One of the 28 states in India is Kerala, which has undergone a tremendous transformation over the years and opted for sustainable development procedures through actively taken measures. In Less than three decades, the state has upgraded itself from a high infant mortality rate, high population growth rate, higher crude death rate to lower infant mortality rate, stable population growth rate and lower death rates.

What is Kerala Model Development?

The Kerala model of development is a combined effort and set of practices adopted by the government and the people of Kerala to achieve better productivity, low infant mortality rates, significantly lower population growth rates, increased life expectancy, better healthcare facilities. Although Kerala has a lower per capita income, still the state is compared to many developed nations and by adapting just radical improvement measures using lesser resources and lesser energy consuming methods. 

History of Kerala model of Development

Kerala has witnessed this growth rate in three stages:-

  • With the slow growth rate in the beginning and the application of new policies, there was a stable growth rate but the five-year plans had no impact on the overall.
  • The static growth rate in the middle stage where the initial stages were stagnant and the later two stages consisted of growth and expansion at a better speed. 
  • High growth rate after 2000, when the advancements were made in construction, gas, electricity, water, banking, real estate, and other areas. However, the agriculture and manufacturing industries were still requiring attention.

Features of Kerala Model of Development

  • The Kerala Model of development aims to provide quality life standards in contrast to the low per capita income 
  • A planned approach and set of resource redistribution programs have really helped in shaping the growth prospects of the state.
  • Increased people’s participation on the political fronts and a more and more dedicated team of members working actively toward promoting high life standards.
  • Mass activism and a very committed bunch of people have collaborated well with the democratic structure of the society
  • Kerala has a high human development index among the other states with a score of 0.782 as compared to the developed nations 
  • Focus on the Infant mortality rate, population growth rate, higher Life expectancy of the people, and advanced healthcare facilities.

Development of Kerala over the years

Health 

The state has evolved its health facilities to a great extent. With a wider growing number of medical institutions and the highest population bed ratio among all states, it has created a huge impact on the healthcare system. The state runs nutrition programs and almost 99 % of deliveries are done in the hospitals. Life expectancy is quite good and the birth rate is coming to a stable position.

Education

Education is a top property in Kerala with the literacy rate being the highest among other states. The huge amount of investments in the public and private institutions have made education a growing priority, a large number of students are going to schools. Kerala is the first state to get ICT enhanced education with smart classrooms in all public schools.in fact, Kerala ranked first in the school education quality index as per the NITI AAYOG in 2019. 

Human development index 

The human development index is an indicator of the life expectancy, education, and per capita of the country and the states. Kerala has topped in the domain of human development index with a score of 0.782 which is invariably the highest among the other states and even to other countries.

Criticism on Kerala Model of Development 

The Kerala model of development has faced severe criticism on many fronts. Here are some of them:- 

  • The Kerala Model has failed to provide employment opportunities to several people and this has forced people to work overseas.
  • The per capita income of the state is low and hence a lot of infrastructures have been built by borrowing funds. This leads to added instability.
  • Although the female literacy rate is good, still the number of women entering into governance is not yet achieved. Women are still restricted from achieving high-quality financial status.
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  • A lot of places have been preoccupied with the big buildings where no one stays. 
  • People are forced to live in crowded areas, as the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.

Amartya Sen’s View on the Kerala Model of Development

Professor Amartya Sen has recently stated that Kerala has its unique historical culture and has preserved itself till his time. Although the state had a poorly developed economy at the time of its formation, still it has managed to compete in per capita income with other states.  He says that he is very optimistic about the future of Kerala and expects better and more organized sectoral growth with a focus on all the lacking aspects.

Conclusion 

The Kerala model of development is sustainable because efforts have been made to limit population growth and social inequality and to use the resources on a limited basis. The development of Kerala has just begun and more needs to be explored in all areas of sustainability. Also, the high literacy rate and rapid social development are the key factors in a change in the material output of the state.