Kerala stands apart from the rest

This weeks Outlook magazine had a special coverage on the southern states of India, on how they fare well in comparison to other states (mainly North Indians states) of India. The results hardly surprise anyone, because the north south differences in terms of human development (not in terms of the urban prosperity and stock market index) is quite wide. But among southern states itself, the little Kerala stands way apart in almost all of the development index. This can be confusing to many, because the perception many have about Kerala is one that of an industry freed and unemployment sprouting region. It is no denying fact that, Kerala's main problem over the years have been unemployment, mainly because of the lack of private industries. But, I am interested to see how an ordinary human being living in a remote village fares. Is he able to live a decent life, freed of violence and exploitation? Is he in a position to support his/her children's education? Does he find comfort in himself or herself within the social circle? Can he afford a house? Do they access to other basic needs of life? Is he getting basic medical/health support from Government? As far as I am concerned, these should judge the well being of a state, because that is the best index of its people.

Not surprisingly, Kerala is miles apart from the other states, in all of these. It would not offer any surprise to anyone who lived in Kerala. I must confess that, the left policies over the years helped in drafting a grass root level development program emphasizing on such welfare based indexes. Eduction reforms, health reforms, land reforms and even the literacy drive all are massive programs initiated by the left governments in Kerala.
See the statistics from [1]
Also A Head For Numbers
The South is streets ahead. They earn more, they live well and they feel better too.

conomic Indicators
Karnataka, 7.2%, tops growth	A.P	T.N	Kerala	Karnataka	INDIA	U.P#	Gujarat
Per capita net state domestic product (SDP) in Rs (2004-05)	23,153	25,965	27,048	23,945	23,222	11,477	28,355
Percentage share in total FDI approved (1991-03)	4.61	8.53	0.53	8.25	NA	1.69	6.47
Average annual growth of state domestic product in per cent (1993-94 to 2003-04)**	5.5	4.7	5.0	7.2	5.6*	3.2	5.7
Per capita SDP in per cent (1993-94 to 2003-04)**	4.4	3.7	4.1	5.7	3.8*	0.9	3.6
Percentage of population below poverty line (1999-00)	15.77	21.12	12.72	20.04	26.10	31.15	14.07
Range of min wages for unskilled workers in Rs (2005)	45-119	54-150	72-189	63-103	61-115	57-110	50-99
Job-seekers registered with employment exchanges in thousands (2003)	2674.3	5006.4	3635.1	1784.3	41388.7	1927.8	998.1
Percentage employment share (public/private, 2001-02)	71.3/28.7	64.1/35.9	52.8/47.2	58.7/41.3	69.0/31.0	79/21	53.6/46.4
Percentage of urban population (2001)	27.30	44.04	25.96	33.99	27.81	20.78	37.36
*at constant (1990-00) prices between 1999-00 and 2003-04 **at constant (1993-94) prices #Includes Uttarakhand in data from 2000-01 and earlier
How Women-Friendly?
In TN, 69.2% have a say in family matters	A.P	T.N	Kerala	Karnataka	INDIA	U.P	Gujarat
No. of females per 1,000 males (’01 census)	978	987	1058	965	933	898	920
Juvenile (0-6) sex ratio (2001)	964	939	963	949	927	916	878
Mean age for marriage (2004)	19.0	21.5	22.9	20.0	20.4	20.4	20.5
Female literacy rate (2001)	50.4	64.4	87.7	56.9	53.7	42.2	57.8
Currently married women who usually participate in household decisions in per cent	55.7	69.2	62.5	47.4	52.5	48.2	56.7
Women who have experienced spousal violence in per cent	35.2	41.9	16.4	20.0	37.2	42.4	27.6
Percentage of women with more than 10 years of education	22	32	49	28	22	18	24
Percentage of women’s employment to total employment (2003)	20.5	30.2	39.3	31.2	18.1*	9.8	12.7
* 2002
Others
Less than 1% live in slums in Kerala	A.P	T.N	Kerala	Karnataka	INDIA	U.P	Gujarat
Percentage with regular exposure to media (TV, radio, newspaper at least once a week)	87	94	97	90	80	76	84
Percentage of slum population to total urban population (2001)	24.9	10.4	0.8	7.8	15	12.70	9.90
Teledensity per 100 persons (May 2007)	20.7	24.2*	35.1	26.2	19.3	11.38	25.5
Total road length (km) per 100 sq km (2002)	71.3	127.7	386.8	79.5	74.7	103.1	70.2
Voting percentage (2004 elections)	69.95	60.8	71.45	65.1	58.1	48.16	45.2
* excluding Chennai
Health
In TN, 81% get vaccination	A.P	T.N	Kerala	Karnataka	INDIA	U.P	Gujarat
Life expectancy at birth (1999-2003, M/F)	62.2/64.8	64.3/66.5	70.9/76	62.9/66.4	61.8/63.5	59.6/58.7	62.5/64.6
Number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births in the last five years	53	31	15	43	57	73	50
Institutional deliveries in the last three years in per cent	69	90	100	67	41	22	55
Mothers who had at least three antenatal care visits for their last birth in per cent	86.0	96.5	93.9	79.3	50.7	26.3	64.9
Vaccination coverage in per cent	46	81	75	55	44	23	45
Children age 6-35 months who are anaemic in per cent	79	72.5	55.7	82.7	79.2	85.1	80.1
Population served per government hospital bed	2,351	849	1,172	1,321	2,257	5,646	1,544
Children under 3 who are underweight in per cent	37	33	29	41	46	47	47
Per capita expenditure on health in Rs (2001-02)	1,039	846	1,858	712	997	1,124	816
Unless specified, data in tables are the latest available, for 2005-06
Well-Being/Prosperity
In Kerala, 84.1% live in pucca houses	A.P	T.N	Kerala	Karnataka	INDIA	U.P	Gujarat
Percentage of households that:
Have a television	50.3	53.1	67.7	53.6	44.2	34	53.8
Have a motorised vehicle	14.6	22.6	24.7	20.4	18.6	16.6	30.2
Live in a pucca house	40.4	69.6	84.1	49.8	41.4	27.3	56.4
Have access to a toilet facility	42.4	42.9	96	46.5	44.5	33.1	54.6
Use piped drinking water	67.8	84.2	24.6	57.4	42.0	10.3	72.7
Have electricity	88.4	88.6	91	89.3	67.9	42.8	89.3
Education
100% transition to upper primary in TN	A.P	T.N	Kerala	Karnataka		U.P	Gujarat
Literacy rate (2001 census)	60.5	73.5	90.9	66.6		56.3	69.1
Percentage of schools with one teacher	05.7	7.8	0.1	8.8		16.3	5.7
No. of students for each teacher	24.0	39	26	32		66	36
Transition rate from primary to upper primary in per cent	89.6	100.7*	86.6	89.7		57.62	82.7
Average classrooms in each school	03.9	5.6	10.5	4.5		3.4	4.8
Average number of instructional days	212	217	181	225		194	210
Percentage who go on to Grade V	99.2	104.2*	108.5*	98.2		56.6	78.9
Net primary enrolment ratio	75.6	94.1	64.1	95.6		90	75.9
Dropouts (Grade I-V) in per cent	00.4	-6.8*	5.8	2.2		11.9	2.2
* Indicates higher intake of students than dropouts
Sources: Various central and state govt publications, including National Health Profile 2006, National Family Health Survey 2005-06 and State Report Cards 2005 of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration

[1]http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070716&fname=HThe+Stats&sid=1