Introduction

Kerala has always upheld social development over mere economic growth. The quality of life of the people,be it in education and awareness or in health and well being, has been the main thrust of Government policy over the years. “Development with care and compassion” is the vision with which the Government is planning and prioritizing schemes in the XIIth Plan period. The quality of human capital, though much higher than elsewhere in the country and comparable in many ways to advanced nations, is difficult to sustain, given the limited resources, increasing aspirations and the changing demographic profile of the state. Another major problem is the high inequality that exists in Kerala between communities and regions, which calls for well targeted interventions to ensure that the vulnerable sections of the population also enjoy the benefits of development. This chapter deals with institutions in the education, art and culture, health and social welfare arenas and brings out the recent actions taken by them to achieve developmental goals.

.

 

Education

 

Like other states in the country, the state of Kerala has inherited the education system from the British and has made significant changes in it in the past 65 years. The educational achievement of the state is the prime factor behind its present well-being and the “Kerala Model of Development”, which is highly lauded. It is a fact that the State is far ahead of the national objectives in the Primary and Secondary education and is striving for attaining international standards in Higher education, Technical education and Research.

 

4.2 The Twelfth Plan document states that the private sector will be encouraged to establish larger and higher quality institutions in the Twelfth Plan. It also states that new models of Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) in higher education will be encouraged in the XIIth Plan, particularly in the establishment of research and innovation institutions. With the successful implementation of SSA and RMSA the Central Government is now introducing the scheme Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), in order to achieve the objectives of equity, access and excellence in the Higher Education sector.

4.3 In this platform Kerala is re-orienting its approaches and the institutional arrangements. The State Planning Board has constituted an expert committee on Education for examining the Plan Programmes of the state with a view to maximise access to central schemes and plan resources and prepare an action plan suggesting steps to remove barriers in accessing resources and difficulties in implementation. The committee had submitted two interim reports.

4.4 In the first interim report the committee suggested the following points.

 

• • Establishment of the Kerala State Assessment and Accreditation Council (KSAAC) for 
  assessing the strength and weaknesses of the existing system and for proposing the reforms in a planned manner.
• • Establishment of the Kerala State Faculty Training Academy for faculty training including 
  training of Principals of Colleges and Vice-Chancellors of Universities.
• • To strengthen and re-structure the Kerala State Higher Education Council by appropriate amendments to the Act so that the process of seeking and distributing central funds are streamlined as per RUSA.

4.5 In the second report the committee has recommended the establishment of an Innovation
University. Instead of converting one of the existing universities, the committee suggested an
innovative idea of bringing together some of the leading institutes in the state under the umbrella of a Research University.

Box 4.1

Major suggestions on the proposed Innovation University

 

Expenditure on Education

 

4.6 During the first year of the XIIth Plan an amount of `590.24 had been earmarked for Education sector of which 98.78 per cent was expended. In the total outlay 48.6 per cent was earmarked for the school education, 34.2 per cent for higher education and 17.12 per cent for technical education. The average total outlay of XI th Plan was `265.02 crore in which 53.7 per cent was earmarked for the school education, 26 per cent for higher education and 20.23 per cent for technical education. The percentage allocation for general education has increased to 82.87 in 2012-13 and 83.14 in 2013-14 compared to the average allocation for the same during the XIth plan which was 79.76. The percentage allocation for school education in the Annual Plan 2013-14(47.66) and 2012-13 (48.65) has been decreased considerably from that of the average outlay of XIth Plan (53.71). This may be due to the fact that the state had achieved most of the targets in school education. During 2013-14 29.54 per cent of the allocation has expended up to 30.11.2013.

Table 4.1

Average Plan Outlay & Expenditure during XIth Plan &Total Outlay of Annual Plan 2012-13

(र in crore)

Stages	XI th Plan Average			2012-13 Annual Plan			2013-14 Annual Plan
	Outlay	Exp.	per cent of Exp.	Outlay	Exp.	per cent of Exp.	Outlay	Exp. (Up to 30.11. 2013)	per cent of Exp
1.School Education	142.36	129.67	91.09	287.15	286.54	99.79	333.15	107.85	32.37
2. Higher Education	69.04	88.58	128.30	202.00	154.15	76.31	247.99	67.36	27.16
General Education	211.4	218.25	103.24	489.15	440.69	90.09	581.14	175.21	30.15
3.Technical Education	53.62	76.79	143.21	101.09	142.33	140.95	117.86	31.28	26.54
Total	265.02	295.04	111.33	590.24	583.02	98.78	699.00	206.49	29.54

 

Literacy

 

4.7 Literacy and education are important indicators in a society and play a central role in human development. Higher levels of literacy and education lead to better attainment of health and nutritional status, economic growth, population control, empowerment of the weaker sections and community as a whole. Also, higher literacy rates improve development indicators consistently. It acts as a catalyst for social upliftment enhancing the returns on investment made in almost every aspect of development effort. Literacy is a basic step towards education, which is a process of life learning and an entry point to the world of communication and information.

 

4.8 As literacy development is concerned; Kerala ranks first in the country with a literacy rate of 93.91 per cent closely followed by Lakshadweep (92 per cent) and Mizoram (91.58 per cent). Kerala’s literacy rate is comparable to the most advanced regions of the world. Kerala’s literacy rate which was only 47.18 per cent in 1951 has almost doubled by 2011. The male, female literacy gap which was 22 per cent in 1951 has narrowed down to 4.04 per cent in 2011. Kerala holds the first rank in the country in female literacy with 92 per cent and Rajasthan has recorded the lowest female literacy rate.

 

4.9 The literacy rate of the state from 1951 to 2013 is given in Appendix 4.1.

 

4.10 District wise analysis of Kerala’s literacy rate shows that Pathanamthitta district (96.93 per cent) has the highest literacy rate in the state followed by Kottayam (96.40 per cent) and Alappuzha (96.26 per cent) districts. Palakkad district has the lowest literacy rate in the state (88.49 per cent). The low rate of literacy of the Palakkad district may be due to the prevalence of substantial percentage of SC and ST population whose literacy rates are below the state average. Literacy rate by sex for districts in 2002 and 2013 are given in Appendix 4.2.

 

4.11 Kerala State Literacy Mission is implementing the literacy and equivalency programmes by appointing ‘Preraks’ (representatives of centre for continuing education). Details of the number of people benefited from Equivalency programme of Literacy Mission from 2003-04 to 2012-13 are given in Appendix 4.3.

 

Right to Education Act

 

4.12 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards. Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010. The title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’. ‘Free education’ means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. This Act gives every child the right to a quality elementary education. More details on the subject are available in http://mhrd.gov.in/rte

.

Elementary Education

 

4.13 There were 12627 schools in Kerala during 2012-13. Out of these 4619 (36.58 per cent) were government schools, 7152 (56.64 per cent) aided schools and 856 (6.78 per cent) unaided schools. Compared to government upper primary and high schools more number of Lower Primary schools are functioning under government sector. Aided schools outnumber government schools in all
sections.

Fig. 4.1

Management wise share of schools in the State

 

 

Source: Source: Directorate of Public Instructions

4.14 Malappuram District has the largest number of schools (1472nos) in the state followed by Kannur (1291nos) and Kozhikode (1237nos). Malappuram District has also the largest number of government (546 nos) and unaided schools (145 nos) in the state. But largest number of aided schools is functioning in Kannur district (959nos). Details of district-wise, management wise and stage-wise number of schools in Kerala during 2012-13 are given in Appendix 4.4

4.15 994 schools in the state are offering syllabus other than the one prescribed by the state government. These include 842 CBSE schools, 108 ICSE schools, 30 Kendriya Vidhyalaya and 14 Jawahar Navodayas. One Jawahar Navodaya Vidhyalaya schools each is functioning in all the districts. District-wise details of schools with syllabus other than state syllabus in the year 2012-13 are given in Appendix 4.5.

 

Physical Infrastructure and Facilities in Government Schools

 

4.16 All the Government Schools in Kerala are functioning in pucca buildings. None of the schools are functioning in thatched sheds. Own buildings have to be constructed for 157 government schools which are now working in rented buildings. District-wise details of government schools having building facilities are given in Appendix 4.6

 

4.17 Local Self Government Institutions and programmes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) have contributed much to the overall development and improvement of physical infrastructure and common facilities in government schools in the state. Data shows that 98.76 per cent of government schools have access to drinking water and 99.6 per cent have urinals/latrine facilities. District–wise details of government schools having drinking water/latrines/urinal facilities in Kerala in 2013 are given in Appendix 4.7.

 

Enrolment of Students

 

4.18 Enrolment of students in the state has been showing a decline in the recent years. Enrolment of students in 2013-14 has 38.52 per cent lakh and has decreased 3.02 per cent over the previous year. Change in demographic pattern of the state due to low birth rate is the main reason attributed for this phenomenon. The decline of students in LP section is 44221 numbers in 2013-14 from 2012-13. While the decline in Upper Primary (UP) section is 57012 numbers in 2013-14, and the High School(HS) section shows a decrease of 18789 students over the previous year. The stage-wise enrolment of students in schools in Kerala from 2009-10 to 2013-14 are given in Appendix 4.8. Details of management-wise and standard wise enrolment of students in schools in Kerala during 2012-13 are given in Appendix 4.9. District-wise stage-wise and sex-wise enrolment of students in schools in the state during 2013-14 is given in Appendix 4.10. The decrease in the enrolment of students is shown in Figure 4.2.

 

Fig 4.2

Enrollment of Student

 

Source: Directorate of Public Instructions

 

Enrolment of Girl students

 

4.19 Girl students constitute 49.44 per cent of the total student enrolment in schools. Boys outnumbered girl students in all the districts except in Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta. Generally, in Kerala there is a more or less uniform pattern in the enrolment of girl students across districts.

 

Strength of SC, ST Students

 

4.20 As per the figures of 2013-14, SC students constitute 11.28 per cent of total students in the state. The percentage of SC students in government schools, private aided schools and private unaided schools are 14.06 per cent, 11.04 per cent and 3.93 per cent respectively.

 

4.21 ST students constitute 1.98 per cent of total enrolment in schools in the year 2013-14. The percentage of ST students in government schools, private aided schools and private unaided schools are 3.71 per cent, 1.36 per cent and 0.32 per cent respectively in 2013-14. The standard-wise strength of SC/ST students in the state in 2013-14 is given Appendix 4.11.

 

Drop-out rate

 

4.22 Kerala has achieved the distinction of having the lowest dropout rate of school students among the Indian states. In the year 2011-12, dropout ratio among school students in Kerala was 1.05 per cent. The dropout ratio in Lower Primary stage is higher than that of HS/UP stage. The dropout ratio is almost same in UP stage and High school stage.

4.23 Among the Districts, Thiruvananthapuram has the highest dropout ratio in the lower primary section (4.87 per cent), and upper primary section (2.15 per cent). In the case of high school section Wayanad has the highest drop-out ratio (2.51 per cent). All most all other Districts have dropout ratio greater than 0.50 per cent in the three stages. District-wise/stage-wise dropout ratio in schools in 2011-12 is given in Appendix 4.12. Drop-out ratio among SC students in Kerala during 2011-12 was 0.61 per cent and that of ST students was 3.71 per cent. District wise and stage wise details of drop out among SC and ST students in Kerala for the year 2011-12 are given in Appendices 4.13 and 4.14.

 

Number of Teachers

 

4.24 The number of school teachers in Kerala including Teachers Training Institute (TTI) teachers during 2012-13 was 167776. Out of this 101143(60.28 per cent) teachers are working in aided schools and 13052 (7.78 per cent) teachers are working in private unaided schools. The remaining 31.94 per cent of teachers are working in government schools. 51.61 per cent of total teachers in the state are teaching in high schools, 24.63 per cent in upper primary schools, 23.29 per cent in lower primary schools and the remaining (0.47 per cent) in TTI’s. 71.65 per cent of total teachers in the state are women. Stage-wise and management-wise number of teachers in Kerala during 2012-13 is given in Appendix 4.15.

 

Uneconomic Schools

 

4.25 Schools with insufficient strength of pupils are termed as uneconomic schools. There are 5137 uneconomic schools in Kerala as per the figures of 2012-13, which registered an increase of 523 schools over previous year. Out of these, 2413 are government schools and 2724 are in the aided sector. District-wise analysis shows that highest number of uneconomic schools is in Pathanamthitta district (502 nos). In government sector, Thiruvananthapuram district has the largest (281nos) number of uneconomic schools followed by Ernakulam district (274 nos). Among the government uneconomic schools, 76 per cent are of lower primary schools. In the aided sector also 82.27 per cent of uneconomic schools are lower primary schools. District wise details of uneconomic schools in the state in 2012-13 are given in Appendix 4.16.

  

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA)

 

4.26 The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan was introduced in 2000-2001 as the flagship programme by the Government of India. This scheme is framed to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the age group of 6 to 14 by 2010 irrespective of any social, regional, economic and gender barriers, with the active participation of the community in the management schools. It encompasses all activities of school education-providing physical infrastructure, free text book for children, encouraging enrolment of girls and teacher training. The fund sharing between the central and the states was 75:25 in the Tenth Plan. The funding pattern for the Eleventh Plan was modified to 65:35. The implementation of the programme to the real essence is extra emphasised in the event of the constitution of the Right to Education Act in the country.

 

Table- 4.2

Outlay and Expenditure of SSA

 

Year/Category of Students	Boys	Girls
Gross Enrolment Ratio(GER)
2010-2011	104.00	103.00
2011-2012	103.00	102.06
2012-2013	102.00	102.00
Net Enrolment Ratio(NER)
2010-2011	100	100
2011-2012	100	100
2012-2013	99.00	100
Drop Out Rate ( Class I to VIII)
2010-2011	0.27	0.28
2011-2012	0.03	0.03
2012-2013	0.02	0.01
Completion Rate
2010-2011	100	100
2011-2012	100	100
2012-2013	100	100

Source: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan,Kerala

 

 

Higher Secondary Education

 

4.27 Education after the first 10 years was a part of the higher education system for many decades. Higher Secondary courses were introduced in the state during 1990-91 to reorganize the secondary level of education in accordance with National Education Policy. Higher Secondary Course is the turning point in the entire school education in our state. The department serves as a professional institution in formulating and maintaining the standards of Higher Secondary Education and in providing need based timely, scientific, effective and sustainable services to the students and teachers at the Higher Secondary level.

 

4.28 1825 Higher Secondary schools were there in 2013 in the state. Out of these 776 (42.52 per cent) are Government schools, 674 (36.93 per cent) are Aided schools and the remaining 375(20.55 per cent) are Unaided and technical schools. Among the districts Kozhikkode has the largest number of Higher Secondary schools (225 nos) in the state followed by Thrissur (177 nos) district.

 

4.29 There are 6264 batches for higher secondary courses in 2013. The total number of enrolment of students in Higher Secondary Schools was 355797 and it registered an increase of 7.92 per cent over the previous year. Kozhikkode district had the largest no of batches (853nos) with an enrolment capacity of 49399 students. District wise/Management-wise number of higher secondary schools and number of batches are given in Appendix. 4.17 and District wise enrolments of students in higher secondary schools are given in Appendix 4.18.

 

4.30 The pass percentage of students in higher secondary courses has decreased to 70.77 per cent in 2012-13 from 79.31 per cent in 2011-12. During 2013, 5342 students secured A+ for all subjects and 262019 students were eligible for higher studies. The details are given in Appendix 4.19 & 4.20. The pass percentage of SC and ST students in Higher Secondary schools also decreased in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12. The pass percentage of SC students also decreased from 69.36 per cent to 57.28 per cent and ST students from 62.53 per cent to 51.81 per cent during 2012-13. Details are given in Appendices 4.21 and 4.22.

 

 

Vocational Higher Secondary Education

 

4.31 Vocational Higher Secondary Education was introduced in the state in 1983-84. Vocational Higher Secondary Education in the state impart education at plus two level with the objective to achieve self/wages/direct employment as well as vertical mobility. 389 Vocational Higher Secondary Schools are there in the state with a total of 1097 batches. Out of these Schools 261 are in the Government sector and 128 in the Aided sector. Kollam District (52 nos) has the largest number of Vocational Higher Secondary Schools in the state. District wise details of Vocational Higher Secondary Schools and courses during 2012-13 are given in Appendix. 4.23.

 

4.32 The percentage of students eligible for higher education in Vocational Higher Secondary examination in 2013 (including SAY result) is 88. The number of students who appeared and those who passed Vocational Higher Secondary examination from the year 2008 to 2013 and the results of school going students are given in Appendix. 4.24 & 4.25.

 

 

University and Higher Education

 

4.33 Higher education is essential to build a workforce capable of underpinning a modern, competitive economy. The XIIth Plan Document states that higher education needs to be viewed as a long-term social investment for the promotion of economic growth, cultural development, social cohesion, equity and justice. It is viewed that there must be a strategic shift from mere expansion to improvement in quality higher education. As a consequence, enrolment in higher education would have to be significantly increased in a demand driven manner.

 

4.34 Government of India is proposing a new scheme named Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan for funding the State Universities and colleges. The scheme is envisaged as a prime vehicle for strategic funding of state institutions so as to ensure that the issues of access, equity and quality are addressed in an equitable manner with the state as a composite unit of planning. The salient features of the proposed scheme are given in box 4.2

 

Box 4.2

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan

4.35 There are a total of 11 universities functioning in the state. Out of these, four universities viz. Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi, Calicut and Kannur are general in nature and are offering various courses. Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Malayalam University, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala Agricultural University and Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University offer specialized courses in specified subject areas. Besides these, the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) established in 2005 and the Central University established in Kasargod district are also functioning.

 

4.36 The various programmes that have been included in the state plan have a significant impact in the overall performances of the universities. Programmes such as the Erudite and Aspire (scholarship to researchers and PG students to undertake short term research programmes within research institutions and universities in India) have been implemented in the universities. The presence of Nobel laureates and other eminent academicians as scholars in residence for longer periods (upto 15 days) has a significant impact in the university community. The various scholarships for fostering excellence in studies also have a significant impact among the student community.

 

4.37 Inter University Centres within the universities in Kerala were established in 2009. These centres provide academic support to the faculties and students of various universities and co-ordinate major projects undertaken in their respective fields. The Inter University Centre has the objective of developing post graduate programmes in the relevant discipline and serving as an Inter University Centre for research in the relevant discipline and strengthening the ongoing Ph.D. programmes and research activity in the concerned areas of advanced study

Grant to Universities

4.38 The State Government provides Plan and Non plan grants to universities which are a major source of their revenue. An amount of `512.5 crore is earmarked as grant to universities in the year 2013-14. Out of this, `398.07 crore (77.67 per cent) is provided under non plan head. Kerala University has received the maximum assistance from state government in the year 2013-14. Details are given in Table.4.3

Table- 4.3

Plan and Non Plan Grant to Universities in Kerala

(` in crore)

Name of  University	2011-12 Accounts			2012-13 Revised  Estimate			2013-14 Budget  Estimate
	Plan	Non Plan	Total	Plan	Non Plan	Total	Plan	Non Plan	Total
Kerala	12	89.34	101.34	17	110.99	127.99	20	142.65	162.65
Calicut	10	64.9	74.9	17	79.81	96.81	20	95.77	115.77
Mahatma Gandhi	11.44	37.18	48.62	17	45.28	62.28	20	59.85	79.85
Sree  Sankaracharya	7.10	17.02	24.12	11	21.80	32.80	12	29.18	41.18
Kannur	10	8.44	20.44	17	13.41	30.41	19	15.62	34.62
Cochin University of Science and Technology  (CUSAT)	12.01	29.26	41.27	13	36	49	14	54	68
National University of Advanced Legal Studies	3	0	3	3.5	0	3.50	4.5	0	4.5
Thunchath Ezhuthachan  Malayalam  University	-	-	-	5	0	5	5	1	6
Total	65.55	246.14	313.69	100.5	307.29	407.79	114.5	398.07	512.5

Source: Detailed Budget Estimates 2013-14, Vol .1 Government of Kerala

Arts and Science Colleges

 

4.39 There are 191 Arts and Science Colleges in the State comprising of 150 Private Aided Colleges and 41 Government Colleges. Ernakulam district (25nos) has the largest number of Arts and Science colleges in the state followed by Kottayam (22 nos), Thiruvananthapuram (20 nos) and Thrissur (20 nos) districts. Thiruvananthapuram district has the largest number of Government colleges (8 nos) in the state. District-wise number of Arts and Science colleges in the state in 2013 is given in Appendix 4.26.

Enrolment of Students

4.40 Total number of students enrolled in various Arts and Science colleges (excluding unaided colleges) under the four general universities in Kerala during 2012-13 is 2.15 lakh. Of this 1.54 lakh (71.60 per cent) are girls.

 

4.41 Out of the total 1.88 lakh students enrolled for degree courses, 42.47 per cent are enrolled for BA degree courses, 41.69 per cent enrolled for BSc degree courses and 15.84 per cent enrolled for B.Com degree courses. Girls constitute 71 per cent of total enrolment for degree courses. 27 subjects are offered for BA degree courses. Among the subjects, Economics has the largest number of enrolment of students. 31 subjects are offered for BSc course and Mathematics has the largest number of student enrolment. Details of enrolment of students in Arts and Science colleges for BA, BSc and B.Com are given in Appendices 4.27 to 4.29. 25697 students are admitted to post graduate course in the state in 2012-13. 77.20 per cent of those enrolled in PG courses are girls. Details of enrolment of students in Arts and Science colleges for MA, MSc and M.Com courses are given in Appendices 4.30 to 4.32.

SC, ST Students

 

4.42 The enrolment of SC students in degree and post graduate courses is 26104 and 3181 respectively. SC students constitute 13.64 per cent of total students in 2012-13. Girls’ students constitute 67.82 per cent of total SC students in Arts and Science colleges.

 

4.43 3428 Scheduled Tribe students were enrolled for courses in arts and science colleges in 2012-13. The enrolment of ST students in degree and post graduate courses are 2867 and 561 respectively. Girls constitute 61.17 per cent of total ST students in Arts and Science colleges. Enrolment of SC and ST students in Arts and Science Colleges in Kerala during 2012-13 is given in Appendix. 4.33.

Scholarships

 

4.44 Central and state sector scholarships of 16 types are given to students. Various scholarships including merit cum means scholarships (720 nos) and post metric scholarships (95379 nos) are given during 2012-13. The Directorate of Collegiate Education has erected LED display board giving the details of scholarships offered by the Government of Kerala and India. The details of number of scholarships given from 2010-11 to 2012-13 is given in Appendix 4.34

 

Teachers

 

4.45 The number of teachers in Arts and Science colleges in 2012-13 was 9685. Out of this 51.07 per cent are women. University-wise number of teachers in Arts and Science colleges in the year 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 is given in Appendix.4.35. 3187 (32.91 per cent) teachers in Arts and Science colleges in the state have Ph.D degree. Details are given in Appendix 4.36. A total of 1381 Guest Lecturers were working in Arts and Science colleges of the state in 2013. Details are given in Appendix. 4.37.

Box 4.4

Additional Skill Acquisition Programme

Implementation of e- governance in Higher Education

4.46 It is felt that an integrated university e-Governance solution can empower the university and its affiliated colleges to administer the progress of the education delivery and services to the stakeholders in a much better manner. Accordingly, the higher education department has come up with a project for Implementation of “e-governance” programme in Kerala/MG/CUSAT/Kannur/Calicut Universities, Directorate of Collegiate Education and Directorate of Technical Education which is under consideration by the Government. This project will transform these institutions working force into a knowledge-based force and improve the delivery of students-centric services by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the university by creating a platform for sharing information across the universities in the State. This project will improve service delivery to the public, empowerment of officials at all levels, creates a platform for sharing information across the State and will provide better communication and automation at the back-end. The successful implementation of the project will benefit students and the employees alike.

Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR)

 

4.47 Kerala Council for Historical Research is an autonomous academic institution, established in 2001, committed to scientific research in archaeology, history and social sciences. It is a recognized research centre of the University of Kerala and has academic affiliations with and has bilateral academic and exchange agreements with leading universities and research institutes in India and abroad. KCHR is to publish a comprehensive volume on the scientific history of Kerala from pre-historic to the present times.

4.48 A sustainable/historical tourism project is conceived in the Kodungallur-Parur zone and KCHR is identified as the nodal agency to provide technical assistance. From 2006-07 onwards KCHR has successfully undertaken the multi disciplinary excavation at Pattanam. The excavation has yielded significant evidences for re-conceptualizing the early history of Kerala.

 

 

Technical Education
 

4.49 The Twelfth Plan document proposes to encourage the private sector to establish larger and higher quality institutions and Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) in higher education.

 

Box 4.5

Twelfth Plan Document on PPP in Education

4.50 The state of Kerala has entered into MOUs with some of the leading global industrial enterprises and is going to implement some schemes in the technical education realm where skill development is a matter of concern.

Technical Collaboration of Automation Technologies with BOSCH REXROTH

4.51 The State has entered into an MOU with Bosch Group which is a global company with wide network of operations in Automotive, Industrial and Consumer goods and building service sectors. Bosch Rexroth will setup one Centre of Excellence in Automation Technologies at College of Engineering, Trivandrum and one Centre of Competence in Automation Technologies at Government Polytechnic at Kalamaserry. These centres will work on Dual education system centres that will provide an in depth knowledge on Automation technologies. Centres will depart a clear well-structured course program on skill development to engineering students and Degree holders in Science and technology background with emphasis on hands on approach for mastering skill and competence. Centres being independent in all respects, will act on the concept of a technological Institute in an institute. This centre will increase the employability of students undergoing training. Further this centre will facilitate the training for the industry personnel in the regions. Live industry projects with hands on training facilities at Bosch and their sister concerns will be extended to the students. This collaboration has been designed as a Public Private Partnership Model. Total expenditure in setting up one Centre of Excellence will be `538 lakhs out of which `263 lakhs (48.9 per cent) will be borne by Government of Kerala and Bosch Rexroth will invest `275 lakhs (51.1 per cent); whereas the total expenditure in setting up one Centre of Competence cum skill development centre will be `439 lakhs out of which `213 lakhs (48.52 per cent) will be borne by Government of Kerala and Bosch Rexroth will invest `226 Lakhs (51.48 per cent).

Technical Collaboration of Automotive Mechatronics with MERCEDES BENZ

4.52 Automobile Industry in India is growing rapidly and is also maturing at a faster pace not only in terms of size and model variants but also in terms of technological advancements in new automobiles. But the problem faced by the industry is that the new recruits do not have the right skill sets appropriate to industry needs. In order to address this issue Mercedes Benz (MB) India has come up with the idea of establishing Advanced Diploma in Automotive Mechatronics at premier Govt. Technical Institutions across India. The main advantage for the state would be access to the cutting edge technology, which is being adopted, in MB. The faculty gets hands on training in latest automotive Mechatronics. MB India will also provide latest equipments and engines to set up the laboratory. The same facility can be extended to offer advanced courses such as PG Diploma in Mechatronics. More over this will equip the state and would be able to start PG Degree programme in the field of Mechatronics in the near future. State can also offer short-term training programmes and job-oriented courses for mechanical, electronics and electrical engineering graduates. Automobile industries will be immensely benefited because they will have a large pool of trained engineers and technicians available in the state itself.

 

4.53 The proposals for the implementation of a few schemes in Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) mode during 2014-15 are the out come of this new vision. Such schemes are:

a. Advanced Diploma in Automotive Mechatronics (ADAM) and Establishment of

Centre of Excellence in Mechatronics at GEC, Barton Hill.

b. Centre of Excellence in Automation Technologies in College of Engineering

Trivandrum.

c. Centre of Competence in Automation Technologies in Govt. Polytechnic College,

Kalamassery.

d. Two year MS Course in Translational Engineering in Government, Engineering

College,Barton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram .

 

4.54 Directorate of Technical Education is the nodal department for Technical Education in the state. As envisaged in the 12th plan, the basic objective is to achieve faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. The details of technical institutions under the administrative and financial control of Directorate of Technical Education is given in Table 4.4

Table 4.4

Technical Institutions under Directorate of Technical Education-2013

 

Sl. No.	Institutions	Nos
1	Government Engineering Colleges	9
2	Private Aided Engineering Colleges	3
3	Government Polytechnic Colleges	36
4	Government Women's Polytechnic Colleges	7
5	Private Aided Polytechnics	8
6	Fine Arts Colleges	3
7	Government Technical High Schools	39
8	Government Commercial Institutes	17
9	Government Institute of Fashion Technology ( Tailoring and Garment making training centres)	42
10	Vocational Training Centres	4
Total		168

Source: Directorate of Technical Education

 

Engineering Colleges

 

4.55 There are 164 engineering colleges in the state with a total sanctioned intake of 52802 in 2013. Out of these engineering colleges 152(92.68 per cent) are self financing colleges (unaided), 9 (5.49 per cent) are government colleges and 3(1.83 per cent) are private aided colleges. Major chunk of the unaided engineering colleges are functioning in Ernakulum District (32nos) followed by Thiruvananthapuram (26 nos). There are no Government colleges in Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Eranakulam, Malappuram and Kasargod Districts. During 2013, 11unaided engineering colleges were newly started in the state. The District wise and management wise details of colleges and sanctioned intake are given in Appendix- 4.38

 

4.56 The sanctioned intake of Govt. colleges during 2013 was 3178 (6.01 per cent), aided colleges 1613 (3.05 per cent) and unaided colleges 48011(90.93 per cent). The sanctioned intake of unaided colleges has increased by 8.66 per cent during 2013 compared to the previous year.

 

4.57 Of the engineering colleges in Kerala, the largest number of branch wise seats was in Electronics and Communication (11443) followed by Computer Science (8938) and Electrical and Electronics (8278). Branch-wise distribution of seats in engineering colleges in 2012-13 is given in Appendix.4.39. 4763 students were enrolled in government and aided engineering colleges for graduate courses in the year 2012-13 and 4793 students were newly admitted in 2013-14. Out of these 39.65 per cent are girls. 814 students were admitted in government and aided engineering colleges for post graduate courses in the year 2012-13 and 1531 students in 2013-14. Girl students constitute 46.74 per cent of total students in government and aided engineering colleges studying for post graduate courses. Details are given in Appendix 4.40 & 4.41.

 

4.58 The visiting faculty programme enables the teachers and students of the institution to share the experience and expertise of the eminent faculty from premier engineering institutions like IIT’s, IISC’s etc, research organizations like ISRO,DRDO etc. More than 200 lectures were arranged in 9 Govt. Engineering colleges as part of this programme during 2012-13. It is expected that this will ultimately lead to greater scope for technology incubation. The number of visiting faculty programmes in various engineering colleges during 2011-12 is shown in the table 4.5

 

Table – 4.5

Visiting Faculty Programmes in Various Engineering Colleges

 

Sl no	Name of College	No of programmes
1	College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram	59
2	College of Engineering, Barton hill	24
3	College of Engineering, Kottayam	43
4	College of Engineering, Idukki	5
5	College of Engineering, Thrissur	20
6	College of Engineering, Palakkad	12
7	College of Engineering, Kozhikkodu	11
8	College of Engineering, Wayanadu	14
9	College of Engineering, Kannur	30

 Source: Directorate of Technical Education

Academic Excellence in Engineering Colleges

 

4.59 The academic excellence in various institutions is high and appreciable and this was due to the high pass per centage and increasing placement of students in reputed firms. The pass percentage of Govt. engineering colleges during 2012 shows that the pass percentage of Govt Engineering college Thiruvananthapuram is more than 75 per cent.

 

4.60 The placement record of the students in various institutions is also relatively high. A large no of students are also being qualified for higher studies through competitive examinations like GATE, CAT etc. Most of the students get placement in multinational firms like WIPRO, MAHENDRA, TCS, and BOSCH etc. Placement details of students of various Govt. Engineering colleges during 2012 is given in the table 4.6

 

Table – 4.6

Placement Details of Students of Various Government Engineering Colleges during 2012

Sl. No.	Name of College	No.of offers
1	College of Engineering,Thiruvananthapuram	881
2	GEC,Barton hill	106
3	Rajiv Gandhi institute of Technology, Kottayam	129
4	College of Engineering, Idukki	0
5	College of Engineering, Thrissur	497
6	College of Engineering, Palakkad	22
7	College of Engineering, Kozhikkodu	26
8	College of Engineering, Wayanadu	46
9	College of Engineering, Kannur	53
TOTAL		1760

Source: Directorate of Technical Education

Polytechnics and Technical High Schools

 

4.61 Forty three Government polytechnics and 6 private aided polytechnics were functioning in Kerala. The annual intake of students in government polytechnics and private aided polytechnics are 10047 and 1542 respectively. The total number of students in government polytechnics during the year 2013 was 27953 and that of private aided polytechnics 4119. The student’s strength shows an increasing trend during the past few years. This may be due to the emerging situation of the State by creating skilled manpower, enhancing industrial productivity and improving the quality of life of its people. Details of annual intake and student’s strength in polytechnics for the year 2011-12 and 2012-13 are given in Appendix 4.42 & 4.43. Details of trade-wise annual intake of students in polytechnics of the state in 2012-13 are given in Appendix 4.44.

 

4.62 Total number of teachers working in polytechnics of the state is 2002. Women teachers constitute 27.77 per cent of the total teachers in polytechnics. Details of number of students and teachers in polytechnics are given in Appendix 4.45.Number of SC/ST students and SC/ST teachers in polytechnics in the report year are given in Appendix 4.46.

 

4.63 Thirty nine Government technical high schools are functioning in the state. Total number of students in technical high schools in the year 2012-13 was 8828, and 801 teachers were working in technical high schools of the state in the corresponding period. Women teachers constitute 21.22 per cent of teachers in technical high schools. Number of students and teachers in technical high schools in 2011-12 and 2013-14 are given in Appendix 4.47. SC students and ST students in technical high schools accounted for 13.4 per cent and 0.82 per cent of total students respectively. Details are given in Appendix 4.48 and Appendix 4.49.

 

4.64 The increased demand for higher education driven by the private sector opportunities in the emerging world is not currently being met. For augmenting the present facilities the state is thinking of starting various industry based courses on PPP mode, Govt. Autonomous Colleges, Deemed Universities and Off- Campus Centers of well known Universities. This will not only provide the chance of availing advanced education at cheaper cost but also inculcate a healthy competition among Universities/institutions within the state. The State is also striving for expanding and diversifying education to the most modern areas so as to utilise the emerging avenues of employment and development.

 

4.65 While evaluating the education system in the state as a whole, it is seen that the Vocational Higher Secondary Education introduced in the state for imparting education with stress on labour skills at plus two for achieving self/direct employment as well as vertical mobility has not been able to deliver its objective. This has to be rectified by re-visiting the curriculum of the Vocational Higher Secondary Education in the State. Another major issue confronting the educational system of Kerala is the mismatch between the courses available and the courses required. There exists lack of interaction between educational institutions and industry. Collaboration of our leading technical institutions with leading industrial concerns may reduce the intensity of this grim situation. A missing link in the higher education sphere is the absence of any IITs or All India level research institutions in the State except an IIM or the recently started Central University at Kasargod. The establishment of more such institutes could have acted as role models to the state’s higher education and research. In other states, such institutions have developed strong linkages with the local economies and educational institutions. The materialisation of the Innovation University in the State proposed in the interim report of the expert committee on education constituted by the State Planning Board may solve this lacuna to some extent.

 SECTION 2

 Art & Culture

 

4.66 Kerala has a rich heritage of art and culture. The Directorate of Archives, the Archaeology Department, the Directorate of Culture, the Cultural Affairs Department, Directorate of Museum and Zoo, the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, State Institute of Encyclopaedic Publication etc. are some of the leading institutions of this sector. There are various other institutions working in the State for promoting our cultural heritage.

Table 4.7

Outlay for Art and Culture in various years

Sector	11th FYP (2007-12)	2012-13	2013-14
Art and Culture	137.96	65	70

 

4.67 The sector has been getting more plan allocation in recent years, with the annual allocations showing a steep increase. The Annual Plan allocations for 2012-13 and 2013-14 alone sum up to almost the total allocation during the 11th FYP period. Department of Archaeology, Museums and Zoos, Kerala Kalamandalam etc. are the major departments for which significant amount has been earmarked.

Following are the major events during 2013 under Art & Culture Sector:-

 

• The Government of India approved the status of Malayalam as a Classical language.

• International Bookfair 2013 conducted by Kerala State Institute of Languages was held at VJT Hall, TVPM to commemorate its 45th year. A collection of about 2000 titles were displayed at the bookfair.

• Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University was inaugurated at Tirur on 20th December 2013

• The 18th International Film festival was held at Thiruvananthapuram from 6 to 13 December. It was organised by Kerala State Chalachithra Academy.

• Malayalam Mission, an autonomous institution under the administrative control of the Cultural Affairs Department conducted various activities to spread Kerala Culture and Malayalam Language among Non Resident Keralites.

 

 

SECTION 3

Medical and Public health

 

4.68 Kerala has made remarkable strides in terms of Health indices like Infant Mortality rate, birth rate, death rate, expectancy of life at birth etc.It is a difficult task to further improve upon these achievements and to even sustain the already gained achievements. Further, the State is facing an uphill task of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, coronary heart disease, renal disease, cancer and geriatric problems. Emerging new public health problems like chikunguinia fever, dengue fever, leptospirosis, swine flu (HINI) etc. also are a major concern. Other than these there are newer threats to the health scenario of the state, to mention a few mental health problems, suicide, substance abuse and alcoholism, adolescent health issues and rising number of road traffic accidents. Another concern is the re-emergence of some diseases like Malaria and Cholera. To tackle these concerted and committed efforts with proper inter sectoral co-ordination is essential.

 

4.69 The State Planning Board has constituted an Expert Committee on Health with a view to maximise access to central Schemes and prepare an action plan for the Twelfth Plan. The Committe held a series of 6 meetings to identify priority areas in Health Sector beginning from May 2013. The Committee deliberated on the various challenges faced by the State’s Health System and the strategies to be adopted during Twelfth Five Year Plan and Committee had submitted one interim Report .The major suggestions of the Interim report are following.

 

• Strategies aimed at reducing out-of- pocket expenditure and providing comprehensive financial risk protection to the population is the utmost priority during the 12 th plan .

• Strategies should focus on broad basing the preparedness for Communicable and non-communicable diseases and also bringing convergence between various departments like Local Self Govenment, Water Supply and Sanitation etc.

• In order to address the public health challenges across the various levels of the health system, the establishment of public health cadre is also another aspect that needs attention in human resource planning.

• Strategies should focus on assuring quality of health services in public hospitals especially at the secondary level.

• To establish an inter- disciplinary centre for the study of ageing with focus on both basic and translational research and an inter disciplinary approach to mental health.

 

Box 4.6

Major Initiatives of the XIIth Five Year Plan of Government of India-Relevance to Kerala

 

Major Initiatives of the XIIth Five Year Plan of Government of India-Relevance to Kerala
• Control and Management of Communicable diseases:

A public health plan has to be developed for every grama panchayat with recurrent campaigns being taken up based on seasonality of the diseases. There should be routine outbreak investigations. We also need to have a strategy on how to control the outbreaks among migrant populations and how the transmission between local population and migrants are to be controlled.

• Prevention and management of lifestyle related diseases:

analysis of data to monitor the course of these diseases and a mechanism to act on them should be set up at the State and District level.

 

AYUSH systems have high levels of efficacy in managing some of these diseases. Ayurveda and Homeopathy should set up clinics to manage non communicable diseases either by themselves or in partnership with other systems.

 

• Reduction of mortality and morbidity, IMR, MMR:
Some of the strategies to be adopted are: integration of different systems of medicine preferably by locating them in the same building or compound, more effective involvement of Anganwadi workers, provision of supplementary nutrition and short stay homes for tribal and coastal mothers, quality essential newborn care and crackdown to prevent unnecessary cesarean sections. Every new born must be tested for motor, sensory, hearing, vegetative functions and for thyroidal abnormalities.

• Mental Health:

Issues related to mental health lie behind many of the problems of Kerala. High rate of suicides, high level of alcohol abuse, domestic violence even among persons belonging to higher socio-economic status, and many medical complications may be traced to mental health problems.

• Health of the aged and palliative care:

Specialty clinics are needed to attend to special problems. Kerala will need to set up dedicated geriatric and palliative clinics in District Hospitals. Weekly geriatric-cum palliative care clinics will need to be started in all CHCs upwards. The work of Social Welfare Department and health Department in the above areas should be synergized.

All systems of medicine should be available for patients to choose from under one roof at the District Hospital.

• Governance of the sector

Kerala has to focus on developing and improving systems to ensure good governance of the health system.

• Governance of the sector:
Kerala has to focus on developing and improving systems to ensure good governance of the health system.

 

Health Sector Financing during Twelfth Plan

 

4.70 During the first year of Twelfth Plan an amount of ` 47000 lakh had been earmarked for Health Sector, of which 82 per cent was expended. Out of the total outlay 43 per cent was earmarked for the Directorate of Health Services, 43 per cent for the Directorate of Medical Education, 4 per cent for Indian Systems of Medicine, 4 per cent for Directorate of Ayurveda Medical Education, 4 per cent for Directorate of Homoeopathy, 2 per cent for Homoeo Medical Education .The allocation for Directorate of Health Services during 2012-13 was greater (` 205.64 lakh) compared to the average allocation for the same during the XI th plan (` 72.13 lakh).

 

4.71 During the second year of the Twelfth Plan (2013-14) an amount of ` 54100 lakh has been earmarked for Health Sector, which was 15 per cent increase over 2012-13 outlay. During 2013-14, only 18 per cent has been expended so far. Department wise Average plan outlay and Expenditure during Eleventh plan and total outlay and expenditure during 2012-13 Annual Plan is given in the Table 4.8

 

Table 4.8

Average Plan Outlay & Expenditure during XI th plan & Outlay of Annual Plan 2012-13

(र. in lakh)

Department	Eleventh Plan Average		per cent of Exp	Annual Plan 2012-13		per cent of Exp
	Outlay	Exp		Outlay	Exp
Directorate of Health Services	7214	8078	111	20564	18539	90
Directorate of Medical Education	7162	11610	162	20220	16409	81
Indian Systems of Medicine	907	763	84	1665	1687	101
Directorate of Ayurveda Medical Education	944	795	84	1760	1041	59
Directorate of Homoeopathy	1002	426	42	1721	700	41
Homoeo Medical Education	754	251	33	1070	343	32
Total	17983	21923	122	47000	38719	82

Major Health Problems

Communicable Diseases

4.72 Kerala is witnessing an increasing burden of diseases, both communicable and non communicable. Although the state has been successful in controlling communicable diseases such as Dengue, Aids, Malaria, Leptospyrosis, Hepatitis, Chikungunya, H1N1 in the past. In recent years there is a resurgence of these diseases leading to considerable morbidity and mortality. Dengue has become endemic to Thiruvananthapuram which accounts for two thirds of cases in the state.

Dengue Fever

4.73 Dengue was reported for the first time in Kerala in 1997. Subsequently, it has spread far and wide. During 2013, Kerala has reported 7349 dengue cases and 23 numbers of deaths up to September 2013. 4316 more cases were reported and 11 more deaths took place in 2013 than 2012. The increasing number of cases reported is due to water supply mismanagement, gaps in public health infrastructure, increased mobility of population and poor infrastructure in the state to monitor mosquito breeding. District wise patients treated and death reported due to dengue fever in Kerala during 2013 is given in Appendix 4.50.

HIV/AIDS

4.74 It is estimated that around 2.4 million people in India are currently living with HIV and come from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Kerala State Aids Control Society is the pioneer organization in the State working with the objective of controlling the spread of HIV as well as strengthening the State’s capacity to respond HIV/AIDS. It was formed to implement the National Aids Control Programme in the state.

 

 

4.75 Current data shows that the HIV epidemic in the state is largely confined to individuals with high risk behavior including injecting drug users, Female sex workers and men who have sex with men. Truck drivers and migrant workers are also high risk category. During 2013, Kerala has reported 727 Aids cases and 174 number of deaths up to September 2013. The category wise Aids cases reported during 2013 and death cases are given in the Fig 4.3 .

Table 4.3

Category wise Aids cases and death reported during 2013

Source: Source: Kerala State Aids Control Society

Chikungunya

4.76 During 2006, Chikungunya emerged as a major ever known epidemic in India affecting 151 districts in 8 States including Kerala. During 2011, 58 chikungunya cases were reported in Kerala, while during 2013 it has increased to 169 cases. Out of this most cases (149) were reported in Thiruvananthapuram and 11 cases were reported in Idukki. The details of district wise patients treated for Chikungunya and Viral fever during 2013 is given in the Appendix 4.51.

Leptospirosis

4.77 Leptospirosis is causing the highest number of deaths consistently for the last few years in the State. It caused more than 100 deaths every year during the past few years. In Kerala, out of the total 510 Leptospirosis cases reported 11 deaths were reported during 2012 and it increased to 613 cases and 15 death cases during 2013. The details of district wise patients treated for leptospirosis during 2013 is given in the Appendix 4.52.

Leprosy

 

4.78 The prevalence rate of leprosy in Kerala is 0.25per 10000 during 2013.There are three leprosy sanatoriums in Kerala with a bed strength of 1653 and the details of leprosy case during 2013 is given in the Table 4.9.

Table 4.3

District wise distribution of Leprosy Units in Kerala-20133

Sl. No.	District	Institutions	Sanctioned Bed Strength	IP as on 31st Oct.2013
1	Alappuzha-Nooranadu	Leprosy Sanatorium, Nooranadu	767	224
2	Thrissur-Koratty	Koratty Gandhi Gram Govt.  Dermatology Hospital	660	210
3	Kozhikode-Chevayoor	Govt. Leprosy Hospital, Chevayoor	226	130
	Total		1653	564

Non Communicable Diseases(NCD)

4.79 Common Non–communicable diseases causing great threat to life are cancer, diabetes, cardio vascular diseases and lung diseases. Unless interventions are made to prevent and control non-communicable diseases, their burden is likely to increase substantially in future, due to ageing population and change in life style .Considering the high cost of medicines and longer duration of treatment, this constitutes a greater financial burden to low income groups.

Cancer

4.80 Cancer is a major disease that affects all sections of human population. Statistics show that every year, 35000 new cases of cancer are getting detected in Kerala .Nearly 1 lakh people are under treatment for this disease annually. Apart from Medical Colleges, RCC, and Malabar Cancer Centre are the hospitals in Government sector which offer treatment for cancer patients. Delay in early detection, huge treatment cost, minimal treatment centres and lack of awareness contribute to high mortality of the disease.

Malabar Cancer Centre

4.81 Malabar Cancer Centre, Kannur is an autonomous centre under the Government of Kerala. Malabar Cancer Centre has been established with the aim of providing oncological care to the people of North Kerala. The Centre has bed strength of 110 and many latest facilities for the treatment of cancer patients. During 2013, up to September 4360 new cases were treated in Malabar Cancer Centre alone and 733 major operations and 304 minor operations conducted.

Prevalence of other Public Health Diseases during 2012 and 2013

4.82 A comparative analysis of the prevalence of public health diseases during 2012 and 2013 is given in Table 4.10

Table 4.10

Prevalence of Public Health Diseases during 2012&2013

Sl.No.	Diseases	2012		2013 upto September
		Attack	Death	Attack	Death
1	Diarrheal Diseases	3118	11	2187	14
2	Pneumonia	2035	136	1169	Nil
3	Enteric fever	561	1	327	3
4	Measles	166	0	215	0
5	Acute Respiratory Infection	3170	38	1331	19
6	Chickenpox	619	16	360	17
7	Tuberculosis	2811	103	1625	101

Source: Directorate of Health Services

4.83 Table-4.10 shows an increase in the death cases during the first nine months of 2013 over the whole year 2012 due to diarrheal disease, enteric fever and chicken pox.

 

Draft Health Policy

 

4.84 The Kerala Government has recently released a Draft Health Policy 2013.Its objective is to position good health as the product of development agenda including water supply, nutrition, sanitation, prevention of ecological degradation, respect for citizens rights and gender sensitivity. Kerala has achieved good health indicators compared to other Indian States .The prime reason for this has been the stewardship role that successive Governments, before and after independence, have played .This has become even more important at a time when the State is facing the emergence and re-emergence of some of the communicable diseases along with problems resulting from the epidemiological and demographic transition.

Mental Health

4.85 Less importance is given in the field of health for mental health in comparison to physical health. A performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 2011 has concluded that Kerala, where 5.86 per cent of the population suffers from mental illness, compared with the national average of 2 per cent, is precariously perched in the mental health care sector (news –Times of India).

 

4.86 A policy made in this direction was approved by the State Government on May 2013.The policy suggests that the treatment for mental illness should start from the primary health centres making the mental hospitals and the Department of Psychiatric Medicines referral centres by upgrading them and that Research should be encouraged for prevention and cure of mental illness .An awareness programme among the general public about the mental illness has also been suggested in the policy .Proper training programmes to the doctors should be imparted free of cost whether they come from public or private sector if they show their willingness to undergo the training.

 

4.87 In Kerala three mental health centres are functioning with bed strength of 1342 .District Mental Health Programme is functioning in eight districts. Rehabilitation facilities are offered through centres. Lack of awareness, attitude of general public, neglect of family members, lack of proper follow up etc are the major problems of mental patients.

Modern Medicine-Allopathy

4.88 Out of the total 1281 health care institutions, 681 are Primary Health Centres (PHCs), 233 are Community Health Centres (CHCs), 77 are Taluk Head Quarter Hospitals, 16 are District hospitals,15 are General hospitals,19 are specialty hospitals,17 are TB clinics and 49 are other hospitals. Category wise major medical institutions and beds in Kerala, details of IP, OP cases and Medical and Para medical personnel under DHS during 2013 are given in Appendix 4.53, 4.54 & 4.55

Health Care Institutions under DHS

4.89 At present there are 1281 health institutions with 37415 beds under Health Services Department consisting of Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, Taluk Head Quarters hospital, District hospital, General hospital and specialty hospital for mental illness, Leprosy and Tuberculosis.Primary health centres are institutions providing comprehensive primary care services including preventive cure and curative care. CHCs and Taluk level institutions form the basic secondary care institutions. District hospitals, General Hospitals and Maternity Hospitals provide specialty services and some super specialty services. In 12 th Five Year Plan focus will be for the implementation of the specialty cadre in all health care institutions up to the community health centre level. Modernisation of the functioning of the institution by computerising and better methods of human resource development is to be carried forward.

Para Medical Services

4.90 Medical and paramedical professionals are essential for better diagnostic facilities. Different types of laboratories functioning for the paramedical services in the state are Public Health Laboratory, Government Analyst Laboratory, Chemical examiners Laboratory, Food Safety Commissionerate and Drugs Control Department.

Box 4.6

MajorMajor achievements of Paramedical Services during 2013

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

4.91 National Rural Health Mission aims to provide accessible, affordable and accountable quality health services to the poorest households in the remote rural regions. Under NRHM, the focus is on a functional health system at all levels, from the village to the district. NRHM is functioning in the State for the development of health institutions 25 per cent of the total Central Government fund has to be given to the NRHM by the State Government as State share. NRHM is supporting the Health &Family Welfare Department including Directorate of Medical Education and AYUSH.

 

 

 

Medical education

4.92 In Kerala, medical education is imparted through six medical colleges at Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Manjeri. Nursing education is imparted through nursing colleges in Thiruvananthapuram,Kozhikode, Kottayam,Alappuzha and Thrissur districts. Dental Colleges are functioning in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kottayam districts. Medical and Para medical courses conducted in Govt. Medical Colleges with annual intake of students , details of clinical and non clinical personnel in Medical Colleges under DME, during 2013 are given in Appendix 4.56 & 4.57. A comparative analysis of the status of medical college hospitals and attached institutions during 2012 and 2013 is given in Table 4.11.

Table 4.11

Status of Medical College Hospitals and attached institutions during 2012 &13

Medical College Hospitals	Beds		Inpatients		Outpatients		Major Operations conducted
	2012	2013	2012	2013	2012	2013	2012	2013
Thiruvananthapuram	3160	3160	170765	118545	1353060	1195012	32575	13937
Alappuzha	1035	1035	50975	53734	710179	53734	3821	1184
Kottayam	1604	1604	76898	79676	857648	993374	6571	6954
Thrissur	1155	1155	61444	55406	680123	427379	6275	13987
Kozhikkode	3325	3325	122820	116325	1734932	560772	15743	9870
Total	10279	10279	482902	423686	5335942	3230271	64985	45932

Source: Directorate of Medical Education

 

4.93 There is no change in bed strength in 2013.The number of inpatients and outpatients shows a decline in 2013.Major operations conducted in Kottayam and Thrissur Medical Colleges has increased during 2013, although the total number of operations in all Government hospitals has reduced .Private hospitals seem to be in greater demand for patients

Major achievements of Medical Education Department during 2013 include

1. Started New Medical College at Manjery and admission given to 100 students.

2. Started Diploma Course in Dialysis in Government Medical College, Alappuzha

3. Construction of labs, academic block, Sewage treatment plant, hostel, mortuary etc.

 

Kerala University of Health and Allied Sciences

 

4.94 Kerala University of Health Sciences was established by Kerala University of Health Science Act 2010 with objectives to ensure proper and systematic instructions, teaching, training and research in Modern Medicine, Homoeopathy and Indian Systems of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences in Kerala. The university has affiliated professional colleges which includes all systems of medicines such as Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Sidha, Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy,Nursing ,Pharmaceutical Science and Paramedical courses.

 

 

 

Indian Systems of Medicine

4.95 Ayurveda is a science dealing not only with treatment of some diseases but also a complete way of life. Indian Systems of Medicine department renders medical aid to the people through the network of Ayurveda hospitals and dispensaries, grant-in-aid Ayurveda institutions, Sidha- Vaidya, Unani, Visha , Netra and Naturopathy. Special hospitals such as Mental Hospital, Panchakarma, Nature cure and Marma are functioning under this department. At present there are 120 hospitals and 794 dispensaries under ISM department. The State Medicinal Plants Board also co-ordinate matters relating to the cultivation, conservation, research and development and promotion of medicinal plants in the State. List of major institutions and district wise distribution of institutions, beds and patients under ISM department during 2013 is given in Appendix 4.58

Ayurveda Medicine Manufacturing- OUSHADI

4.96 OUSHADI is the largest manufacturer of Ayurvedic medicines all over India in Government sector functioning especially as a profit making public sector undertaking. Oushadhi is the exclusive supplier of Ayurvedic medicine to Government hospitals and dispensaries of ISM department. In Kerala, Oushadhi supplies ` 18-20 crores of medicines each year to State ISM department at 30 per cent less than market price and ISM department supplies this medicine to the poor patients in the State free of cost. The company also caters to the demand of the public through a network of 468 exclusive agencies spread all over the State. Total sales have shown 103 per cent increase during 2012-13 when compared to the sales during the year 2008-09. Similarly profit after tax shows 417 per cent of increase during the same period. Similarly the dividend paid to State Government also shows an increasing trend. The details of turnover for the period from 2008-09 to 2012-13 are given in Appendix.4.59. 

 
Ayurveda Medical Colleges

4.97 There are 3 Government Ayurveda Medical Colleges situated at Thiruvananthapuram, Thrippunithura and Kannur districts having a bed strength of 1259. Panchakarma hospital and Women &Children hospital are also functioning under the Government Ayurveda Medical College Thiruvananthapuram. There are two aided colleges, 11 self financing colleges and a self financing siddha college for imparting Ayurveda medical education.

 

HOMOEOPATHY

4.98 There are 661 homeopathic dispensaries and 31 hospitals with total bed strength of 955 under Homoeopathy department in the State. In addition, Kerala State Homoeopathic Co-operative pharmacy (HOMCO) Alappuzha, a medicine manufacturing unit is also functioning under the Directorate of Homeopathy. District wise distribution of institutions, beds and patients treated under Homoeopathic department during 2012 &2013 is given in Appendix 4.60. Homoeo Medical Education is imparted through two Govt. Homoeopathic Medical Colleges, at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Annual intake of students and courses in Homoeo Medical Colleges are given in Appendix 4.61.

Box 4.8

Major achievements of Homoeopathy Department during 2013

 

Source: Directorate of Homoeopathy

Immunization Coverage

4.99 Immunization is one of the most successful and cost –effective health intervention and prevents debilitating illness, disability and death from vaccine –preventable diseases such as diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, measles, mumps, pneumococcal disease ,polio,dotavirus diarrhoea, tetanus and yellow fever. Starting from 21 April 2012, WHO is uniting countries across the globe for a week of vaccination campaigns, public education and information sharing under the umbrella of World Immunisation week. Kerala has achieved 94 per cent of target in immunisation during 2013. One of the major achievements in immunisation during 2013 is that the per cent coverage of immunisation for BCG has increased from 104 to 106 and Measles has increased from 99 to 113. The coverage of immunisation programmes in Kerala during 2012-13 is given in Appendix 4.62.

 

SECTION 4

Social Security and Welfare

 

4.100 Social security provides protection to people living in economic and social distress. The various welfare schemes in Kerala are implemented through Government Departments, Statutory Boards and Non-statutory Boards and now by Local Bodies. Kerala Social Security Mission under the Department of Social Justice is also implementing social security programmes for the senior citizens, children and differently abled. The departments and agencies stands for social security measures and their major activities are given in Appendix 4.63

 

Outlay and Expenditure

 

4.101 In 2012-13, the first year of the 12th Five Year Plan, the outlay of social welfare including child development increased to 29 per cent from 2011-12. It further increased by 17 per cent in 2013-14. The expenditure on the sector increased to 56 per cent in 2012-13 from 2011-12.

 

4.102 The social security programmes in Kerala can be grouped into two: - A. Institutional Care and B. Social Assistance Programmes.

A. Institutional Care

 

4.103 Kerala has organized a wide security net through a variety of institutions for providing institutional care and protection for the children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, mentally ill/challenged persons, women and girls who are victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. About 2484 persons benefited in 2012 through a network of 78 welfare institutions. Apart from this, the registered old age homes, foundling homes, orphanages and beggar homes run by N.G.Os and other voluntary organizations benefited 14879 old people, 461 abandoned children, 48617 orphaned children and 731 beggars respectively. Major Government departments and agencies stands for social security measures and their major services are given in Appendix 4.64 The district wise coverage of beneficiaries in major welfare institutions run by the Department of Social Justice is given in Appendix 4.65 and that of registered welfare institutions in Appendix 4.66.

B. Social Assistance Programmes

 

4.104 Social assistance programmes comprises of a series of social security pension schemes and welfare schemes. The major programmes in this area are listed below.

Major Pension Schemes

 4.105 The major pension schemes implemented in the state are: Agriculture labour pension, Indria Gandhi National Old Age pension, pension for disabled, pension for unmarried women above 50 years of old and widow pension. In 2012, the total no. of pensioners except agriculture labour pensioners were about 16 lakh which is an increase of nearly 1 per cent from 2011. The highest category is of widow pensioners. The eligibility criteria fixed for GOI pension schemes is now confined to BPL families. The other criteria such as percentage of disability, age limit etc is more stringent in Central schemes than that of the corresponding state schemes, as a result, the State Government is finding difficulty to get more eligible beneficiaries for Central schemes. The district wise coverage of major pension schemes is presented in Appendix 4.67

 

Social Security and Welfare to Unorganized Sectors

 

4.106 The major landmark in social security in Kerala is the introduction of welfare fund/ pension schemes for the unorganized sectors given through the Welfare Fund Boards (WFBs). Of the 28 welfare fund boards in 2012, twelve are under the direct control of the Labour department. In 2012, the total members enrolled in these boards were about 53 lakh of which 53 per cent from agriculture sector including fisheries and dairy. Details of workers enrolled in the WFBs are shown in Appendix 4.68

 

Welfare of Senior Citizens

 

4.107 Compared to other states the percentage of elderly (60 years and more) to total population is higher in Kerala. In 2001 census it was 9.79 per cent and in 2011 it increased to12.6 per cent. Also the dependency ratio of elderly in Kerala in 2011 is 196 and is high among the states in India. It becomes a major challenge to the state and society to share the responsibility of taking care of the elderly people.

 

Fig 4.4

Highest Dependency Ratio and percentage of Elderly (60 years and above) to the total population of five states in India

Source: Census, 2011

 

4.108 As the aging population is rapidly increasing in the state, to address the social, economical and health care aspects of the aged community, the state has visualized the State Policy for Older persons, 2013. The tribunal functioning in Kerala under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 is one way of checking abuse of the elderly. Effective implementation of these policies and Acts will help improve the situation.

 

Vayomithram Programme

 

4.109 This is a programme implemented in 5 Corporations and 20 Municipalities by Kerala Social Security Mission give welfare services such as free medicine, palliative home care and help desk facilities to persons above 65 years.The programme benefited nearly one lakh aged people in 2012.

 

Welfare of Differently Abled

 

4.110 Though the differently abled group is small in number, these members of our society deserve special attention. Nearly 21 per cent of the total outlay in the social welfare sector has been provided to the disability area in 2012-13. The schemes for the welfare of this group had been implemented through Social Justice, Health and Education departments. It is necessary to conduct a disability survey in the state covering all types of disabilities as there is no such data is available at present for effectively intervening to facilitate this group.

 

Issuing Disability Certificate to Differently Abled

4.111 According to the Persons with Disability Act, 1995 it is mandatory to provide disability certificate to all disabled. In view of this, Government has started this scheme in 2009-10 through Kerala Social Security Mission and has so far issued about 2.51 lakh identity cards and certificates.

 

State Commissionerate for Persons with Disabilities

 

4.112 The State Commissionerate was set up under the Act of Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 to monitor the implementation of the Act and to redress the complaints of differently abled. The other functions of the Commissionerate are conducting awareness camps, redressal of the complaints of disabled persons, inspection of institutions for disabled, etc.

Box 4.9

Assisted Living for Adults with Disabilities

 

National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH)

 

4.113 NISH was established for the rehabilitation and welfare of the deaf and hard of hearing persons in the state with facilities for detection, evaluation of hearing loss and rehabilitation. During 2012-13, Nish conducted 5297 audio logical evaluations, 270 psychological evaluations and 1647 speech evaluations. Under ADIP scheme of GOI, for distribution of hearing aids, 20 camps were conducted and benefited 802 individuals.

 

State Initiative Programmes on Disabilities

 

4.114 This is a state initiative programme to provide special care to the differently abled in the area of prevention, detection and early intervention of disabilities, education, employment and rehabilitation. The state already had some work going on in this area to cover the entire population with disabilities through a comprehensive package. Even though 13 per cent of the outlay of social welfare sector had been earmarked for this programme during 2012-13, the expenditure reported is nil. Hence necessary steps should be taken to improve the involvement and co-ordination of the line departments for achieving the desired objectives.

 

Kerala State Handicapped Persons Welfare Corporation

 

4.115 The Corporation is established for promoting and implementing the welfare schemes for differenly abled persons. It is also the nodal agency for the implementation of the NPRPD scheme of Government of India being implemented in Kasaragod, Palakkad and Kollam districts. Provision of aids and appliances, self- employment scheme, financial assistance to self- help groups, vocational training to SC/ST disabled persons etc are the major activities of the Corporation. In 2012-13, the Corporation assisted 49533 differently abled persons.

 

District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs)

 

4.116 Three District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) are functioning in Kasargod, Palakkad and Kollam districts as a joint venture of the State and Central Government to facilitate the creation of infrastructure and capacity building at district level for awareness generation, rehabilitation, training and guiding rehabilitation professionals. There is a need to start new centres in the unserved districts for reducing the effects of disabilities and promoting their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation.

 
Ex-Servicemen & War Widows Welfare

4.117 The Department of Sainik Welfare is looking after the welfare and rehabilitation of Ex-servicemen and their dependents. As on 30th March 2013, there were 214646 ex-service men and 50687 widows. The department runs three computer training centers at Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Thrissur for re-employment and self-employment of this group. In 2012, the department provided rehabilitation training to 256 ex-service men and widows.

 
Prisoners Welfare

4.118 There are 52 different types of jails in Kerala. Modernization of Prisons and Welfare of Prisoners are the two major schemes implemented by the Prison department. 13th Finance Commission has recommended an amount of ` 154 crore for the development of prisons and welfare of the prisoners. Solar energy system and energy saving measures in all 52 jails is one of the new initiatives taken under this on a pilot basis has been commissioned on 3rd October,2012 at Central prison, Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala stands 3rd in jail income in the country while Delhi stands first. It is expected that ` 22 Cr. will be achieved by the Jail Department during this year. As on March 2013, there were about 6929 prisoners, of which 217 are women. Each inmate in the jail earns nearly ` 117 per day from various activities and thus saving ` 3500 per month. Details of prisoners in jails are given in Appendix 4.69

Welfare of Women

 

4.119 In the state, major women development programmes have been implemented through the Social Justice Department. In addition, two women specific organizations Kerala Women’s Development Corporation and Kerala Women’s Commission are implementing sustained gender based interventions and taking effective measures to implement the PWDV Act. The present status of women in Kerala is given in the chapter of gender development.

 

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls

 

4.120 As a centrally sponsored scheme, launched in Kollam, Idukki, Malappuram and Palakkad districts, it aims at empowering the nutritional and health status of the adolescent girls in the age group of 11-18 years through 84 ICDS projects of the districts. This scheme should be extended to the districts covering coastal and tribal areas of the state by giving more importance to vocational training and skill development focusing self help groups. During 2012 the scheme assisted around 2 lakh beneficiaries which shows a decrease of 33 per cent compared to 2011..

 

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana

 

4.121 This centrally sponsored scheme aims to provide financial assistance covering pregnant women of 19 years and above for the first two live births in Palakkad district. This scheme should be extended to the coastal and tribal districts as there is more concentration of needy beneficiaries in these districts. The scheme assisted 31161 beneficiaries in 2012 which is an increase of 22 per cent compared to 2011.

 

Snehasparsham

4.122 The scheme aims to address the problem of unwed mothers particularly from tribal communities in Wayanad district. Monthly assistance of ` 1000/- is given to all unwed mothers and the scheme has benefited 1314 women in 2012-13

Kerala Women’s Commission

 

4.123 The commission has taken steps to enhance the status of women and to enquire into unfair practices affecting women by conducting seminars and adalaths. The commission had conducted 53 seminars/legal workshops and 65 adalaths during 2012-13. In 2012, the commission received 3335 complaints of which Thiruvananthapuram is on top and Wayanad is the least. The nature of complaints shows that domestic violence and family problems is on the increase. The category wise and district wise details of complaints received as on March,2013 are given in Appendix 4.70.

 

Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation

 

4.124 Self employment schemes for women, flagship programme on gender awareness and construction of She- toilets are the major programs of the Corporation. During 2012-13, the Corporation benefitted nearly 10000 women in self employment directly or indirectly through National Corporations and constructed 23 automatic and unmanned cost effective and environment friendly She-toilets.

 

Welfare of Children

 

4.125 The percentage of child population in our state below the age of 6 years in 2011 census comes down to 9 per cent from 11.91 per cent in 2001. While the overall sex ratio in Kerala improved from 1058 in 2001 to 1084 in 2011, the child sex ratio ( 0-6 years ) decreased from 960 in 2001 to 959 in 2011. It is quite alarming that in all the districts in Kerala, the child sex ratio is less than 1000. As per the report published by the National Crime Records Bureau, the crime against children in the state has increased by 263 per cent from 2008 to 2012. Though Kerala has achieved marked improvement in the area of immunization, elimination of polio, reducing infant mortality etc, about 50 per cent of students are suffering from lifestyle diseases as per the latest report of Health Department. More over there are nearly 8 lakh students facing learning disabilities. Bringing children with learning disabilities into the mainstream is a major challenge.

 

Box 4.10

National Policy for Children, 2013

 

Source: Planning commission of India & Directorate of Health Services

Adoption Services

 

4.126 The Kerala State Council for Child Welfare started this programme in 1979 as the best non institutional form of child care to discarded children or children without parent or children without a family set up and now 3 adoption centers and 17 registered placement agencies are functioning. A gradual decrease is noted in the adopted children from 2010-11 to 2012-13. Details of adopted children are given in Appendix 4.71.

 

Child Participation Programmes

 

4.127 Kerala’s model of Bala Sabha and Bala Panchayat is a neighborhood network of children in LSGIs under Kudumbasree for the holistic development of children. Protection of child rights, cultivating creative potential in children, identifying and nurturing their inmates talent are the prime objectives of the programme. In the state 37426 Bala Sabhas has been constituted up to September, 2013

 

Box 4.11

Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights

 

 

Nutrition

 

4.128 In Kerala about 25 per cent of the children are underweight and 0.66 per cent are severely underweight. According to the latest survey report of State Nutrition Research Centre; high degree nutritional deficiency is noted among the children in Palakkad and Wayanad districts and 42 to 48 per cent of students studying in 6th to 8th standards do not get sufficient nutritional food. A UNICEF investigation report on the recent infant deaths at Attappady says that “Anaemia in pregnant mothers and inadequate nutrition” are the main causes for the tragedy.

 

Fig 4.5

Classification of Nutritional Status of Children under ICDS Scheme as on March 2012 & 2013 (in %)

Note: - Grade I & II – Moderately malnourished children

Grade III& IV– Severely malnourished children

Source: Ministry of Women & Child Development, Govt. of India

 

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

 

4.129 It is one of the largest early child care programmes for improving the nutritional status of women and children by providing an integrated package of services to the beneficiaries. This programme in Kerala is implemented through 33115 operational Anganwadis in 258 ICDS projects. In 2012, the SNP programme under ICDS benefited nearly 8.55 lakh children in the age group of 0 to 6 years and 1.68 lakh pregnant and lactating women. Nearly 4.4 lakh children in the age group of 3 to 6 years were benefited for pre-school education in 2012. District wise coverage of SNP beneficiaries under ICDS is given in Appendix 4.72.

 

Fig 4.6

Number of Beneficiaries under ICDS scheme as on March, 2013 (no’s in lakh)

 

Source: Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India

 

4.130 As per the data table of Ministry of Women and Child Development, there is no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children under ICDS in 2012 compared to 2011. The recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India revealed that delay in release of funds, failure to cover the targeted population and failure in fortifying the take-home food delivered to children with micronutrients has led to the collapse of the ICDS programme in Kerala. GOI have now decided to restructure the ICDS programme and implement it in Mission mode as the programme is not fully achieving its core objectives over the years of implementation. The state should give top priority to strengthen and restructure the ICDS progrmme by assessing the existing gaps in programme implementation at various levels.

 

Outlook

 

4.131 The weaker sections that are unable to cope with the rapid changes of social transformation in Kerala need special attention. For this, focused intervention is necessary by extending the reach of social security network to the neglected groups, socio-economic empowerment of women and differently abled, the aged and vulnerable children. Also a seamless integration and synergistic partnership between Government and civil societies is needed for managing the welfare institutions as the Government system has its inherent limitations for rendering services in this area. In the mean time there is a need to bring about a measure of uniformity in the social assistance programmes to confirm certain minimum standards by ensuring social audit of social security schemes, effective IEC campaign and grievance redressal mechanism.

 

 

SECTION 4

Gender Development

 

4.132 The differences in opportunities between men and women are socially produced and hence changeable. There is a general perception that women are less capable than men and are more of a burden. Although this may not be true, historically, socially and culturally, women have been regarded as less important than men especially as an economic agent. Social and economic institutions may unduly favour one particular sex and hence the other should be given greater opportunity. Gender Development may be regarded as the development of the oppressed gender by bringing them into the mainstream. Gender Inequality is a matter of serious concern in the country and also in the state. Periodic measurement of Gender Inequality may throw light on the situation. So Gender Inequality Index for each district and state may be prepared periodically.

 

Box 4.12

Gender Inequality Index

 

 4.133 Gender discrimination is an issue in almost all societies and Kerala is no exception. The state is known for several women favourable developmental indicators. It performs well in all other GII indicators except two: Labour Force Participation and Parliamentary Representation. The first three indicators of the GII; Adolescent fertility, Maternal mortality and Educational attainment can be considered as the pre-conditions for the take off and the other two can be considered as the measures of take off..

 

Equal Democratic Citizenship: A must for Gender Development

 

4.134 The Gender equality is envisaged in the Indian constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive principles. Even after 64 years of the enactment of the constitution, India fails to attain a comfortable position in Gender equality. The state provides equal opportunities for its people in several aspects of human development and hence Kerala accomplished a good result in several gender indicators. The Literacy Rate, Gender gap in the Literacy, Life Expectancy of Women, Sex Ratio, Gross Enrolment Ratio of Girls, Maternal Mortality Rate, Adolescent Fertility etc. are some of them. All these helped to empower the women of Kerala and enabled them to take part in the practices of democracy. It is an essential condition for Equal Democratic Citizenship but not a sufficient one. Equal Democratic Citizenship will be complete only when the gender gets equal participation in direct decision making too. It is in this regard the Parliamentary Representation of the gender becomes important. The accomplishment of the state in this respect is gloomy. A comparison with societies having similar HDI achievements is provided the tables below:-

 

Table 4.12

Seats in National Parliament (Female %)

 

Sl No.	Country	%
1	Norway	39.6
2	Sweden	44.7
3	Iceland	39.7
4	Denmark	39.1
5	Belgium	38.9
6	Finland	42.5
7	Seychelles	43.8
8	Cuba	45.2

Source: Human Development Report :2013

 

Table 4.13

Female Representation in Legislature - Kerala

 

Sl No.	Name of Legislature	Number of Elected Members	%
1	Rajya Sabha	1	11.11
2	Lok Sabha	0	0
3	Kerala Legislative Assembly	7	5

Source: Worked out from data available at the Website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala

 

4.135 The female participation in the direct decision making process is too low. Adequate representation of women in direct decision making bodies is a must. Women of the state can be empowered through their direct participation in policy making. A fitting example is the system of Kerala Local Self Government, where 50% of the seats are reserved for the women.

 

4.136 The women of Kerala should be empowered economically and socially. Economic empowerment and social empowerment are complementary to each other. The economic empowerment of the women is attained only when they become an integral part of labour force and ultimately be gainfully employed.

 

Female Labour force Participation:
Need of an International Benchmark for Kerala

 

4.137 A comparison of the Labour force Participation Rates (LPR) of 10 countries having highest Human Development Index and those of Kerala, brings out some interesting facts. The Female LPR in these countries is around 60 and the Male LPR is around 70. As per the data from NSSO 68TH Round (July 2011- June 2012), in Kerala, the Male LPR is comparatively higher at 82.4. However the Female LPR, in Kerala is 35.4, which is very low. Consequently the difference between Male and Female LPR in Kerala is very high.

 

4.138 It is surprising to note that the percentage of Female LPR is very high in some other countries, for which HDI is low, like Tanzania (88.2), Equatorial Guinea (80.6), Rwanda (86.4), Zimbabwe (83) etc.(Source: HDI Report 2013). It may not be possible to increase the LPR of a country beyond a particular point due to various educational and family commitments of persons. So a very high FLPR of this kind may not be feasible. Still the state position should be compared with international positions. Hence there is the need for an international benchmark towards which the societies can work.

 

Female Workforce Participation Rate (FWPR) – An Interstate Comparison

 

4.139 The women of Kerala outperform their counterparts in many developmental indicators. But in the case of economically active persons, the statistics is not favourable to the women. As per the data of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation based on Census India 2011, while the average female workforce participation rate is 25.51 in India, that of Kerala is only 18.23. The FWPR of Kerala is one of the lowest in the country, and far below the national level. Kerala stands first in human development among the Indian states. But the wide gender gap in the WPR pulls down our gender equality in human development.

Himachal Pradesh with a female workforce participation rate of 44.82 is the best performer. It is surprising that the North-eastern states like Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have higher FWPR than Kerala. Hence it is high time to have a relook at our strategies in this direction and perhaps learn from experiences elsewere.

 

Female Workforce Participation Rate - An intra state comparison

 

4.140 As per Census 2011, the FWPR of the state has increased by 2.8 points in the last decade. Four districts of the state namely: Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Pathanamthitta have FWPR which is lower than that of the state as a whole. Moreover, the performance of Kozhikode and Malappuram is too poor. Two districts, namely Wayanad and Idukki have FWPR which is higher than the all-India rate. Idukki has the highest FWPR in the state as the women in the rural sector of the agrarian district are more economically active. The district-wise comparison is provided in table 4.14.

 

Table 4.14

Female Representation in Legislature - Kerala

 

Sl No	State / District	Male		Female
		2011	2001	2011	2011
1	Kasargode	49.1	51.7	21	20.3
2	Kannur	49.9	51.6	15.3	16
3	Wayanad	55.8	56.9	23.2	26.8
4	Kozhikode	48.7	51.1	8.2	12.2
5	Malappuram	42.8	45.8	6.6	7.6
6	Palakkad	52	54.9	21.2	20.4
7	Thrissur	50.6	53.3	15.2	18.7
8	Ernakulam	55.1	56.4	17.2	20.2
9	Idukki	58.1	60	28.1	33.2
10	Kottayam	52.2	54.8	14	20.4
11	Alappuzha	49.4	53	20.3	24
12	Pathanamthitta	47.5	50.2	13.4	17.5
13	Kollam	48.4	51.7	16.8	19.3
14	Thiruvananthapuram	51.4	54.6	14.5	21.4
15	Kerala	50.2	52.7	15.4	18.2

Source: Census of India 2011

 

Self employment for Better FWPR: Lessons from Other States

 

4.141 The strength of the labour force and workforce determine the extent of economically active population. These are decided by various socio economic factors. In the case of Kerala, both Female Labour force Participation Rate and Female Workforce Participation Rate are low and the economic policies must aim to scale up both. The women should be promoted to enter labour force first and into workforce subsequently. The social and economic outlook should be moulded accordingly. When the employment opportunities of the state favour manual labourers, venturing into self employment opportunities seems more feasible to educated women of Kerala. Fighting the odds thrust upon them by circumstances, women of other states, especially the North-eastern states, have taken up self-employment on a massive scale. Their markets are flooded with small or household ventures led by women of the locality. The percentage of self-employed in total workforce is higher in these states, especially in rural areas. It increases their FWPR. A comparison is given in table 4.15.

 

Table 4.15

Percentage of Female Self-employed Workers/FWPR

 

Sl No.	States	%		FWPR
		Rural	Urban
1	Arunachal Pradesh	89.5	49.1	35.44
2	Himachal Pradesh	87.9	36	44.82
3	Meghalaya	75.6	43.3	32.67
4	Mizoram	81.3	72.3	36.16
5	Nagaland	94.9	64.5	44.74
6	Sikkim	90.2	46.3	39.57
7	Manipur	50.3	84.6	38.56
8	Kerala	36.4	36.3	18.23

 

Source: (1) NSSO, 68th Round, July 2011-June 2012 for % of self-employed

(2) Census of India 2011 for FWPR

 

Box 4.13

SHE TAXI: An Innovative Initiative

 

 

Gender Budgeting

 

4.142 As policies and programmes have a differential impact on women and men, it is necessary to strengthen Gender Responsive Budgeting. The Gender Budget Statement is an important tool for bringing together all information regarding allocations for women. It is now considered as an instrument to address gender inequality and reallocate the resources in favour of women. It serves as a reporting mechanism and provides an indication of funds flowing to women. It is a major step in strengthening inclusive growth.

 

4.143 To institutionalize the process of Gender Budgeting, the Gender Budget Statement had been introduced in the Union Budget 2005-06. In Kerala Budget, conscious efforts have been taken to make the budget Gender Responsive. In Kerala the Budget had been made Gender Responsive at the Local Government level from 1998 onwards by making a provision of mandatory allotment of 10% of the Plan fund as women Component.

 

4.144 The Women Component identified in Annual Plan 2012-13 & 2013-14 are provided in the table below. Agriculture & allied activities, Industries, Labour & Labour Welfare, Social Security & Social Welfare etc are the some sectors with major allocations under the Women Component. Though it is generally accepted that the women component in planning and economic activity is increasing, data capturing is a major hurdle.

 

Table 4.16

Women Component in Annual Plan

 

Sl No	Sector/Sub sector	2012-13	2013-14
1	Agriculture and allied	2915	3400
2	Rural Development	3298	*
3	Industries	2759.6	8752
4	Transport and communication	1000	*
5	S&T	800	1000
6	General Economic Services	680	500
7	General Education	587.9	500
8	Technical Education	250	120
9	Sports	15	*
10	Medical and Public Health	620	800
11	Water supply & Sanitation	550	*
12	Labour and Labour Welfare including welfare of SC, ST, OBC, Minority	11196	2925
13	Social Security and Welfare	2433	3625
	Total	27104.5	21622

 

* while all the sectors are covered for 12-13, figures for 13-14 does not capture the full picture as there are data gaps.

 

Crime against Women

 

4.145 As per the figures brought out by the State Crime Records Bureau, the total reported cases of crime against women for the year 2013 (upto August) is 9347. There has been only a marginal decline in the reported cases of crime against women in 2012 (Total 13002) as compared to 2011 (Total 13279). It is surprising that ‘cruelty by husband/relatives’ still constitutes a major component in crime against women. Greater efforts are required in this direction, to enable women to take up meaningful economic activities outside the purview of their families.

 

Box 4.14

Some Women Centred Programmes

 

 

Women in Kerala are a valuable, healthy and educated resource; and can contribute effectively in all aspects of development of the state. An attitudinal change can be brought about by highlighting successful endeavours of women and by providing support systems for the multiple tasks they take up.

 

 

 

SECTION 5

Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes Other Backward Classes and Minorities

 

4.146 Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes have special status under Constitution with the objective of promoting their educational, economic, social and political interests. Other disadvantaged groups needing special support are other backward classes, minorities and vulnerable groups.Over the years several steps have been taken to bridge the gap between these groups and rest of the population. But the gap still persists and further efforts are needed. Most of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people are still striving to attain basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. They also require better opportunities to live with dignity and self respect.

 

4.147 Through various Five Year Plans, the government had undertaken several welfare schemes and programmes for the upliftment of the weaker sections. Effective monitoring mechanism is highly needed for eliminating resource diversion and achieving targeted objectives of these schemes.The educational and social backwardness of Scheduled Caste,Scheduled Tribe and other weaker sections have deprived them from getting benefits of schemes announced in various Plans. This eventually resulted in the introduction of Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub Plan for channelizing the flow of outlays and benefits from general development sectors to these sub plans at least in proportion to the SC/ST population. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes of Kerala state are comparatively better off than their counterparts in other states socially and educationally. Due to successful implementation of Decentralised Planning Process in Kerala, to a great extent their isolation and backwardness has been minimised and opportunities have been provided to come forward in the main stream of the society.

 

Approach of 12th Five Year Plan for Weaker Sections

 

4.148 The economic and social status of the marginalised sections like SC, ST, OBC, minorities and other weaker sections will be improved with more focused State spending and effective interventions is the important objectives of 12th five year plan. These objectives can be achieved with full participation in the benefits of development on the part of all these groups. This calls for an inclusive growth process which provides opportunities for all to participate in the growth process combined with schemes that would either deliver benefits directly or more importantly help these groups to benefit from the opportunities thrown up by the general development process.

 

Population

 

4.149 According to 2011 Population Census, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes put together constitutes a quarter(25.24 per cent) of the total population in India. Scheduled Caste constitutes 16.63 per cent and Scheduled Tribes 8.61 per cent of population. Decadal growth rate (2001-2011) of Scheduled Caste is 20.85 per cent and Scheduled Tribes is 23.66 per cent. The highest Scheduled Caste population is in Punjab, that is, 31.9 per cent of the State’s total population. Lakshadweep has the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribe population, that is, 94.8 per cent.

 

4.150 The Scheduled Caste population of Kerala is 3039573 persons as per 2011 Population Census constituting 9.10 per cent of the total population of the state. There has been a decrease in proportion of 0.7 per cent as compared to 2001 Population Census. One of the reasons for the decline is that some communities in Scheduled Caste have been included in the Scheduled Tribe classification during the period.Sex ratio of Scheduled Caste population in Kerala is 1057.

4.151 The Scheduled Tribe population of Kerala is 484839 persons as per 2011 Population Census constituting 1.45 per cent of the total population of the State. There has been an increase of 0.63 per cent as compared to 2001 population census. Sex ratio of Scheduled Tribe population in Kerala is 1035. A comparative picture regarding literacy and sex ratio of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population in Kerala with national level is furnished in Appendix 4.73.

 

4.152 In Kerala there are 53 communities which belong to Scheduled Caste as per the Amendment Act of 2006 to the Constitution of India. The settlement pattern in Kerala is entirely different from that of other States and a major portion of the Schedule Caste population lives in scattered households with other people and only a small portion live in concentrated colonies, in which very limited number are isolated. According to 2011 Population Census, the highest distribution of Scheduled Caste population is in Palakkad District (13.29 per cent) followed by Thiruvananthapuram (12.27 per cent), Kollam(10 .80 per cent), Thrissur (10.60 per cent) and Malappuram (10.14 per cent). More than half of SC population (57.17 per cent) of the State is distributed in the above five districts. The Scheduled Tribes in Kerala are not only geographically concentrated, but are overwhelmingly rural. Highest concentration of Scheduled Tribes is seen in Wayanad district (31.24 per cent) followed by Idukki (11.51 per cent), Palakkad (10.10 per cent) and Kasargod (10.08 per cent).These four districts together accounts for 62.93 per cent of Scheduled Tribes in the State. The coastal district of Alappuzha has the lowest percentage (1.36 per cent). District wise Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe population details are given in Appendix 4.74 and 4.75.

 

 

Fig 4.7

Scheduled Caste Population in Kerala (District-wise & total) as per 2011 Population Census

 

 

Fig 4.8

Scheduled Tribe Population in Kerala (District-wise & total) as per 2011 Population Census

 

 

4.153 As per census on India 2011 (Appendix 4.76) Scheduled Caste Households in Kerala have much greater access to banking services, landline phones, computers with internet and car than an average Scheduled Caste household in India. Compared to other southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, only SC households in Tamil Nadu has greater access to Televisions than those in Kerala. SC households in Kerala do not seem to have as much access to two wheelers as other SC households in India. While more than 22 per cent of SC households in India did not have access to any of these assets, Kerala performed better with only around 11 per cent of SC households being deprived of these assets.

 

4.154 Similarly in the case of Scheduled Tribes, households in Kerala have much greater access to banking services, television, computer with internet, land line and car than an average Scheduled Tribe household in India (Appendix 4.77). Compared to other southern states only Scheduled Tribe households in Tamil Nadu has greater access to televisions, computer with internet, landline phones and car than Kerala. Scheduled Tribe households in Kerala do not seem to have as much access to two wheelers as other Scheduled Tribe households in India. While more than 37 per cent of Scheduled Tribe households in India did not have access to any of these assets, Kerala performed better with only around 24 per cent of Scheduled Tribe household being deprived of these assets.

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households in Kerala have a better standard of living than their counterparts in the rest of the country in general. However Tamil Nadu has shown an even better standard of living for Scheduled Tribe households than Kerala.

 

Occupational Pattern

 

4.155 Decadal growth rate of Kerala’s population 2011 Population Census was all time low of 4.9 per cent. The work participation rate shows an increasing trend during the decade (2001-11). The proportion of main workers is more than that of marginal workers in all cases. Especially the female main workers have considerably increased from 19.90 per cent in 2001 to 22.71 per cent in 2011 in the case of ST population. In respect of SCs same has increased from 18.51 per cent to 19.59 per cent during this period. The percentage of main workers engaged in household industry shows a decreasing trend. The category of main workers shows that 29.90 per cent of SCs and 59.49 per cent of STs are doing agricultural labour where as in the case of general population it is only 14.18 per cent. Details of occupational pattern is shown in Appendix 4.78

 

4.156 In Kerala, as per Rule 14(a) of the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules 1958, 8 per cent reservation in Public service is provided to SCs and 2 per cent to STs. It shows that SC/ST had already achieved more than 10 per cent reservation in all the three categories. But ST candidates alone had not achieved 2 per cent reservation in State service. Details of representation of SC/ST employees in Government service is given in Appendix 4.79.

 

 

Development Programmes for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes

 

4.157 Kerala Government earmarks fund for SCP from State Plan outlay in proportion to the percentage population of Scheduled Caste and allocate fund for TSP more than that of ST population percentage. A two pronged strategy is followed for the development of SC/ST in the State. One is that the assistance provided through the LSGs and the other through SC/ST Development Department. Out of the total SCP/TSP Plan outlay, a certain percentage of funds are allocated to Local Self Government Institutions for implementation of schemes under Decentralized Planning and the remaining to the SC/ST Development Department. A portion of the fund was considered as Notional Flow to other departments till 2008-09. This was meant for implementing schemes exclusively for SC/ST population in the respective sectors. As this experiment was not found successful, the concept of Notional Flow was dispensed with from the Annual Plan 2009-10. A system of earmarking certain amount of SCP/TSP as pooled fund under SCP and TSP for taking up schemes adopting a project approach was introduced. This gives scope to get wide range of schemes with varied objectives and physical targets, which put together, will help the all round development of the targeted groups. The total plan provision set apart for the development of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes during 2013-14 is `1667.70 crore and ` 340.00 crore respectively. Year-wise details from 2007-08 onwards are given in Appendix 4.80.

 

Fig 4.9

SCP/TSP-Yearwise Outlay

 

 

 

Programmes of Scheduled Caste Development Department

 

4.158 Centrally Sponsored Schemes and schemes/projects included in the state plans for the development of the Scheduled Caste population are implemented by the Scheduled Caste Development Department. During 2013-14 the total State Plan provision set apart for the development of Scheduled Castes is ` 1667.70 crore. Out of this, ` 839.50 crore was earmarked Scheduled Caste Development Department and ` 828.20 crore was provided as Development fund to Local Bodies. Besides,`154.56 croreas 100 per cent CSS and ` 22.38 crore as 50 per cent CSS also included under SCP during 2013-14. In addition to this,` 20 crore was included in the budget as Special Central Assistance to SCP.

 

4.159 The programmes under SCP cover a wide area comprising education, economic and social welfare activities for the development of Scheduled Castes.Some of these programmes are given below and scheme-wise outlay and expenditure of welfare of Scheduled Caste for 2012-13& 2013-14 (as on 31-10-2013) and the physical targets and achievement are given in Appendix 4.81 and 4.82 respectively.

 

Box 4.15

Major Schemes of SC Development

 

Name of Schemes	Objectives	Achievements
Educational Schemes	Provide educational assistance to • Pre-matric studies • Post-matric studies • Running of Model Resi dential Schools • Students studying in self financing colleges. • Adhar linked bank account system.	During 2012-13 pre-matric educational concessions were given to 4.01 lakh students and post-matric concessions were given to more than 1.22 lakh students. An amount of ` 95.39 crore has been spent towards stipend and lump sum grant and an amount of ` 143.52 crore has been spent for providing scholarship for post-matric students. Online distribution of educational assistance through e-Grantz and introduced SBIeZ-pay card (Appendix 4.83).
Housing Scheme	Financial assistance for • Construction of new houses for the houseless SC families • Online system of granting financial aid through e-housing	During 2012-13, 5000 houses were sanctioned and constructed 1161 houses. 4000 houses were sanctioned during 2013-14 (as on 31.10.2013) and construction activities are progressing. Online system of granting financial assistance for house construction through e-Housing (Appendix 4.84).
Land to Landless	• Purchase of land to the poor and eligible landless SC families for house construction	During 2012-13 an amount of `16969 lakh was provided and the expenditure incurred was ` 16937.87 lakh benefitting 11047 persons. An amount of `10000 lakh is provided during 2013-14 and expenditure incurred as on 31.10.2013 is `62 lakh benefiting 51 persons(Appendix 4.85).
Health Scheme- Financial assistance to Seriously ill People	Illness assistance to • Serious diseases like Cancer, Heart/kidney/brain ailments to SC families below poverty line as per the recommendation of the doctor	During 2012-13, financial assistance was given to 18560 persons.
Development programmes for the vulnerable communities Among Scheduled Castes	• Rehabilitation of landless and homeless SCs belonging to vulnerable communities by providing assistance for purchase of five cents of land and assistance for house construction. • Providing infrastructure, connectivity, communication facilities, education, treatment, drinking water, electricity, road etc.	An amount of `1500 lakh is provided during 2013-14 and the expenditure incurred as on 31.10.2013 is ` 390.90 lakh
Self employment scheme	Financial assistance for • promoting new ventures among Scheduled Caste in the ratio 1: 2 as subsidy and loan	During 2012-13, `322.23 lakh was provided and expenditure incurred was ` 322.23 lakh benefiting 534 persons. (Appendix 4.86).
Assistance for marriage of SC girls	Financial assistance to • Daughters of SC parents to reduce the burden of marriage expenses	During 2012-13 an amount of `1297.19 lakh was provided and the expenditure incurred was `1297.04 lakh benefitting 5454 persons. An amount of ` 2000 lakh has been provided during 2013-14 and expenditure incurred as on 31.10.2013 is `1998.60 lakh benefiting 4000 persons.

 

Protection of Civil Rights and Enforcement of Prevention of Atrocities Act

 

4.160 The activities proposed under this scheme are:

• Conducting awareness camps at Grama Panchayat level highlighting the need for protection of civil rights of Scheduled Caste and enforcement of Prevention of Atrocities Act.

• Producing documentaries highlighting the evils of untouchability against Scheduled Caste.

• Providing assistance to inter-caste married couples for starting economic and income generation activities. During 2009-10 inter-caste marriage assistance was enhanced to `50000/- from ` 10000/-. During 2012-13 the expenditure incurred was ` 10.92 crore benefitting 2169 persons.

• Celebrating Temple Entry Proclamation day.

• Enforcement of Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989.

• Conducting exhibition and procession in connection with Social Solidarity Fortnight

• The main causes and nature of these harassment/atrocities are social harassment, sexual exploitation, insult, intimidation and humiliation, outraging the modesty of woman causing injury and insult or annoyance, giving false evidence, etc.

• Three Special Mobile Squads are functioning at Palakkad, Wayanad and Kasaragod to deal with atrocities towards Scheduled Caste more effectively.

• Two Special Courts function at Kalpatta and Manjery.

• Atrocity Prone areas are Wayanad, Kasaragod and Attappady in Palakkad.

 

4.161 According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2012, 443 cases were registered and an amount of ` 59.67 lakh has been disbursed as compensation. During the year 2013, 382 cases were reported and an amount of ` 54.78 lakh disbursed as compensation to the victims. Details are given in Appendix 4.87.

 

Box 4.16

New Initiatives in SC Development Department during 2012-13

 

Critical Gap Filling (Corpus Fund)

 

4.162 This Scheme intends to provide funds for filling critical gap in the SCP provision made under various schemes on project basis with emphasis on human resource development, basic needs, economic development etc. One third of the outlay will be allocated to districts on population proportion basis. Schemes /projects up to ` 25 lakh will be cleared by the District Level Committee for SC/ST. Project above ` 25 lakh will be cleared by State Level Working Groups/ Special working Groups. Outlay and expenditure under the scheme during 11th plan and first two years of 12th plan period (as on 31.10.2013) is given in Appendix 4.88 and Appendix 4.89.

 

Fig 4.10

Corpus Fund Allocation (2007-08 to 2013-14)

 

 

* Up to 31.10.2013

 

Pooled Fund

 

4.163 A system of earmarking certain amount of SCP/TSP as pooled fund under SCP and TSP for taking up schemes adopting a project approach was introduced. This gives scope to get wide range of schemes with varied objectives and physical targets which put together will help the all round development of the targeted groups.

 

4.164 Various development departments and agencies should submit projects to State Planning Board for consideration. After vetting by State Planning Board, it will be forwarded to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Development Department. Outlay and Expenditure under the scheme are given Appendix 4.90.

 

Special Central Assistance to Special Component Plan (SCA to SCP)

 

4.165 The Special Central Assistance to Special Component Plan for Scheduled Caste is provided by Government of India to States for undertaking mainly economic development programmes for Scheduled Castes. It is not on a schematic pattern. It will help to fill the gaps which the flows from the Central, State and Local body plans are not in a position to fill. Out of the total funds received under SCA to SCP, 75 per cent of the fund will be distributed to the District Collectors on the basis of Scheduled Caste population in the districts. The balance 25 per cent will be kept with the Director, Scheduled Caste Development. Activities that can be taken up under SCA are to assist Scheduled Caste families for taking up viable income generating activities, through a mix of institutional finance and subsidy. The families may be provided assistance under SCA in a manner similar to those admissible under Swarnjayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana. TheOutlay and Expenditure details of SCA to SCP from 2007-08 to 2013-14 (as on 31.10.2013) are given in Appendix 4.91.

 

Scheduled Tribes Development

 

4.166 Tribal Sub Plan was introduced during the Fifth Five Year Plan. This strategy has undergone several changes since 1974-75 and now it reached a stage in which it has proper linkages with the present Local Government administration. Socio-economic development and protection of STs from all kinds of exploitation are the twin objectives of Tribal Sub Plan. As per the TSP strategy the State used to allocate an amount which is more than that of the percentage to ST population in the State.

 

Programmes of Scheduled Tribes Development Department

 

4.167 The expenditure of the Scheduled Tribes Development Department during 2012-13 was ` 180.11 crore. The total State plan provision set apart for the development of Scheduled Tribes during 2013-14 was ` 340 crore. Out of this, an amount of ` 215.70 crore was earmarked to the ST Development Department and an amount of ` 124.30 crore was provided as grant-in-aid to local bodies. For the 50 per cent and 100 per cent CSS Schemes Central Share allocation was ` 32.52 crore and ` 25.52 crore respectively. In addition to this, ` 6.75 crore was included as Special Central Assistance to TSP with State budget. Details of Financial achievements are given in Appendix 4.92 and Appendix 4.93 and Physical achievements of schemes implemented by the Department during 2012-13 and 2013-14 (as on 31.10.2013) are given in Appendix 4.94 and Appendix 4.95 respectively.

 

4.168 The major schemes implemented by Scheduled Tribes Development Department can be broadly classified as Educational programmes, Housing, Health, Assistance for Marriage of ST Girls and Resettlement of Landless Tribes. Major objectives and achievements during 2012-13 and 2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013) of the schemes are given below.

 

Box 4.17

Major Schemes of ST Development

 

Name of Schemes	Objectives	Achievements
Educational Programmes	Provide educational assistance to • Pre-matric studies • Post-matric studies • Running of Model Residential Schools • Students studying in self financing colleges	During 2012-13, an amount of ` 8071 lakh has been expended and benefitting 77195 students and in 2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013) an amount of `9798.7 lakh has been disbursed as educational assistance benefiting 77544 students. (Appendix 4.96, 4.97 and 4.98).
Housing Scheme	Financial assistance for • Construction of new houses for houseless ST families	During 2012-13, an amount of ` 25 crore was provided for housing by Scheduled Tribes Development Department and ` 6 crore as 25 % State share of IAY. In addition to this, 22 houses under Corpus Fund, 2002 houses under Basic needs to Primitive Tribes and 15 houses under Pooled Fund for Special Projects were sanctioned for construction. The rate of assistance has been raised from ` 1.25 lakh to ` 2.50 lakh for STs and` 3.50 lakh to Particularly Vulnerable Groups. During 2012-13, 804 houses were sanctioned and constructed 271 houses. 1072 houses were sanctioned during 2013-14 (as on 31.10.2013) and 78 houses are constructed (Appendix 4.99 and 4.100).
Health Scheme	Illness assistance to • Serious diseases such as TB, Leprosy, Scabies, Sickle Cell Anaemia, Waterborne diseases, etc.	During 2012-13, an amount of ` 180 lakh was provided under the plan and financial assistance was given to 15750 persons. During 2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013) 1500 person are given assistance. Medical College, Kozhikode has set up a Sickle Cell Anaemia unit with Electrophoresis machine (Appendix 4.101).
Assistance for marriage of ST girls	Financial assistance to • Daughters of ST parents to reduce the burden of marriage expenses	During 2012-13, an amount ` 75 lakh was provided and expenditure incurred was ` 75 lakh benefiting 80 ST parents. An amount of ` 150 lakh is earmarked during 2013-14 and expenditure incurred as on 31.10.2013 is ` 61.50 lakh benefiting 100 families.
Resettlement of Landless Tribes	• To provide at least one acre of land per family to landless ST people subject to ceiling of 5 acres based on a master plan. • Resettlement will be done on project basis with emphasis on planning and implementation through Oorukottoms.	As on 01.11.2013, 6887 landless ST families have been allotted an extent of 9044.94 acres of land. District-wise details of land distribution are shown in Appendix 4.102.

  

Fig 4.11

Outlay and Expenditure of Education Sector (Plan)

 

 

Fig 4.12

Housing Programmes undertaken by ST Development Department

 

* Up to 31.10.2013

 

Corpus Fund

 

4.169 An amount of ` 2353 lakh was provided during 2012-13 for undertaking various development activities under the scheme and the amount expended during the period was ` 2349 lakh. The components of the Corpus fund includes self employments, skill development, water supply & sanitation, communication facilities, foot bridges, technology transfer, improvement of education, health etc. Statement showing the outlay and expenditure under Corpus fund from 2007-08 to 
2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013) is given in Appendix 4.103 and the details of schemes taken during 
2012-13 and 2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013) are given in Appendix 4.104 and Appendix 4.105.

 

Fig 4.13

Outlay and Expenditure under Corpus Fund

 

* Up to 31.10.2013

 

Pooled Fund for Special Projects Proposed by Other Departments under TSP

 

4.170 During 2012-13, an amount of ` 1250 lakh was provided under the scheme Pooled Fund for special projects proposed by other departments. The expenditure during the period is ` 1247.54 lakh. 
An amount of ` 1300 lakh is earmarked during 2013-14 and the expenditure incurred as on 31.10.2013 is ` 854.74 lakh.

 

Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan (SCA to TSP)

 

4.171 The Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan released by Government of India as an additive to State Plan Funds is meant for undertaking employment cum income generation activities and the infrastructure incidental to activities based on family and Self Help Groups. 70 per cent of the fund has been utilized for implementing primary schemes supporting family/SHG/Community based income generation activities and 30 per cent used for critical infrastructure in the sectors of drinking water, watershed management etc. Under the scheme 30 per cent beneficiaries are women. The outlay and expenditure under SCA to TSP during 2007-08 to 2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013) is shown in Appendix 4.106.

 

Fig 4.14

Outlay and Expenditure under SCA to TSP during 2007-08 to 2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013)

 

* Up to 31.10.2013

 

Co-operation

 

4.172 The SC/ST cooperatives were formed aiming the overall improvement of the socio-economic conditions of SC and STs. Through these societies loans are being released and other activities are done. Minor forest produce procurement, sales, other activities like Ayurdhara and Petrol pump are being undertaken by the Kerala State Federation of SC/ST Development Cooperative Limited. An amount of ` 200 lakh is provided to SC/ST federation during 2013-14.

 

Kerala Institute for Research Training and Development Studies for SC/ST

 

4.173 The Institute conducts research and intensive study on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population of the State. 

 

4.174 Anthropological investigation on doubtful community cases as requested by Scheduled Tribes Development Department, Scheduled Caste Development Department, Revenue Divisional Officers, Tahsildars and District Collectors has also been undertaken by the wing. 

4.175 The training wing of KIRTADS co-ordinates and conducts a large number of programmes to promote Tribal Development. This wing also conducted many orientation programmes, capacity building programmes, empowerment programmes and educational programmes. An amount of ` 65 lakh is provided as 50 per cent State share during 2013-14 and expenditure incurred up to 31.10.2013 is ` 11.65 lakh.

 

Box 4.18

Attapady

 

 

 

Welfare of Other Backward Classes

 

4.176 Government of Kerala created a separate department in November 2011 to look after the welfare of socially and economically backward communities of the society. Though the Directorate of this Department was created at the end of the financial year 2011-12, it implemented two major educational schemes, Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarships with the help of Scheduled Caste Development Department.

 

4.177 During 2011-12, Pre-Matric educational concession to the students of Backward Communities was a pilot scheme of the Department. During 2012-13, the total amount for the welfare of Backward Communities Development Department is ` 131.18 crores. Of this, ` 36.84 crores was earmarked as State share for Development Programmes of Backward Communities Development Department. The Department has implemented various educational schemes such as Pre-Matric (50 pe rcent CSS) and Post-Matric Scholarship (100 per cent CSS) for OBC students, OEC Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship during 2012-13. Backward Communities Development Department has introduced e-grantz for distribution of educational concession to students belonging to Backward Communities. An amount of ` 60 crores was earmarked by the State government during 2013-14, of this ` 21.50 crores is State share for CSS. An amounts of ` 113.5 crore is anticipated as 100 per cent CSS during 2013-14 and expenditure incurred as on 31.10.2013 is ` 1159.11 lakh.

 

Kerala State Development Corporation for Scheduled Caste and 
Scheduled Tribes

 

4.178 The Corporation, with its registered office at Thrissur, functions through 14 Regional Offices covering all the districts, is implementing various schemes to enable the SC/ST people to become self-reliant in all respects. The sources of finance for implementing various schemes are Corporation’s own share capital and assistance from other national refinancing agencies like NSFDC, NSTFDC, NSKFDC and HUDCO. The Corporation is now concentrating more on self employment schemes to enable the target people to engage in some innovative and viable income generating activities and earn their livelihood and thereby improve their socio-economic status in the society. The major schemes implemented by the Corporation include agricultural land purchase, micro-credit finance, mini-venture loans, small enterprise loans, housing, educational loan, marriage assistance etc. 

The scheme-wise details of physical and financial achievements of the Corporation are given in Appendix 4.107.

 

Kerala State Backward Classes Development Corporation

 

4.179 The Corporation aims at the socio-economic upliftment of the backward classes and minorities in the State. The Corporation mobilizes funds from the National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC) and National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) in addition to State Government support. The source-wise expenditure and the physical achievements of the Corporation during 2012-13 and 2013-14 (up to 31.10.2013) are given in the Appendix 4.108.

 

Kerala State Development Corporation for Christian Converts from 
Scheduled Caste and the recommended Communities

 

4.180 The main objective of this Corporation is to promote social, educational, cultural and economic upliftment and other living conditions of the converted Christians from Scheduled Castes and other recommended communities. The main schemes under implementation by the Corporation are agricultural land purchase, foreign employment, housing, cash incentive to students, marriage loan, agriculture and allied sector assistance, small business, educational loan etc. The Corporation implements these schemes with the financial assistance received from state government and the loan assistance from NBCFDC. Details of year wise disbursement of State Government assisted loan schemes from 2007-08 to 2013-14 (as on 31.10.2013) are given in Appendix 4.109.

 

4.181 The scheme-wise details of physical and financial achievements of the corporation are given in Appendix 4.110.

 

 

Welfare of Minorities

 

4.182 The Minority Welfare Department was constituted for addressing the social economic and educational backwardness of Minority Communities in the State. An amount of ` 4000 lakh was earmarked to Minority Welfare Department during the year 2013-14 for various programmes. The major schemes are (i) Multi Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) (25 per cent state share). (ii) Empowerment of women through Women Self Help Group. Expenditure incurred as on 31.10.2013 is ` 915 lakh.

 

Kerala State Minority Development Finance Corporation

 

4.183 The State Government constituted the State Minority Development Finance Corporation to provide financial assistance to income generating projects, housing finance, educational loans, vocational training etc to minority community. An amount of ` 840 lakh has been provided as share capital contribution to Corporation during 2013-14 and expenditure incurred up to 31.10.2013 is
` 100 lakh.

 

Outlook for Social Sector

 

Kerala has always been known for the great strides it has made in providing health, education and social welfare to the people. It will become increasingly difficult to sustain these achievements as new challenges have emerged, which require better planning and implementation and more funds. Higher and Technical education should be provided to students in an affordable and accessible manner. The knowledge imparted and the skill training given should be linked to global employment opportunities so that the educated people are gainfully employed. New and emerging diseases due to changing lifestyles will need to be dealt with. Wherever possible, people should be made aware of how to prevent health related problems as prevention is better than cure. Better waste management, less stressful lifestyles, periodic check-ups etc. will need to be widespread. Affordable and high quality health care for all will require considerable finance from both the public and the private sector. Carefully targeted welfare activities which reduce the burden on the vulnerable and marginalized communities will continue to be the mainstay of Government policy.

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