First prize of Christmas bumper will also be hiked to Rs 25 crores

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Onam bumper lottery becoming a big hit, the first prize of this year's Christmas and New Year bumper is likely to be increased to 25 crores. The ticket will cost Rs 500. There is also a proposal to make the prize money 20 crores. The discussions are in the final stage. An announcement will be made on November 20, when the results of the Pooja bumper of ten crores will be announced.

If the first prize is increased to Rs 25 crore, the second prize will be increased to Rs 5 crore. The first prize was 12 crores for three years. The ticket price was 300 rupees. Last year, out of 47,40,000 tickets printed, 47,36,000 were sold.