Reviving the ‘Kerala Model’ of development

Contact Counsellor

Last Updated10/02/2022

Kerala has long been recognised to have done many things right.
The ‘Kerala Model’ seemed to show impressive levels of human development indicators in health, education and quality of life, comparable even to some rich countries.
It could be achieved without a correspondingly high level of income.

What is the solution for exporting our unemployment and becoming over-dependent on remittances?
Can we build high growth and strong human development indicators on such a flimsy basis?
Is it sustainable?

The Kerala model is now under threat from emerging social and environmental risks.
Some of the very strengths of Kerala’s approach have become sources of vulnerability.
In the face of rising risks, the Kerala model needs to be revitalised.
Kerala has India’s highest literacy rate despite ranking only the ninth-highest in per capita income among 28 States.
As new global risks emerge in areas from health to climate change, Kerala’s policies need to be bolstered and new challenges deftly managed.
Severely hit by COVID-19, Kerala’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) contracted over 2019-20 and 2021-22, and unemployment at 9% is much higher than the 6% national average.
The space to revive Kerala’s sagging economy is limited because of a high fiscal deficit, around 4% of GSDP.
These difficulties could be mitigated by smarter socio-economic investments, attention to good governance and a far better stewardship of the environment.
Kerala can develop as a knowledge economy, improve the quality of higher education and vocational training to meet the requirements of a modern workforce.
Also it can build on successes in tourism and hospitality services.

The focus should be on the quantity as well as quality of health and education and ensuring that interventions reach all segments of the population.
Basic education should continue to be a priority but it is higher education that presents a pivotal opportunity on the global stage for Kerala.
Kerala could become a regional centre for tertiary education in areas such as marine biology, health care and digital technology, where it has considerable expertise.
Digital tools are being widely used in Kerala’s COVID-19 response for example, application of India’s eSanjeevani-a telemedicine portal, offering psychosocial support for those struggling with the virus or its after-effects.
Such approaches can build on and expand in learnings, for instance from Singapore’s new generation of health apps and technologies.

Serious gaps are growing in Kerala’s health system.
A pandemic response that laid a stress on mask-wearing and social distancing and tracing got off to a vigorous early start.
Infections and deaths skyrocketed in 2021, partly as the population is highly mobile and also because Kerala let its guard down in key areas of surveillance.
Testing has been widespread which helped reveal infections more transparently.
Sustaining the edge on health care should be high on the policy agenda.
Another strength that needs to be sustained involves institutions, building on the State’s grassroots organisation, participatory governance and a free press.
The Public Affairs Index 2020 ranked Kerala as the best-governed large State in 2019 on the basis of 50 indicators reflecting equity, growth and sustainability.
Decentralised governance - a strong grass-roots-level network of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), volunteer groups and Kudumbashree members helped in pandemic management.
But Kerala needs to be more agile in public expenditure on health and developing local self delivery systems.

An asset that turned into a worrying flash point is the State’s rich but fragile ecology that requires heightened protection.
Decades of ecological degradation amplified the impact of the 2018 floods in Kerala that took some 483 lives, displaced 14.5 lakh people, and cost over 40,000 crore.
It is vital that the Madhav Gadgil Committee report is adopted with the minimal necessary modifications to protect vulnerable populations.
The ecological disaster across the Western Ghats needs to be confronted and investments made to repair forests, river systems, water bodies, and flood plains.
The State needs a bold programme of forest restoration in keeping with the commitments on forest protection from over 130 nations at COP26.
Kerala urgently needs to revive its network of rivers, their tributaries and streams.
Sand Mining needs to be stopped until the sandy riverbeds are restored.
Water management - by periodic release of water from the dams, as indicated by the World Commission on Dams.
This with desilting of dams could control the quantity of run-off into the dams and the need for sudden releases that exacerbate floods.
Kerala’s supply of fresh water is being jeopardised by inadequate facilities for water containment.
Water quality and people’s health - hurt by domestic waste and industrial effluents, calling for better water treatment.

A reinvigorated Kerala model will do well to recognise the symbiotic links among social outcomes, environmental management and participatory governance and take actions that cut across these areas.
It is time for revival. Need to open mental horizons to the world, outgrow our shopworn ideologies and create investment and business-friendly conditions for sustainable development.
One prerequisite for achieving sustainable development would be to change the perceptions of the State in our extremely politicised environment.
Political parties can differ on the precise policies and investments needed, but they must come together on a platform that transcends their differences.
Sree Narayana Guru famously said, “matham ethayalum, manushyan nannayalmathi - whatever his religion, it is enough that a man be good.”
Similarly “rashtriyam ethayalum, rashtram nannayalmathi - whatever the politics, it is enough that the country be better.”