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Area |
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38,863 sq km |
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State Government Portal |
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Population |
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31,841,374 |
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Capital |
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Thiruvananthapuram |
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Principal Languages |
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Malayalam |
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History and Geography
Kerala is in the extreme south-west of the Indian subcontinent. When the independent India amalgamated small states together Travancore and Cochin states were integrated to form Travancore-Cochin state on 1 July, 1949. However, Malabar remained under the Madras province. Under the State's reorganisation Act-1956, Travancore-Cochin state and Malabar were united to form Kerala State on 1 November, 1956.
Kerala's culture has been an integral part of the mainstream of Indian culture. In between the high Western Ghats on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west, the width of the state varies from 35 km to 120 km. According to the geographical features, the State can be divided into hills, valleys, midland plains and costal belt. Kerala is rich in rivers and backwaters. 44 rivers (41 west flowing and 3 east flowing) cut across Kerala with their innumerable tributaries and benches. The backwaters form an attractive and economically valuable feature of Kerala.
Agriculture
A unique feature of the state is the predominance of cash crops. About 50 per cent of the population depends on agriculture. Kerala is a major producer of coconut, rubber, pepper, cardamom, ginger, cocoa, cashew, arecanut, coffee and tea. Tree spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, etc., are also cultivated. Rice and tapioca are important food crops. Coconut is the most important cash crop of Kerala. Different varieties of plantain, banana, pineapple, mango and jackfruit are the major fruit crops.
Rice, the principal food crop of Kerala, has been subject to persistent pressure for replacement by more remunerative crops during the last two decades.
Coconut is the mainstay of Kerala's rural economy in view of its multifarious contribution to income and employment. With coverage of nearly nine lakh ha, coconut occupies 41 per cent of the cropped area and provides livelihood for over 3.5 million families in Kerala.
Pepper is one of the major export oriented commodities in which the state has certain inherent and established strengths over other producing regions. The state continues to enjoy a near monopoly in area and production of pepper, accounting to 95 per cent in the country.
Among the plantation crops, rubber is the dominant crop. The state accounts for 84 per cent of the area under rubber in the country.
India is the sixth largest producer of coffee in the world with a share of 4.9 per cent. Against the total area of 5.11 lakh Ha under tea in the country, Kerala accounts for only 0.37 lakh Ha. In respect of production also Kerala could retain its share of eight per cent. Tea plantations owned by big companies employ a labour force of over 84,000 in the organised sector.
Industry
Kerala is rich in industrial potentialities and infrastructure facilities such as hydro-electric power, rich forests, rare minerals and the efficient system of transport and communications. Traditional industries are handloom, cashew, coir and handicrafts, and other important industries include rubber, tea, ceramics, electric and electronic appliances, telephone cables, transformers, bricks and tiles, drugs and chemicals, general engineering, plywood splints and veneers, beedi and cigar, soaps, oils, fertilizers and khadi and village industry products. There are a number of manufacturing units for production of precision instruments, machine tools, petroleum products, paints, pulp paper, newsprint, glass and non-ferrous metals. Principal export products are cashew nut, tea, coffee, spices, lemon grass oil, sea food, rose wood and coir. The state has an abundance of important minerals like ilmenite, ruffle, monazite, zircon, sillimanite, clay and quartz sand.
Kerala, which has been traditionally backward in the field of industrial development, is taking serious efforts to identify new opportunities and to equip it to meet the emerging challenges. The state policy is intended towards enhancement of investment, especially in the industrial sector with the objective of creating more income and employment.
Irrigation
The irrigation system in Kerala is serviced through major, medium and minor irrigation, as well as ground water and command area development programmes. Major irrigation projects are Malampuzha, Chalakkudy, Peechi, Pamba, Periyar, Chittoorpuzha, Kuttiyadi, Neyyar and Chimmini. The medium projects are Pothudy, Gayathri, Valayar, Vazhani, Mangalam and Cheerakuzhi.
Power
The growth of Power System in Kerala during the last few decades has been remarkable. During the early stages of development, focus was on tapping hydropower potential in the state. Hydropower is renewable, non-polluting and economic.
KSEB had established two diesel power plants one at Bramapuram, near Kochi (106.6MW) and the other at Kozhikode (128 MW). The Government permitted establishment of Naphta based thermal power plants at Kayamkulam by NTPC (360MW), at Kochi by BKPL (157 MW) and at Kasargode by M/s KPCL (20 MW). The state was also forced to purchase more power from the Central Generating Stations. The state availed maximum central share by import.
Under micro-hydel programme, implementation of Micro Hydel Projects on behalf of two District Panchayats, Kammadi in Kasargode district and Chakkarakundu in Kozhikode district, have been undertaken by ANERT. UNIDO has set up a Regional Centre on small Hydropower at Energy Management Centre. The centre has initiated preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for ten small Hydro Power Projects in Kerala.
Strengthening the infrastructure to match the generation capacity is given prime importance in the programmes of KSEB.
Transport
Roads: Kerala is the maiden state in the country having hundred per cent road axis to its remote villages. The total length of roads in the state is 138196.471 km, of which 21467.492 km comes under PWD, 1523.954 km under National Highways, and 95515.888 km under Panchayats.
Railway: The state has a total railway route of 1,148 km and covers 13 railway routes. It has 1,053.86 km of broad gauge lines and 94.14 km of meter gauge lines.
Aviation: There are three airports, viz., Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi (Nedumbassery) and Kozhikode, of which the first two are international airports.
Ports: Cochin port is the only major port in Kerala. There are three intermediate (Neendakara, Alappuzha and Beypore) and ten minor ports (Vizhinjam, Valiathura, Thankasseri, Munambam, Ponnani, Vadakara, Thalasseri, Kannur, Azhikkal, Kasargode).
Education
Kerala has achieved a high literacy rate of 90.92 per cent (2001 census), as against the all India rate of 65.38 per cent. In Kerala, among the districts, Kottayam has the highest literacy rate of 95.90 per cent and Palakkad has the lowest literacy of 84.31 per cent. Regional and gender disparities in literacy rates are least in Kerala.
The infrastructure created under District Primary Education programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and involvement of Local Governments have contributed to the improved facilities.
Kerala has seven universities and two deemed universities. During the past five years, there has been a tremendous increase of technical educational institutions in Kerala.
Festivals
Kerala is the home of many colourful festivals. Most of them have a religious fervour inspired by Hindu mythology. Onam is the most typical of Kerala festivals, which coincides with the harvest season. It is now celebrated on astronomical New Year Day. Navarathri is celebrated as Saraswathi Pooja in Kerala. Maha Shivarathri is celebrated on the banks of Periyar River as a spectacular festival, which is compared to Kumbhamela. The 41 days festival, which coincides with Makaravilakku in Sabarimala Ayyappan temple, attracts lakhs of people from India and abroad. The Vallamkali or boat race is typical of Kerala. All the boat festivals have a religious origin except Nehru Trophy Boat race conducted in the Punnamada Lake. Vadakkumnatha temple at Thrissur celebrates Pooram festivals in April every year with an impressive procession of caparisoned elephants and display of unparalleled pyrotechnics. Main Christian festivals are Christmas and Easter. Maramon convention, held every year on the Pumba riverbed, is the biggest gathering of Christians in Asia. The Muslims celebrate Milade Shareef, Ramzan fasting, Id ul Fitr and Bakr-id.
Tourism
Kerala has emerged as the most acclaimed tourist destination in the country. Beaches, warm weather, back waters, hill stations, waterfalls, wild life, Ayurveda, year-round festivals and the diverse flora and fauna make Kerala a unique destination for tourists.
The Department of Tourism, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, District Tourism Promotion Council, Bekal Tourism Development Corporation, Local Government and Private Sector are the major players in the field. The thrust areas presently being looked into are for the development of village tourism, MICE tourism (meeting, incentives, conventions and events/exhibitions/trade shows), Heritage tourism, Eco tourism and Medical tourism. In Kerala, Thenmala is the major project undertaken under Eco-tourism. In co-ordination with the Forest Department, the infrastructure facilities have been created at Pakruvi.
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Kerela-Backwaters |
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