Nice to be in ISC and feel the difference. Saroja, Kerala is not fully occupied with the western ghats. There are plain terrains for many hundred kilometres which are not being utilised.
Probably, it is the communists who don't encourage industries in Kerala. Due to the attitude of Kerala politicians and the lovers of communism, outsiders are not willing to set up any industry in Kerala.
No life without Sun. Kerala is a very small state. Its area is sq km and is 22nd in the order of area among states in India. However it is 12 th in population and density of population is as per census.
In Density of population Kerala is 3 rd among the states. The total of areas in highlands - hills and mountains and coastal area or lowland s is about 50 percent of the total area. That means vacant land sufficient for large industries is not available in Kerala. Sabu Jacob, the chairman of the group, said in a statement that several units of the company were raided around 10 times by officials from various departments last month.
He said that officials would come for the raid and obstruct the workers, including women employees, from doing their job. No reasons or justifications for the raids were provided to the company's authorities. This issue went viral on all social media platforms. The Kitex group has been on a slippery slope with the ruling CPI M after the group entered the political arena with their party Twenty The party fielded candidates for eight seats in Ernakulam and had previously registered an impressive victory in the civic polls held last year.
P Rajeev said that the aim is bring Kerala to the top in the next five years and there is apparently, a core team working on it. The chairman of the Kerala wing of Confederation of Indian Industry CII , Sreenath Vishnu, said that the state has implemented K-Swift an online single-window clearance mechanism and all top officials know about this system. However, he also added that it imperative for the local self-government department to be well versed with it.
He said that the best way to educate the panchayat-level officers is by initiating a reward system. Each local self-government should be remunerated based on the number of jobs they have created and the direct and indirect taxes generated by new companies in their region.
Vishnu said that considering the geographical location of the state, small and medium enterprises would be best suited. He said, "Kerala has a great potential for electronic products, including electronic chip and food processing," he said. There have been successes on this path.
We love our mountains, beaches and rains; also, we love our world-class healthcare systems, digital governance, entrepreneurs, football, fast cars, English. Now you know why a Keralite thinks that he is a citizen of the world and yet feels at home? The saints, explorers, merchants and voyagers who landed here felt the same way. Today, investors, tourists, entrepreneurs and a host of other people feel the same about Kerala.
In fact, everyone comes to Kerala more than once. We love them all. Indeed, if God has an address, it has a Kerala pin code in it. We love it too. So, welcome to Kerala!
The city that borders Hong Kong is now a global hub of innovation and also one of the most liveable cities on the planet. Yet, today, Kerala is a straggler economy almost entirely dependent on tourism and remittances sent back by two million of its people who live and work abroad, mostly in the Gulf.
More than 30 million people live in the densely populated state, a third of which is covered by forests. More people here are taking their lives than anywhere else in India. Alcoholism is a dire social problem - the state has India's highest per capita alcohol consumption. People migrate because there are no jobs at home.
Economists find this paradoxical given the fact that Kerala has met most of the UN's millennium development goals. So the state has little money to fund health care and education leading to an explosion of expensive, private hospitals, schools and colleges, which the poor cannot afford.
Road networks are extensive, but the state has few highways. Electricity has reached nearly every village but the quality of service is poor. Many believe that the skewed nature of the economy - it has been called the "money order economy" - is to blame. Kerala lives off remittances and it lacks a manufacturing base.
Economists draw parallels with the Philippines and Sri Lanka, which face similar problems. And Kerala has not benefited directly from the rise of its biggest service industry, tourism. Service tax is a federal tax which first goes to Delhi, and is then distributed among different states. Kerala's biggest advantage - high literacy - has become a strange liability: the vast majority of educated unemployed have to go elsewhere for work. Economists like KK George, who have spent a lifetime studying the "Kerala conundrum", say the state is facing a "second generation problem" of growth.
The central government is busy tackling poverty and illiteracy in most states, so doesn't have time or money for Kerala. And successive governments in Kerala have not been able to take it forward," says Dr George.
Economists say it is ironic that a region which benefited early from informal international trade - with the Dutch and the English - and its proximity to West Asia has failed to reap the benefits of economic liberalisation at home. Some commentators say the problem stems from the fact that Kerala is an over-politicised and "over-extended state". The argument goes that radical unions, bolstered by successive communist governments, have acted as "pressure groups advancing particular vested interests".
Also, analysts say, decades of militant trade unionism led by the Communists has led to a poor work ethic and an "estrangement" from private investments - a condition similar to India's other Communist-run state, West Bengal.
Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen says Kerala has to "learn from the world". Its famed model of development, which is still touted as the most inclusive one, appears to have hit the buffers. Society has lost its capacity to set collective goals. There are no more big dreams," says Dr George. Clearly, Kerala needs a new contract between the state and its people to move ahead and build upon its enviable gains.
Greatly enjoyed reading your piece on Kerala. It is provocative enough for me to get exercised. We live and work to improve our well being and become happier. Measuring progress in terms of GDP today seems far inferior to looking at human development indicators, quality of life and happiness indeces which have been extensively developed in the last seven years or so.
Kerala appears to be doing poorly in manufacturing but well in inward tourism and service exports migration of skilled workers. That is a viable model, in fact showing the economy is highly advanced, heavily weighted in favour of the tertiary services sector and low in the secondary manufacturing and primary agriculture and mining sectors.
What is wrong with a money order economy if it goes along with high HDI. Bihar remains poor in HDI and high on money orders from largely unskilled migrants. On the happiness index Kerala records high suicide, unemployment and alcoholism rates. I suspect it also has a high divorce rare. These are typical attributes of some Scandinavian countries which have a much better quality of life and social security than some south European countries but appear less happy than the latter.
I would be happy to see the Himalayan and northeastern states largely banish manufacturing, pursue sustainable agriculture and thrive on sustainable tourism and money orders. Kerala has many of the social ills of far richer countries. What it has to do is not pursue manufacturing but try to have a goal in life. What do I do with the capabilities I have? The real danger in sitting around and surviving on relatives' remittances is that the purposelessness can lead to choosing wrong goals, as in Gujarat where the educated loafers have found a goal in communalism.
Kerala has a lot of firsts - from social to political developments. But the thing I noticed, when I visited Kerala a while back, was the smothering effect of parochial politics, where the Marxists align themselves with overtly communal parties like the obscurantist Muslim League to leverage political vote-banks.
The public sector has a stranglehold on the economy and is very unproductive, while the private sector is still in its nascent stage.
The labour laws are too rigid and workers are too politicised. Strikes are the norm. What's needed is a culture of free enterprise and labour flexibility to release the natural entrepreneurial impulse in Keralites.
Above all, there should be reforms in politics, the economy and encouragement of innovative ideas to exploit the advanced socio-economic factors in the state. Sonny, London, UK. This is a very well-argued piece. Soutik Biswas has hit the nail on the head. Biswas's argument challenges the activists and politicians who emphasize only on distribution of resources and does not suggest how the size of the pie that has to be shared can be increased.
Kerala is a typical case of efficient distribution with no corresponding model for increasing production that can be emulated. Social indicators, such as education and literacy are too often valued only for their intrinsic importance. But education also shapes our mentalities in crucial ways and the absence of employment commensurate to one's education may lead to frustration.
Therefore measures for distribution and growth have to be taken simultaneously. Sarasij Majumder, USA. I am a Kerala expat and I am all too familiar with the conundrum. The article sums up the situation pretty well, but I would like to touch on the issue of population density. Kerala has more than twice the average national population density.
Moreover, it is a tropical haven with a lot of land designated under 13 protected areas as wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. Outside of these protected areas, Kerala can be considered as one big town with every nook and corner of the state connected with small roads. So land is at a premium here and any industrial and infrastructural development will almost definitely affect many peoples lives.
With the recent explosion in real estate prices there will be immense resistance from people to relocate and no political party will have the backbone to take on that issue. Taking all this into account, the only real hope that I see in Kerala's development is in the service sectors like tourism, IT and maybe small scale manufacturing.
However, developing the infrastructure to sustain such growth will still remain a challenge. Until then, Kerala will depend on the remittances and investments of expats like me. Karthik Pillai, USA. Kerala has always been a literate state and the poverty rate is negligible considered to North Indian States. Its our fate that we don't get jobs in our state. Keeping that aside, Kerala is still the most safe and secure place to live in India. It still attracts a lot of tourists around the year.
Kerala still has the lowest abortion rate. We love 'baby girls' and thus women outnumbered men. Nishanth, USA. I have been to Kerala and I was struck by the poverty in Mumbai but could clearly see people in the smaller towns were happy.
The main problem I noticed there was the weeds choking the backwaters. It was clear that the local government had not invested any money in keeping them clear. This has affected the fishing industry and also tourism, as more and more waterways are becoming impassable.
Hannah Bennett, England. A good article, could say a summary of various issues of a state with strong skilled labour force but with less opportunities at home to develop and exploit their skills. Little mentioned about closed down industries in Kerala during the late 70's and early 80's, which made Kerala not a favourable spot for the new industries. Keralites and politician has to rethink their strategy and become more industry friendly and welcoming state.
This could reduce poverty and improve economy. Davis Martin, UK. I really enjoyed reading this article about my native place. It gives a correct picture of the contemporary Kerala. Ideological bankruptcy of the left movement in the state is the main cause of this stagnation. Currently the left parties are struggling in the dark and they lost the trust of the Kerala public. The stalwarts of the movement who initiated the right direction for the social development failed to address the economic development aspects.
The new generation does not have the vision to contribute for a sustainable society. So we are really in a pathetic state or almost like economically orphaned. Sudheer NE, Kerala, India. Not being a Malayalee Soutik Biswas did a really good job understanding the problems in kerala.
There is lots of jobs in kerala with excellent pay A constriction helper get RS a day. There are thousands of Tamil people and North Indians come here for job. For them Kerala is a mini gulf Its realy really hard to find people for constriction and all labours works..
Gopan, India. Main reason for this is prolonged Communist rule in Kerala. Communism failed over the rest of the world and so it has in Kerala. You can compare it to Cuba which shows better social indices sometimes better than even US.
A huge input to the Kerala economy comes from expatriates in the Middle East - Persian Gulf countries. Otherwise it would have been bankrupt long ago. SN Vyas, US. I agree with what this article has to say about Kerala the state I come from.
Kerala desperately needs a powerful regional party, which can align with any front that comes to power in the Centre and extract the funds needed for Kerala. Post liberalisation the regional parties in other southern states aligned with the government at the Centre and got things done back home! Vimal Kishen, UAE. Kerala has no manufacturing base as no one dares invest in Kerala- within 6 months strikes and go slow tactics will bring the industry to a grinding halt.
Only government jobs are sought after as you need not work hard to earn your salary. No amount of inducements will work as industrialists know that when congress is in power, communists will instigate workers to strike and when communists are in power, congressmen play the same trick, with disastrous consequences.
A Keralite works hard only when he crosses Kerala border- within Kerala he strikes work more frequently than he works. Very True. One point not mentioned in the article is that Kerala was the first state in India who attracted foreign investments as early as 's.
Kerala had Keltron india's first state owned electronics company and attracted companies such as Toshiba to set up factories decades before Tamil Nadu and Karnataka started attracting industries.
It is not too long before the people realize that militant trade unionism benefits a select a few and dooms the rest Nash, UK. It would have been nice to mention the major achievements Kerala boast till now were the initiated by the Communist governments. The land reform movement which distributed the land to the poor from the high caste landlords in 's by the first Communist government changed empowered the working class people and the cent percent literacy campaign by the EK Nayanar's Communist government was the second major achievements.
I agree with the attitude problem of the people as they are more defensive and curious when it comes to any changes. Jacob, India. Having just come back from 3 week touring Tamil Nadu and Kerala it is very obvious the two states are miles apart. The infrastructure projects occurring in Tamil Nadu are bring it into the 21st century and the ability to travel on good roads all the way from Madras down to India's lands end at Kanniyakumari but then try travelling back up to Trivandrum and onto Kochi and its like travelling back onto unmade roads and sheer hell.
Everywhere you travel in Kerala the evidence of the Communist party is evident. Believe me I love Kerala having now visited the state on more than three occasions in the last five years and its the people that make it such a wonderful place with their warmth and happy go lucky approach to life.
David McInnes, Scotland. Kerala is one of the better governed Indian state but strangely Indian private sector is giving this state a miss by not establishing their new ventures.
Opportunities are there. Perhaps with a little push from central government economic development of Kerala in new age businesses can be kick-started. Mohammad Shoaib, New Delhi India. Great article, and clearly shows the effects of holding onto the relics of a Communist era. Shaun, USA. Great read, i really enjoyed this great article.
Its shocking to think that England's economy in the next year is set to collapse. Unemployment is at its highest. Simon Dean, England. Now the challenge is to have a thoughtful political leadership with a vision above their political agendas. There should be orchestrated initiatives to leverage the English speaking skilled man power which is in high demand at a global perspective.
Kumar Nair, United Kingdom. A very good perspective. I am new to Kerala. Born and grew up in Tamil Nadu. I am mostly puzzled and at times irritated by the socio-economic scenario. My observation and inference from what I have seen is, many want the riches without hard work.
One of the key elements of any developed world that I have witnessed - primarily north amercia - is the thriving nature of Small business and an ecosystem for entrepreneur to flourish. I have put in my hard earned money into one such business, helping my wife set up her business. The entire system of government sponsored social development fails miserably to recognize the need for small independent business owners.
The way I see it, there is no need for large manufacturing plants, but entrepreneurship at SME level need to be developed. This would ensure the 'money order economy' is converted to a self sustaining economy.
For everything Keralites depend on Karnataka or Tamil nadu to deliver. In my pursuit to enable my wife to have her own business, I have been advised to go to nearby Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, if I really mean business. And this is by many who have already moved to near by states and run their businesses.
Last October, I spent a week in Kerala on a houseboat. The people could not have been friendlier to us American tourists. I was amazed to see a coir factory operating in the same way it probably has for years. Our guide explained to us about the dowry system and of how unwanted girl babies are disposed of shortly after birth.
How does a society move forward with a culture that doesn't value female life other than as a marriageable commodity? Our guide said that the young people couldn't wait to leave Kerala to find opportunity elsewhere. As an American, and as a female, I found India a fascinating and perplexing place. Often, I felt like I stepped back in time or was on another planet.
Sara Wood, USA. On the social side it looks to me like the equality you mention dating from the s especially gender equality leads the better social conditions. On the economic side, well, economics has nothing to do with the physical world so we will see crack appearing here and there as our money based system goes into collapse.
That's only a surprise to economists! If the state wants to really befit on the gains it has made it should state to look at moving away from the money based system as we all should. Andrew Wallace, Sweden. That's right-I am one of those Keralites who have long moved away and found a living in Africa. I do visit Kerala at least once a year. What is happening in Kerala is an example where education has removed the blinds of ignorance; is that good?.
With one of the highest literacy rates in the world, little has happened to promote economic growth. I have known people close down their factories simply because the labour union stands firm and demands a share of any success. No body including a Keralite would want to invest in a place that contains such risk.
What Kerala needs is a new contract between people and themselves, and to allow market forces to prevail and manage a free economy. Kenny Mathai, Nigeria. Kerala's economic struggling largely caused by its lack of innovation-most to do with education. Though Kerala's primary education is somewhat better than other states in India, it has problems with higher education.
The higher education did not contribute much to the state's continuous development from the past. It is because the education system in Kerala largely controlled by Communist intellectuals and Catholic pressure groups-both are fighting for their supremacy in education and against independent thinking and creativity among the people of Kerala.
This has caused the state left with absence of new initiatives or innovations or inventions. For example, the people in Kerala, though themselves claimed as supremely intelligent, nothing new has been designed or developed in the state which should come from liberal education. The educated community in Kerala always look for outside opportunities as economic migrants-it may contribute to the economy by NRI money, but left with shortage of skilled people who can create jobs and opportunities.
This is the tragedy of the presence of communism in Kerala. This is also the tragedy of the presence of Catholic controlled-punitive and colonial-education in Kerala. Both these powers are against liberal values and thinking. As suggested in this article, a new movement against these establishments should come within the state. Keralian, England. Very good observation by the author. As correctly pointed out what Keralites face now is the result of over politicization of the state by all political parties.
And now we have another serious problem with Islamic militancy which is deepening its roots in Kerala. We have to wait and see the future of this state as many politicians both congress and communists are supporting the Islamists for gaining few minority votes ignoring the dangers this minority group pose to whole of India.
Sanjeev Raghavan, India. Your assessment of Kerala is not fully factually correct. Today Kerala is on the top in south India because of the following true reasons:. Higher literacy is received by sending their students to neighbouring states mostly to Karnataka, because Kerala education system is riddled with cast politics. In employment too, they employ political clouts to fix jobs in states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and so on at the expense of native job seekers in respective states.
And this is not a healthy trend in a language based polity. In establishing industries, Kerala lags behind much because its communist policies. To offset that trend, they have started establishing businesses outside their state like in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhrapradesh etc.
This is also a concerted effort to build their strong hold outside their state increase their per capita income at the expense of other states resources which is not justified given their traditional habit of investing the gains earned in other states in their home state Kerala.
There many more things like this which serves counter productive to the unity of nation. P Shenoy, India. In my opinion, Kerala remains ahead of the rest of India in every way.
As it is at a different stage of development it has a different set of problems. The politicians at the commencement of the current vision were relatively educated for the time. They remain relatively educated for that same era not for today. After taking care of the core needs they have yet to nurture their own and the states' imaginations.
In my opinion, the congress or the communists are not capable of either. Ishaan, Delhi, India. The above article must be published in all Malayalam Dailies so that all sections of Kerala People must understand where our God's Own Country has now reached.
The politicians, economists and executives have to find a solution to tackle the issues mentioned in the article and lead the state and its people to prosperity. Some thing is to be done urgently otherwise all the other States will overtake us within a short period. Cherian Thomas, Kerala. The whole mute point is whether capitalism in its full glory will actually benefit Kerala or not? Many of the State's social development advances can in some ways be attributed to the successive Communist govt.
However, it has also lead to widespread lack of initiative to work in the local population and private companies hesitate to set-up due to aggressive trade unions. A by-product of the Communist era, this may not be suitable for economic development.
However, a purely capitalist policy may change the social development that this State is now known for - the rich will only get richer and the poor, poorer.
As we know from the example of other States in India, social development is not exactly a by-product of capitalism. A mid-way must be drawn but how? Jayne Kuriakose, India. Completely agree with Biswas.
Higher literacy levels did not help Kerala much. Lack of a proper "business culture" and the over influence of militant trade unionism destroyed any chances of getting a good job in Kerala. Money sent from abroad helped only to increase the local consumption including alcohol as people stayed from investing it for business.
Anup , UK. Kerala could be demonstrating that the earth can only take so much. The current paradigm out of which this article is written is to look at development as a continuous, ongoing process where everybody gets richer and richer.
I think planet earth can only take so much. Kerala could be a demonstration of what happens when the millenium goals are met. My question is:are these people meaning fully engaged in society Mary Kurian Dsouza, India.
Yes you said right We are facing problem in economic sector. Lack of land and lack of investors are the main problem faced by the Kerala economic sector Ansal Muhammed, Kerala ,India. Hailed from Kerala, this is very true. Remember the times when BMW and other major private firms wanted to set base in Kerala to manufacture their products and boost the economy.
The state government, run by the Communists is a total catastrophe. Kerala has the highest number of strikes hartals or any public organization in the world maybe. Our leader does not have proper education and talks like a total moron. Often mocked is the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, but their development model has often amazed Keralites and they currently boost the largest manufacturing hub in S Asia and has amongst the most power generating resources anywhere.
God's own country - as it was once called does not seem to hold true any longer. Radical reforms or revolutions are hard here as the citizens are well brainwashed by the unions to sit back and do nothing to get paid. Nookukooli, or something called a supervision-tax, is the most ridiculous concept, where local trade union members can charge you for doing work in your own yard if your property falls under their residing area.
And they can demand payment for doing nothing but just being there!! It is a pity that such things do happen and we go no further in advancement although we have the highest literacy. I feel what we need is education, rather than literacy. Rohan, Canada. Good and useful comment.
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