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Area : 38,863 sq km
Population : 31,841,374
Capital : Thiruvananthapuram
Principal Languages : Malayalam
Kerala is in the extreme
south-west of the Indian subcontinent. When the
independent India amalgamated small states
together Travancore and Cochin states were
integrated to form Travancore-Cochin state on 1
July, 1949. However, Malabar remained under the
Madras province. Under the State's
reorganisation Act-1956, Travancore-Cochin state
and Malabar were united to form Kerala State on
1 November, 1956.
Kerala's culture has been an integral part of
the mainstream of Indian culture. In between the
high Western Ghats on the east and the Arabian
Sea on the west, the width of the state varies
from 35 km to 120 km. According to the
geographical features, the State can be divided
into hills, valleys, midland plains and costal
belt. Kerala is rich in rivers and backwaters.
44 rivers (41 west flowing and 3 east flowing)
cut across Kerala with their innumerable
tributaries and benches. The backwaters form an
attractive and economically valuable feature of
Kerala.
A unique feature of the state is the
Predominance of cash crops. About 50 per cent of
the population depends on agriculture. Kerala is
a major producer of coconut, rubber, pepper,
cardamom, ginger, cocoa, cashew, aracanut,
coffee and tea. Spices like nutmeg, cinnamon,
cloves, etc., are also cultivated. Rice
and
Tapioca are the important food crops. The
average annual decline in area under rice during
the Eight Five-Year plan was around 22,000 ha,
whereas it has come down to an average of 13,000
ha during the Ninth Plan period. However during
2004-05 a slight increase in area was recorded
by 2634 ha from 2.87 lakh ha in 2003-04 to 2.90
lakh ha and rice production increased form 5.70
lakh MT to 6.67 lakh MT, an increase of 17 per
cent during this period compared to a reduction
of 17 per cent in 2003-04 with that of
2002-2003.
The unprecedented drought in recent years has
contributed to the decline of Paddy production
during 2003-04 which was reversed in 2004-05.
During 2004-05 maximum increase in rice
production was recorded in Allappuzha (+75 per
cent) and Palakkad (+37 per cent) compared to
previous year.
Coconut is the most important cash crop of
Kerala with a coverage of 9 lakhs ha. Coconut
occupies 41 per cent of net cropped area and
provides lively hood to over 3.5 million
families. Production declined by 2.5 per cent in
2004- 05 compared to the previous year. The
average productivity has also slightly declined
in 2004-05 by 2.5 per cent to 6379 nuts/ha
compared to 2003-04.
Pepper is one of the major export oriented
commodities in which the state continuous to
enjoy a near monopoly in area and production.
The productivity of pepper recorded during 2004
– 05 was only 327 kg. per ha. The production
declined form 69015 MT during 2003-04 to 68362MT
in 2004-05. Pepper produced in Kerala fetches a
premium price in International Market in view of
its intrinsic quality.
Kerala has a substantial share in the four
plantation crops of rubber, coffee, tea and
cardamom. The four crops together occupy 6.42
lakh ha accounting for 29 per cent of the net
cropped area in the state and 42 per cent of the
area in the country.
Kerala accounts for 83 per cent of area under
rubber in the country. The coverage under crop
in 2004-05 was 4.81 lakh ha higher by 2141 ha,
over the previous year. The production of
natural rubber in Kerala during the year was
6.91 lakh tonnes indicating a 5 per cent
increase over the previous year. The increasing
trend in productivity continued during
2004-05.
The area under coffee in Kerala was 0.846
lakh ha, out of 3.28 lakh ha in the country
during 2004-05 which works out to 26 per cent.
The share of Kerala in production is 19.7 per
cent during 2004-05. Production of coffee during
the year was only 0.54 lakh MT against 2.75 lakh
MT for the country.Against the total area of
5.11 lakh ha under tea in the country Kerala
accounts for only 0.37 lakh ha. In respect of
production the share of Kerala declined to 6 per
cent in 2004 from 7 per cent in the previous
year. Tea plantation owned by big companies
employee a labour force of over 84,000 in the
organised sector.
The share of Kerala in the production of
cardamom at the national level also increased
from 28 per cent to 76 per cent in
2004-05.
Kerala is rich in industrial potentialities
and infrastructure facilities such as
hydro-electric power, rich forests, rare
minerals and the efficient system of transport
and communications. Traditional industries are
handloom, cashew, coir and handicrafts, other
important industries are rubber, tea, ceramics,
electric and electronic appliances, telephone
cables, transformers, bricks and tiles, drugs
and chemicals, general engineering, plywood
splints and veneers, beedi and cigar, soaps,
oils, fertilizers and khadi and village industry
products. There are a number of manufacturing
units for production of precision instruments,
machine tools, petroleum products, paints, pulp
paper, newsprint, glass and non-ferrous metals.
Principal export products are cashew nut, tea,
coffee, spices, lemon grass oil, sea foods, rose
wood and coir. The state has an abundance of
important minerals like ilmenite, rutile,
monozite, zircon,
sillimanite, clay and
quartz sand.
The performance in the industrial export of
almost all major products recorded positive
growth. Software exports increased by around 66
per cent from Rs. 240 crore in 2003-04 to 400
crore in 2004-05. The number of industrial
disputes pending is 2658 by 2004-05 which is
lower than in 2003-04. The number of strikes and
lockouts during 2004-05 decreased compared to
2003-04.
In Kerala 14655 joint stock companies were
working as on 31 March 2005 which includes 13210
private limited and 1445 public limited
companies. Kerala has the largest number of PSUs
in India (113 out of 1071) which employ 1,15,697
persons, of these 63 manufacturing units are
classified under chemical engineering,
electrical equipment, textiles, electronic,
ceramics, infrastructure, agro and wood based
sectors. There has been an improvement in the
overall profitability of public sector units
under the Industries Department in 2004-05.
The Government of Kerala assists, industrial
units by providing financial assistance,
infrastructure and training / consultancy
services. The important agencies/departments
engaged in industrial promotion are KFC, KSIDC,
SIDBI, KINFRA, Directorate of Industries and
Commerce, SIDC, SISI, KITCO & CMD.
The Directorate of Industries and Commerce
provides infrastructure facilities for
small-scale sector by acquiring land and
developing it into developmental area/plots with
facilities like developed land, road, water
supply, electricity, necessary building, etc.
The Small Industries Development Corporation
also undertakes works on provision of
infrastructure facilities for the small-scale
sector through its major industrial estate and
mini industrial estates.
One of the major thrust areas for export
promotion has been the Special Economic Zone.
The scheme intends to set up Special Economic
Zone in the country with a view to provide an
internationally competitive and hassle
freeenvironment for exports. Kochi is the only
city in India having three Special Economic
Zones – Electronic Parks at KINFRA in
Kalamassery, Cochin SEZs, Port Based SEZ. Other
SEZs – Malappuram Food Park, Technopark,
proposed SEZ - Thiruvananthapuram Apparel Park,
Film and Video Park, Animation SEZ (First
Animation SEZ in India).
The small-scale industrial sector is one of
the most dynamic and vibrant sectors in the
Indian economy in terms of employment
generation. The Small scale industrial unit
registered in Kerala as on 31 March 2005 was
280584 with an investment of Rs. 4230.03 crore
and an employment to 12,60,007 persons. During
2004-05, 4935 units with an investment of Rs.
198.63 crore providing employment to 22585
persons were registered.
The Government of Kerala has drawn up an
investment promotion programme named as Kerala
Local Industry Promotion Programme (KLIPP) under
the banner name of PRATHYASA through District
Industries Centre. The objective of the scheme
is to facilitate the setting up of 25,000 units
in the small scale sector generating to 1,00,000
employment during 2005-06.
Information technology and the ability to use
it is increasingly being considered as the
critical factor in generating and accessing
wealth, power and knowledge and therefore
Societal Welfare. The Government of Kerala has
taken several steps for the development of IT in
the State. Prominent among them are: (1)
Technopark – Thiruvananthapuram – India’s first
World Class, World - Scale - IT campus. (2.) IT
Park at KINFRA at Kochi. (3) Akshaya Programme
of Kerala IT Mission. (4) E-Governance
initiatives of State Government like FRIENDS Technopark was conceived as an integrated IT
environment with all necessary basic and
enhanced infrastructural facilities that the
industry need. It acts as a single-point contact
for the most of the Government of India
clearances and approvals. Technopark got ISO
9001 : 2000 Certification in 2004 for
establishing and maintaining a quality system
for creation and marketing of infrastructure and
support services for IT campus. It is a first
service organisation which has been awarded CMMI
level 4 certification by Carnegie Mellon
University, USA in 2004.
Today the campus is host to about 84
international and domestic companies with an
investment of Rs. 634.25 crore. During 2004-05
acquisition of land was carried out for further
expansion of the existing campus. 86 acres of
land has been already acquired and the
proceedings for taking advance possession are in
progress. The new campus of Technopark (86
Acres) is declared by Central Government as
Special Economic Zone.
The Info Park at Kochi is a 92 acre Park with
a built-up area of 3.5 lakh sq. ft. Major
companies like WIPRO, OPI, ACS, IBS and TCS
commenced operations in Info Park. 1400
employees are currently engaged in Infopark
facilities. The total investment of the company
is Rs. 80.43 crore. The total export for
Infopark companies is Rs. 32 crore.
Kerala has been selected as 2nd best state in
India in implementation of egovernance. FRIENDS
(Fast Reliable Instant Efficient Network for
disbursement Service) is a “Single Window
Mechanism” where citizens have the opportunity
to pay all taxes and other financial dues to the
Government.
E-pay is an online bill payment facility
introduced by Government of Kerala through
Akshaya e-kendras as an extension of FRIENDS
project in Malappuram District during August
2004.
The citizen call centre first of its kind in
the country setup in the state capital provide
information on transactions, pertaining to
various government departments which are
required by common citizens over telephone.
Keeping
in line with National Approach Kerala also
relied upon surface water irrigation system
operating the gravitational force for
distribution. A major chunk of the outlay on
water resources sector was earmarked for major
and medium irrigation. Out of a cumulative
investment of Rs. 3572.40 crore made as on March
2005, Rs. 2462.51 crore (69 per cent) was for
major and medium irrigation.
The irrigation system in Kerala is serviced
through major, medium and minor irrigation as
well as ground water and command area
development programmes. The completed major
irrigation projects are Malampuzha, Chalakkudy,
Peechi, Pampa, Periyar, Chittorpuzha, Kuttiyadi,
Neyyar, Chimmini, Pazhassi, Kanjirapuzha and
Kallada and the medium projects are Pothundy,
Gayathri, Walayar, Vazhani, Mangalam and
Cheerakuzhi. Construction works of four major
projects Muvattupuzha, Idamalayar, Karapuzha,
Kuriarkuty – Karappara and the medium projects
Banasurasagar, Bridge-cum-regulator at Thrithala
and Chammaravattom are in progress.
In Kerala an outlay of Rs. 930 crore is set
apart for irrigation sector during 10th plan
period which includes Rs. 600 crore for major
and medium irrigation, Rs. 205 crore for minor
irrigation for Rs. 50 crore for Flood Control
and Anti-Sea Erosion work. During the first
three years of plan period an amount of Rs.
435.95 crore was budgeted and expenditure for
the period was Rs. 494.63 crore. The major
portion of the outlay on water resources sector
was earmarked for major and medium irrigation
projects.
The Command Area Development programme was
launched with the main objective of bridging the
gap between the irrigation potential created and
utilised and improving agriculture production
and productivity in the irrigation commands. The
programme was restructured in 2003-04 and
re-named as Command Area Development and Water
Management Programme.
The main activities of Command Area
Development Authority (CADA) include
construction of field channels, field drains,
enforcement of wara bandhi and reclamation of
Water logged areas. The CAD activities were
carried out in 16 completed irrigation projects,
namely, Malampuzha, Mangalam, Pothundy, Walayar,
Cheerakuzhy, Vazhani, Peechi, Chalakkudy,
Neyyar, Gayatri, Pampa, Periyar Valley,
Chitturpuzha, Kuttiyadi, Pazhachi and
Kanjirapuzha with a total ayacut of 2.03 lakh
ha. CADA programmes are implemented with
financial assistance of Govt. of India. The
achievement recorded during 2004-05 include
construction of field channels in 1998 ha,
drains to benefit 6156 ha, adaptive trials in
10ha, 83 training programmes, bench mark and
evaluation studies in 2302 ha. The work on
reclamation of water locked areas were done in
1033 ha and 3 evaluation reports were also
published.
The growth
of power sector in Kerala during the last two
decades has been remarkable. During the early
stages of development, focus was on tapping
hydro power potential in the state. Kerala Power
System consists of 30 power generating stations
which include 24 hydel, 5 thermal and one wind
of which KSEB owns 24 hydel and one wind and two
thermal stations.
The total installed capacity in Kerala as on
31 March 2005 is estimated as 2617.22 MW of
which KSEB’s hydel plants contribute 1810.60 MW,
Wind farm at Kanchikode 2.0 MW and Thermal Power
Plants 234.60 MW.
Malankara Hydro Electric Project was
commissioned on 23 October 2005. As a result the
installed capacity has been increased by 10.5
MW.
Under the micro-hydel programme,
implementation of Micro Hydel Projects on behalf
of two district Panchayats, Kammadi in Kasargode
district and Chakkarakundu in Kozhikode district
have been undertaken by ANERT. UNIDO has set up
a Regional Centre on small hydro power at Energy
Management Centre. The centre has prepared
detailed project reports for 30 small hydro
projects in Kerala. Of which 13 small hydro
project were allotted to bidders under Captive
Power Projects and Independent Power Projects
on BOOT basis. The first off grid 100 KW
micro hydel power projects was commissioned in
Mankulam, Iduki District. Pasavaikumbe in
Kasargode district and Kalyanathandu in Idukki
district are two sites identified for study
under the National Wind Energy Resource
Assessment.
In the light of launching the project, Rajiv
Gandhi Grameen Vidhyuteekaran Yojana (RGGVY) by
the Government of India, proposals were
submitted to the Government of India with an
outlay Rs. 348.79 crore for the electrification
of 3578 habitations in 930 villages covering 14
districts of Kerala. The Government of India
have sanctioned Rs. 221.75 crore to implement
the scheme as first phase covering seven
districts in Kerala viz. Kasargod, Kannur,
Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Idukki, and
Palakkad.
Transport system of the
state consists of 1.54 lakh km of Road, 1148 km
of Railways 1687 km of Inland Water Ways and 111
statute miles of Airways and 18 ports.
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Kerala State Transport
Project (KSTP) launched in June 2002 with the
assistance of World Bank is in the process of
upgrading and widening of 584 km of existing
roads and carrying out heavy maintenance of 993
km of roads and150 km of performance linked
maintenance. Upgradation of 93 km of inland
water canals also forms part of the project.
Roads :
Kerala is the maiden state in the country
having hundred per cent road axis to its remote
villages. The total length of roads in the state
is 138196.471 km, of which 21467.492 km comes
under PWD, 1523.954 km under National Highways,
and 95515.888 km under Panchayats.
Railway :
The state has a total railway route of
1,148 km and covers 13 railway routes. It has
1,053.86 km of broad gauge lines and 94.14 km of
meter gauge lines.
Aviation :
There are three airports, viz.,
Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi (Nedumbassery) and
Kozhikode, of which the first two are
international airports.
Ports Sector :
Along its coastline of 585 km Kerala has
one major port at Kochi and 17 minor
intermediate ports. The Prime Minister laid the
foundation stone for the Vallarpadam
International Container Transshipment Terminal
on 16 December 2005. Completion of the
prestigious project would make the Kochi Port as
a major hubport in the Indian Ocean.
Kerala has achieved a high literacy rate of
90.92 per cent (2001 census), as against the all
India rate of 65.38 per cent. In Kerala, among
the districts, Kottayam has the highest literacy
rate of 95.90 per cent and Palakkad has the
lowest literacy of 84.31 per cent. Regional and
gender disparities in literacy rates are least
in Kerala.
The infrastructure created under District
Primary Education programme, Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan and involvement of Local
Governments have contributed to the improved
facilities.
Kerala has seven universities and two deemed
universities. During the past five years, there
has been a tremendous increase of technical
educational institutions in Kerala.
Kerala
is the home of many colourful festivals. Most of
them have a religious fervour inspired by Hindu
mythology. Onam is the most typical of Kerala
festivals, which coincides with the harvest
season. It is now celebrated on astronomical New
Year Day. Navarathri is celebrated as
Saraswathi Pooja in Kerala. Maha
Shivarathri is celebrated on the banks of
Periyar River as a spectacular festival, which
is compared to Kumbhamela. The 41 days festival,
which coincides with Makaravilakku in
Sabarimala Ayyappan temple, attracts lakhs of
people from India and abroad. The Vallamkali
or boat race is typical of Kerala. All the
boat festivals have a religious origin except
Nehru Trophy Boat race conducted in the
Punnamada Lake. Vadakkumnatha temple at Thrissur
celebrates Pooram festivals in April
every year with an impressive procession of
caparisoned elephants and display of
unparalleled pyrotechnics. Main Christian
festivals are Christmas and Easter. Maramon
convention, held every year on the Pumba
riverbed, is the biggest gathering of Christians
in Asia. The Muslims celebrate Milade
Shareef, Ramzan fasting, Id ul Fitr
and Bakr-id.
Tourism to Kerala is what apple growing is to
Himachal Pradesh. Both these regions offer all
the pre-conditions for sustained and successful
growth of the respective activities. The factors
stimulating a flourishing tourism sector
include, scenic splendour, moderate climate,
clean environment, friendly and peace loving
people with high tolerance for cultural
diversity and the potential forcreating unique
tourism products.
Kerala has emerged as the most acclaimed
tourist destination in the country. Beaches,
warm weather, back waters, hill stations, water
falls, wild life, Ayurveda, year–round festivals
and diverse flora and fauna make Kerala a unique
destination for tourists.
The Department of Tourism, Kerala Tourism
Development Corporation, District Tourism
Promotion Council, Bakal Tourism Development
Corporation, Local Government and Private Sector
are the major players in the field. The thrust
areas presently being looked into are for the
development of village tourism, MICE tourism
(meeting, incentives, conventions and events/
exhibitions/trade shows), heritage tourism,
eco-tourism and medical tourism.
Thenmala Eco-Tourism project features a
tourist facilitation centre, shop court garden,
plazas, picnic area, natural trail, rock
climbing, river crossing amphitheatre,
restaurant, suspension bridge, lotus pond,
musical dancing fountain, sculpture garden, deer
rehabilitation centre, boating, battery powered
vehicles, etc. During 2004-05, 104622 tourists
visited Thenmala and the revenue generated
was Rs. 3563820.
The foreign exchange earning from tourism
during 2004 is Rs. 1266.77 crore. The earning
from domestic tourists during 2004 is Rs.
3881.92 crore. Total revenue generated from
tourism directly and indirectly in the state are
worked out as about Rs. 6829 crore. Tourism
employs about 8 lakh persons in the state. The
investment in tourism is about Rs. 500 crore per
year.
According to 2001 census, the literacy rate
in Kerala is well above the National average and
it is the highest among the Indian States. The
literacy rate in Kerala is 90.86 per cent in
2001 as against the all India rate of 65.38 per
cent The male and female literacy rate are 94.2
per cent and 87.6 per cent respectively.
In Kerala there are 12650 schools in 2005
comprising of 6827 lower primary schools, 3042
upper primary schools and 2781 high schools.
Besides there are 483 CBSE School, 78 ICSE
Schools, 27 Kendriya Vidyalayas and 13 Jawahar
Navodaya Vidhyalayas.
The aided school system still keeps strong
presence in Kerala. Out of the total 12650
schools 7287 are private aided schools (57.60
per cent). Of the total 3042 UP schools 31.36
per cent are in Government sector, 61.47 per
cent in private aided sector and the rest 7.17
per cent are in private unaided sector. Of the
total 2781 high schools 35.78 per cent are
government, 51.17 per cent are private aided
and 13.05 per cent are private unaided.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the most
ambitious educational project since independence
aims to provide useful and relevant elementary
education for all children in the age group 6 to
14 by 2010.
The number of protected teachers both in
Government and Aided schools stood at 3148
during 2004-05. It includes 524 High school
teachers, 1904 PD teachers and 720 special
teachers.
The number of protected teachers both in
Government and Aided schools stood at 3148
during 2004-05. It includes 524 High school
teachers, 1904 PD teachers and 720 special
teachers.
In order to reorganise secondary level of
education in accordance with the National
Educational Policy Higher Secondary course was
introduced in the state. As a first step during
1990-91, 31 government schools were upgraded to
the status of Higher Secondary Schools. Grading
system of evaluation has been introduced in
Higher secondary levels from 2005-06 academic
year onwards.
Vocational Higher Secondary Education was
introduced in the state with the objective of
maximum achievement of employment opportunity by
making more skillful and job oriented manpower.
As a first step, the course was introduced in 19
government high schools during 1983-84. The
sanctioned intake and actual enrolment in VHSS
during 2004-05 are 26874 and 25382
respectively.
Kerala Higher Education System comprises of 7
universities and two deemed universities.
Universities in Kerala now shift emphasis from
conventional courses to professional and
technical job oriented courses. Most of the new
courses are self-financing. The two major
sources of income for universities in Kerala are
plan and non-plan grants provided to them by the
state government. The plan and non plan
expenditure of the universities during 2003-04
was Rs. 11014.6 lakhs. It increased to 12858.1
lakh during 2004- 05.
Kerala has achieved very good health
standards in areas like birth rate, death rate,
infant motality rate, maternal mortality rate,
average life at birth and immunisation. In
Kerala birth rate is 16.90, death rate - 6.40,
IMR – 10 and MMR – 0.87 per thousand population.
Though Kerala has attained better health care
indicators, the people are now facing the
problem of high morbidity both from
communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Kerala’s health care system consists of
Allopathy, Ayurveda and Homoeopathy. Three
systems of medicines together have 2696
institutions in government sector. The three
systems together have 48834 beds in the
Government Sector. Kerala has almost attained
universalisation of immunisation. During
2004-05, the coverage of BCG was 104.3 per cent.
Data collected from RCC shows that more patients
treated for cancer are in the age group of 55 to
64 years. The first HIV positive case was
identified in Kerala in 1987.
Kerala spends fairly substantial amount on
medical and public health which is evident from
percapita government health expenditure.
In Kerala 82.59 per cent urban and 62.24 per
cent rural population have been covered by piped
water supply by 2004-05. The overall water
supply coverage is 67.52 per cent as against
65.2 per cent during 2003-04. The rural – urban
coverage during 2003-04 was 60 per cent and 80
per cent respectively. During 2004-05 additional
population covered with protected water supply
was 7.43 lakh. Out of it 66887 (9 per cent) were
Scheduled Caste and 8175 (1 per cent) were
Scheduled Tribe Population.
Kerala Water Authority has 1895 water supply
schemes in operation as on 1 April 2005. It
consists of 65 urban schemes, 952 Rural Multi
Panchayat schemes and 878 Rural Single Panchayat
Schemes. During 2004-05, 40 schemes have been
commissioned, of which 6 are urban and 34 of
Rural. Government of Kerala has taken up 2 water
supply projects with external assistance they
are (1) JBIC Assisted Kerala Water Supply
Project and (2) World Bank aided Kerala Rural
Water Supply and Sanitation Project
(Jalanidhi).
Kerala is seeking to achieve a breakthrough
in participatory poverty reduction through local
government and Kudumbasree Programmes
implemented by State Poverty Eradiation Mission.
As per the NSSO 55th round, (1999-2000).
Kerala’s poverty is 9.35 per cent in rural areas
and 20.27 per cent in urban areas. The 1999-2000
data shows Kerala’s Poverty at 12.72 per cent
against all India rate of 26.30 per cent.
Kudumbasree System facilitates microlevel
interventions to reduce poverty and accurately
monitor poverty reduction initiatives where it
happens. An innovative extension of this
programme called ‘ASRAYA’ has been implemented
in about one third of Kerala to provide
community based social security to the poorest
of the poor.
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