala 

■ Archaeology Department, Kerala 

■ Archives Department, Kerala 

■ Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) Department 

■ Backward Classes Development Department, Kerala 

■ Co-operation Department, Kerala 

■ Coastal Shipping and Inland Navigation Department, Kerala

■ Consumer Affairs Department, Kerala

■ Dairy Development Department, Kerala 

■ Department of Sainik Welfare, Kerala 

■ Environment & Climate Change Department, Kerala 

■ Finance Department, Kerala 

The Secretariat officially started functioning on 23 August 1869. The Finance Department was one of the departments formed in 1871 under the orders of Colonel Muntro and Rani Lakshmibai Thampuratti as part of the administrative reform and development plans. This department, formed in 1871, continues to play a major role in the state administration system. The main duties and responsibilities of the Finance Department are outlined in Articles 202 to 206 of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the Finance Department carries out important constitutional responsibilities in the state administration system. The Finance Department takes decisions on matters related to the financial status of the state. The Secretariat has three main sections - Administrative Secretariat, Finance Secretariat and Legal Secretariat. The Finance Department functions in the Finance Secretariat. The state's budget is managed by the Finance Department. The Treasury Department functions under the control of the Finance Department. The structure of the officers in the Finance Department is as follows: Finance Minister, Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary, Secretary (Financial Expenditure) & Secretary (Financial Resources), Special Secretary, Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary, Accounts Officer/Section Officer, Assistant.

■ Fisheries Department, Kerala 

■ Food and Civil Supplies Department, Kerala 

■ General Administration (Coordination) Department, Kerala 

■ Harbour Engineering Department, Kerala

■ Home Department, Kerala

■ Housing Department, Kerala 

■ Indian Systems of Medicine Department, Kerala 

■ Industries and Commerce Department, Kerala 

The aim of the Industries and Commerce Department of Kerala is to transform Kerala into an investment hub with a vibrant entrepreneurial community through environment-friendly and sustainable economic growth along with job creation. Anyone intending to start a small business in Kerala should first approach the State Industries and Commerce Department. A single window clearance system has been set up in the District Industries Centres operating in all 14 districts under the control of the Directorate at Vikas Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. Every year, the Industries Department honours the best performers at the state and district levels by giving awards to them to encourage small businessmen.

■ Information and Public Relations Department, Kerala 

■ Land Revenue Department, Kerala 

■ Law Department, Kerala 

The Secretariat has three main sections - Administrative Secretariat, Finance Secretariat and Law Secretariat. The Law Department functions in the Law Secretariat. The Law Department takes decisions and provides legal advice on legal matters of the State Government. The Law Department is responsible for the general administration of the Department, the administration of the Advocate General's Office, the administration of the Human Rights Commission, the administration of personal laws, the administration of the Court Fee and Suit Valuation Act, the administration of the Kerala Advocate Clerk Welfare Fund Act, the administration of the Kerala Legal Benefit Fund Act, the formulation of laws and consolidation of laws, legal advice to other departments of the Secretariat, conveyancing, translation of laws, publication of Central and State laws, and appointment of notaries and government lawyers. In addition, the Secretariat Law Department Library functions as a reference library for the officers of the Law Department.

■ Local Self Government Department, Kerala 

In 1957, while the Balwant Roy Mehta Committee was still working, an administrative reform committee in Kerala, chaired by the then Industries Minister, prepared a draft bill, but the process could not continue after the dissolution of the cabinet. Many such experiments were carried out from 1959 to 1978. Preparation of bills, changes in each cabinet, abolition of ministries, suspension of panchayat elections, etc. were carried out. The same panchayat committees continued for 16 years. All this completely paralyzed the panchayat system in Kerala. In 1979, the District Administration Act was passed. Subsequently, many suggestions and amendments were accepted in 1987 to facilitate its functioning. District council elections were held in 1991-92. By 1993, the procedures for the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments had begun. The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act under the 73rd Constitution came into force on 23 April 1994 and the Kerala Municipality Act under the 74th Constitution came into force on 30 May 1994. The elected governing bodies came into power on 2 October 1995. Today, the local self-government system in the state of Kerala consists of 941 Gram Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 14 District Panchayats, 87 Municipalities and 6 Corporations. The Local Self-Government Department is responsible for coordinating the activities of these 1200 local bodies. The main subsidiary departments under the Local Self-Government Department are the Panchayat Department, Urban Affairs Department, Rural Development Department and Urban and Rural Planning Department.

■ Rural Development Department

As part of the decentralization of the administration of the Rural Development Department, the Rural Development Commissionerate started functioning in Kerala on 24th January 1987. With this, many of the duties that were being performed in the Secretariat were transferred to the Commissionerate. The implementation of rural development projects is vested in the Rural Development Commissioner. There are 152 development blocks under the Rural Development Department in Kerala. The district with the highest number of development blocks is Thrissur. 17 blocks. The district with the lowest number of development blocks is Wayanad. 3 blocks. In addition, 14 District Poverty Alleviation Cells are functioning in 14 districts. The Project Officers with the rank of Deputy Development Commissioner are the chief officers of each of these. A Rural Information Bureau is functioning in Thiruvananthapuram to create awareness among the public about the activities of the Rural Development Department. This bureau publishes a bi-monthly magazine called Grama Bhoomi. Grama Bhoomi often contains in-depth articles detailing various programmes of the Rural Development Department.

■ Mining and Permit Department, Kerala 

■ Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) Department, Kerala 

■ Parliamentary Affairs Department, Kerala

■ Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Official Languages) Department, Kerala

■ Planning and Economic Affairs Department, Kerala

■ Power (Electricity) Department, Kerala 

■ Printing and Stationery Department, Kerala

■ Registration Department, Kerala 

■ Revenue Department, Kerala 

■ Sainik Welfare Department, Kerala

■ Scheduled Caste Development Department, Kerala 

■ Scheduled Tribes Development Department, Kerala 

■ Science and Technology Department, Kerala 

■ Social Justice Department, Kerala 

■ Soil Survey & Soil Conservation Department, Kerala 

■ State Water Transport Department, Kerala 

■ Stationery Department, Kerala 

■ Stores Purchase Department, Kerala

■ Survey Department, Kerala

■ Taxes Department, Kerala 

■ Tourism Department, Kerala

■ Transport Department, Kerala

■ Water Resources Department, Kerala

Child Agencies

■ Drugs Control Department, Kerala 

■ Electrical Inspectorate Department, Kerala 

■ Urban Affairs Department, Kerala

■ Ground Water Department, Kerala

■ Excise Department, Kerala 

■ Fire and Rescue Services, Kerala

■ Forest and Wild Life Department, Kerala 

■ Motor Vehicles (Transport) Department, Kerala 

■ Police Department, Kerala

■ Prisons and Correctional Services, Kerala

■ Goods and Services Tax Department, Kerala

■ Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau Department, Kerala 

■ Public Works Department, Kerala 

■ Legal Metrology Department, Kerala 

■ Mining and Geology Department, Kerala 

■ Treasury Department, Kerala 

■ Technical Education Department, Kerala

■ Town Planning Department, Kerala