Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government has increased the Onam gift for workers under the state's rural and urban employment guarantee schemes, giving them a little extra relief during the festival season.

State Finance Minister K N Balagopal said on Tuesday that each worker will receive Rs 1,200 this year, up from Rs 1,000 last year.

The increase of Rs 200 will benefit nearly 526,000 workers across the state, he said in a release here.

Of them, more than 519,000 people who completed 100 days of work under the rural employment guarantee scheme in the last financial year will share an allocation of Rs 51.96 crore.

Another 6,368 workers under the Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme, who also completed at least 100 days of work, will receive the allowance, with Rs 63.68 lakh set aside for the payments, Balagopal added.