Thursday 28 August 2008

IT SECTOR IN KERALA -AN OVERVIEW






Introduction

Early after its independence, India had adopted the model of a planned economy as the means of directing development efforts. Even today, our entire development effort is through a series of Five-Year Plans undertaken by the planning organs of the Government, both central and provincial.

Since all planning was based on the availability of statistics, data collection by the Government has been oriented towards feeding into the planning process for over half a century. Since the planning process is driven by a number of other priorities, data has often been a casualty in this process. It would not be far off the mark to state that accuracy, level of desegregation, and timeliness of most of the data that is available for public use is dubious. However, in most cases, there being no parallel source that can validate the official sources of data, all actors-be it the industry or civil society-is forced to use this data.

It is important to realize that the role of data has undergone substantial change the world over. Arising from the recognition that data is crucial to decision making-whether operational, tactical or strategic-organizations ranging from NGOs to corporations to governments are creating structures to generate, capture, collate and present data. The availability of electronic media has played a crucial role in both capturing and presenting data.

Structurally too, there are changes taking place in data. As the role of statistics move from 'data' to 'information' to 'knowledge', the repositories too, evolve from databases transform themselves to information- and knowledge bases. This note looks at the specifics of data requirements for the Information Technology (IT) sector and tries to identify the specific requirements of this sector.


IT Sector: The Two Dimensions

IT is characterized by its two distinct roles: one, that of an industry, sharing attributes common to other industries (for example, employment generation, capital investments, or contribution to domestic income). In its other role, IT is a service, catalyst and tool, much like other instruments such as education or health services that seek to improve the quality of life of the citizens of a country.

Considering that much of the future of governance is closely coupled with computerization of the citizen-government interface, this latter dimension is immensely important in improving the responsiveness, transparency and effectiveness of the process of governance.

Data Requirements: An Overview


Why do we need data? In the case of the IT industry, there are several reasons why accurate, timely, disaggregated data is crucial to the development of the industry.

Availability of data will enable all stakeholders to:


gather insights regarding the status and health of the industry;


determine weaknesses and address them using appropriate policy instruments;


facilitate comparison with other states or countries to determine our degree of competitiveness;


compare our own performance over several years;


plan for the future; and


provide opportunities for entrepreneurs.

What drives the requirement of data for the IT sector? It would be important to examine this question from the two dimensions of IT as outlined earlier:

IT as an industry

number of industrial units


total domestic and export turnover


sub-sectors (eg., IT, IT Enabled Services)


employment generated


capital outlay


market analysis


infrastructure availability (eg., connectivity)


cost structures
Forecasting of crucial indicators based on their current trends needs to be another important area of focus.

IT As An Enabler

The information requirements are less clear in this case, but no less important. Some of the metrics that need to be available include:



penetration of computers (availability and access for citizens)


network penetration (availability and bandwidth)


availability of repair and maintenance services


availability of software development services


training institutions based on level of training imparted


digital literacy (at least for special groups such as teachers or students)


percentage of applications in vernacular languages


availability of digital content of relevance to the target groups
Although the conventional urban-rural divide is much less pronounced in Kerala, it would be interesting to have this information separately for rural & urban Kerala as also for forward and backward districts and for males and females.
4.0. An Action Plan

The data requirements outlined above requires a non-trivial quantum of effort. While accuracy is desirable for any kind of data collection, the IT industry will demand data of considerably higher degree of accuracy-if the data does not reflect "the whole truth, and nothing but the truth", there is a high chance of it being rejected outright.

This degree of precision requires a combination of two strategies:


a carefully planned out sample survey based on stratified sampling


collation of information from relevant departments
The Government may need to partner with industry associations and/or grassroots level organizations to do this job better. The Computer Society of India (CSI)-a national not-for-profit professional Society set up in 1965-is presently in the process of designing a sample survey to assess the penetration of Information Communication Technologies in rural and urban Kerala, for the IT Department, Govt. of Kerala. This may be a good starting point.

Conclusion

Data is of undeniable importance to the development process. There is very little baseline information available for the IT industry today. However, the IT Policy document released last year does not mention anything about the creation of a data repository for the industry. It is important that we recognize and address this information gap, and provide support to the Government and private efforts to build databases in this crucial sector.


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EMPLOYMENT ABROAD-FEATURES OF KERALA MODEL

Introduction

The regional economy of Kerala has witnessed a structural change in terms of income and employment during the last four decades. These changes may summarize as follows: (1) The share of employment in tertiary sector has gone up, but the structural change has not led to a reduction in its share in the primary sector. (2) There has not been much increase in the share of employment in secondary sector. (3) Employment in Kerala is still informal in nature comprising mostly self-employment and casual employment. (4) Economic development has failed to generate more employment opportunities in the organised public and private sectors. (5) There has been a substantial increase in the incidence of unemployment, especially educated unemployment. (6) The unemployed youth are forced to migrate to other parts of India and abroad during the last three decades; and (7) The unprecedented rate of emigration and the consequent inflow of large volume of remittances, has significant influence on the labour market, consumption, savings, investment and income distribution.

While the above issues of development are intricate, we do not have an adequate database to analyse them meaningfully. This paper attempts to review the major sources of data relating to employment, unemployment and migration in Kerala.


Employment and Unemployment.

The major sources of data on employment and unemployment are decennial population Censuses, surveys of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSS) on employment and unemployment, data collected on per Employment Market Information (EMI) scheme, surveys of the Department of Economics and Statistics and data of the Employment Exchanges relating to job seekers.

The detailed and comprehensive source of data relating to employment and its pattern is the decennial population Census. The Economic Tables of the Census categorise 'workers' according to occupation, and are classified according to educational level. In 1961 Census, a person was considered as 'worker' based on his participation in any economically productive work. In 1971, 'worker' was defined as a person whose main activity was participation in any economically productive work. In 1981 and 1991 Censuses 'workers' were classified into 'main' and 'marginal' workers. The Census provides occupational and industrial classification of the workers. District-wise and taluk-wise classification of cultivators, agricultural labourers, household industry workers and other workers according to sex, age and residential status are available in the Census. A major limitation of the Census is that it does not provide detailed estimates on unemployed persons.

The surveys of N.S.S. on employment and unemployment are another major source of data. These surveys give estimate on employment and unemployment and their pattern, in terms of rural-urban, male, female, age, level of education etc. Besides giving occupational and industrial categories of workers, the surveys provide other categories, viz. casually employed, self employed and regularly employed. The N.S.S. Surveys give comprehensive data relating to unemployment. The N.S.S. uses three definitions to measure employment and unemployment viz. usual-status, current-weekly status and current-day status. Using current-weekly status definition, the N.S.S. has estimated that 7.1 percent of male and 12.9 percent of the female labour force are unemployed in rural areas as in 1993-94. The corresponding rate for urban areas was 9.3 percent for male and 22.2 percent for females. The survey has ranked Kerala as the second highest in terms of rate of unemployment in India. The survey results also suggest that the incidence of unemployment was very high among educated, female, youth and urban areas.

The Employment Market Information (EMI) scheme of the Ministry of Labour gives estimate of employment in the organised sector, the industry wise details etc. It covers the entire public sector and non- agricultural establishments in the private sector employing 10 or more persons. Providing further break up according to parameters such as, location, level of education etc, can still enhance the usefulness of such data.

The surveys conducted by the Department of Economics and Statistics also provide data on employment and unemployment. Two notable surveys are Survey of Housing and Employment (1980) and Report of the Survey on Unemployment in Kerala (1987). The latter report gives an estimate on open unemployment and under employment.

Since data are scattered in a number of publications and sources, lack of access the major problem faced by data users. Hence, it is suggested that the Department of Economics and Statistics or State Planning Board should initiate publication of the summary results of the Economic Tables of Census, N.S.S. Reports on Employment and Unemployment and the other relevant sources.


Migration: Data Source and Review of Studies

1. Official Data Sources

Migration may be classified into two categories, viz. internal migration and emigration. The internal migrants or out-migrants are defined as usual residents of a household who migrated out of Kerala and were living outside Kerala but within India. The emigrants are defined as usual residents of a household who had migrated out of Kerala and were living outside India. In a densely populated, land scarce, industrially backward economy like Kerala, migration has been the basic factor which determine the economic well being of people. The data sources on migration may be classified into three viz. Census reports, surveys conducted by Department of Economics and Statistics, and surveys conducted by Research institutions. The Census gives data on internal migration using place of birth and place of last residence definitions. Birthplace data given in the census offers a means to analyse not only the in-out, and net flows of migration but also the destination of migrants from Kerala and places of origin of migrants to Kerala. Persons enumerated outside the State and reporting Kerala as their place of last residence are treated as out-migrants from Kerala. The 1981 and 1991 Censuses have given detailed data on internal migration. But the census has not given much data on emigration. A major source of data about emigration is the surveys conducted by the Department of Economics and Statistics. The DES, survey on Housing and Employment is the first survey which gives an estimate of the out migrants and emigrants from Kerala (D.E.S. 1982). The survey provides a district wise and destination wise estimate of out migrants and emigrants. The surveys on the utilisation of Gulf Remittances in 1987 and Report migration survey 1992-93 are the other reports which give data on migration. Though these two surveys give much details about migration and impact of remittances, the surveys failed to give a reliable estimate about the stock of emigrants and return emigrants.

The DES report on activity status and rehabilitation of migrants of 2002 gives a detailed account of the general features of migrant households, estimate of the emigrants and return emigrants, a district wise and destination wise migrants, reasons of return and the number of persons died abroad. The Survey estimates the total number of emigrants from Kerala as 11.41 lakhs in 2000. The Survey covered 1.31 lakh households representing all the 14 districts. Zachariah et. al (1999), who conducted a study based on primary data collected from a sample of 10,000 households from all the taluks in the State, made taluk-wise estimate of different categories of migrants viz. out migrants, return out migrants, emigrants and return emigrants. In addition to a destination wise estimate of the four categories of migrants, the study has examined internal migration, emigration, characteristics of population of the sample households, trends and patterns of migration and return migration and consequences of migration. This survey provides the most comprehensive picture on all aspects of out migration and emigration. It also has definitional and methodological novelty.

As already mentioned, here also the crucial problem relates to data availability. The DES survey-2000 is not yet published; Zachariah et. al report is yet to be published.

2. Review of Studies

Emigration from Kerala has received the attention of economists, sociologists and demographers. A review of the literature on emigration to West Asia shows that most of the studies dealt mainly with the profiles and socio-economic backgrounds of emigration, processes of emigration, economic and social impact of remittances and issues and problems of return emigrants. The studies conducted during the late 1970's and the early 1980's were mainly micro level studies examining the profiles of migrants, their socio-economic background, causes of migration and the impact of remittances based on village surveys (Prakash, 1978; Mathew and Nair, 1978; Kurien, 1979; Radhakrishnan and Ibrahim, 1981; Agro Economic Research Centre, 1982). Impact of Gulf Migration on Kerala society, especially the impact of male emigration on women and family, is another topic in which a few studies were conducted by sociologists (Gulati, 1983; 1987; 1993; Sekhar, 1997). The economic impact of Gulf migration on Kerala is a topic, which attracted considerable attention from economists and demographers (Nair, 1989; Issac, 1993; Prakash, 1998 a; 1998b; Zacharia, Mathew and Irudaya Rajan 1999).

Since the mid-1970's, the factor that had the greatest impact on Kerala's economy especially on labour market, consumption, savings, investment, poverty, income distribution and economic growth has been the Gulf migration and migrant remittances (Prakash, 1998). A similar conclusion was arrived by another study based on a state wise survey (Zachariah, Mathew and Irudaya Rajan, 2000). Issues connected with return emigration such as the causes of return, socio-economic background of the returnees, the current activity status of the returnees and the problems faced by them is another area where a number of studies are available (Nair, 1986; Nambiar, 1995; Prakash, 2000; Zachacriah, Nair and Irudaya Rajan, 2001).

Besides the above, a study was conducted about Keralite emigrants in United Arab Emirates based on the data collected from UAE. The study examined the changes in labour demand, changes in emigration policy and the employment, wages and working conditions of Keralite emigrants in UAE (Zachariah et.al).

Conclusion

The official database as well as the few independent studies cited above, demonstrate the presence of a rich source of data, atleast in some elementary form. However, a major problem faced by the users, planners and policy makers is their availability in a usable form. Therefore, it is important that such data are made available in a usable form.

KERALA EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM-A CASE STUDY

Introduction

Kerala has a unique place in the educational map of India. Educational initiatives spearheaded by various agencies for the last one century made Kerala the most literate state in India. The educational efforts during this period sought to make education mass- based social good; in the new economic paradigm, it is being commodified. Under some form of planning, one would require data on the various aspects of the educational sector and on the relationship this sector has with the rest of the economy. However, educational sector has not trodden a well planned path. It has all along been "a drift with a current".

Education in Kerala, under liberalization, is being commercialisied and commodified down from the kindergarten to the higher stages. This has resulted in rather absurd situation. During a period when the number of children in the school-going age has been on the decline, hundreds of new private English medium schools are cropping up in every nook and corner of the State. At the same time, more than a thousand schools have been declared uneconomic. At the higher levels institutions offering new courses crop up while the old ones whither according to whims and winds of the market in and outside the country. This happened in the face of weakening production base and mounting unemployment. In this scenario the purpose of educational statistics per se seems dubious. Sources of Educational Data

The major sources of educational data in Kerala are the following.

1. The Population Census

The decennial population census gives some information on the educational status of the population, such as rates of literacy and stocks of manpower according to levels of education. They also furnish information on the distribution of population by age, sex, employment, occupation and industry. The 1961 Census furnishes information on education and classified population into workers and non-workers by educational levels and industrial categories. The information is available separately for men and women and for rural and urban areas. The educational classifications used for rural and urban areas was into: (a) Illiterate; (b) Literate without educational level; (c) Primary or junior basic; and (d) Matriculation and above.

The District Census Handbook are a source of regional data. It comprises of three parts: Part A containing general information of the District, its progress in various fields, amenities available and analysis of population by various demographic characteristics. Part B consists of census tables and Part C comprises of village and town directories with primary census abstracts (PCA) up to the level of kara/ muri/desham for rural areas and for enumeration block level for urban areas. In the 1971 census the pattern of D.C.H. was modified by presenting data by panchayat-wise. The 1981 and1991 pattern of D.C.H. was the same. But the 1991 D.C.H. for the first time in the census history provides details of panchyats by ward wise instead of kara/ muri / desom. District Census Handbooks also give information on management-wise and section wise availabilities of the educational facilities.

Certain limitations of the Census data may be noted. Census being a highly time-bound operation, one cannot ensure the correctness of the response except on a few items. Further, estimates of educationally qualified personnel on a sample basis may not be reliable for small regions because of sampling errors. Again educational data collected, compiled and published do not touch upon a variety of aspects of school education like enrolment, expenditure, teacher strength, the number of aided and unaided schools etc.

2. Ministry of Education Data

The Ministry of Education, Govt. of India is the principal source of annual statistics. The Department of Public Instruction is in charge of collection of the data on behalf of the Ministry. The Proforma used for collecting information contains the following :


2.1. ES.I. Numerical Data

This data relates to information on :


a.name of the institution


b.nature of area (rural or urban)


c.type of institution (vocational / technical/ special)


d.type of management and pupils served. (boys/girls/mixed)


e.number of students sex wise (separately for SC and ST)


f.name of the courses offered and


number of teachers- sex wise, section / subject / full time / part time and trained and untrained (separately for SC and ST )
2.2. ES.II. Financial Data

It gives data on income by sources (recurring and non- recurring) and expenditure (recurring and non -recurring) for the financial year ending on the 31st of March.

2.3. ES. III Examination Results

Information is available on the annual aid supplementary results in terms of the numbers appeared and the number passed - course wise and sex wise.

2.4. ES.IV Numerical data on SC/STs

Since the numerical data on the enrolment in schools give no information on stagnation and dropout, from 1981 onwards a register-Register of Statistical data on Wastage in School Education has been sent to every school with instructions to enter in it on a continuous basis such information. It contains the following items:-

1.total enrolment in a standard


2.number left on T.C. during the year.


3.net enrolment (a-b)


4.enrolment on last working day


5.number discontinued (c-d)


6.number failed in the class and


number promoted to the next class
In the section for Standard X, instead of items (f) and (g) above, the number of pupils presented for examination and the number passed are given.

3. Collection of Data

The educational data have to flow through a long channel from the institution to the D.P.I. and thence to the Ministry of Education. The primary and the middle schools send their returns to the Assistant Educational Officers, from where they are forwarded to the District Educational Officers. The D.E.Os are also responsible for collection of returns for high schools, teacher training schools, vocational and technical schools and special education schools.

Apart from the inordinate delay incurred in sending the consolidated figures, the overall picture of the data collection in Kerala is satisfactory when juxtaposed with the performance of several other states in the country. Notwithstanding, there are problems of comparability of data both at the national level because of different patterns of education prevailing in the different state as well as within the state because of frequent changes in the items in the proforma.

4. All India Educational Surveys

Quinquennial surveys of the NCERT is an additional source of data. So far six All India Educational Survey reports are published with the latest one in 1993.It provides information on the geographical access to school education in different states. The availability of physical facilities like nature of school buildings, basic amenities in schools, incentive schemes, availability of educational inputs, teachers qualifications, status etc. are reported. Income and expenditure of different schools by management wise are also available.

4. Data Gaps

On the whole the database of education in Kerala is satisfactory in a relative sense. However, for many years, the pattern and content of data have trodden a stereotyped path. Data does not throw light into the changes that have been taking place; the new initiatives, challenges, problems and prospects of the system thrown up by paradigm shift in the economy. The following are some of the major limitations.

In Kerala, the educational statistics collected and published by the Directorate of Public Instruction is the most reliable source of data. But this information is not complete. In the first place, the general information on the number of schools has taken into account only schools in the organized sector. On the large number of unaided schools, no information is available regarding their number, status, scheme of syllabus, enrolment of students, fee structure, number of teachers, their qualification and tenure.

The enrolment figures presented are inaccurate particularly at the level of primary education. Enrolment figures at this level are likely to be inflated for two reasons: first, since elementary education is free and the system of 'whole pass' prevails there is no urge to strike off the names of habitually absent pupils from the register and second, since the security of employment of teachers at the school level depends on enrollment reaching a given number, to satisfy the fixed teacher student ratio, there is likelihood of over reporting of enrollment for fear of retrenchment, transfers or getting included in the category of protected teachers posted to schools in far away places.

Information on management of schools also is not complete. Private managements in the aided sector have different status like individual ownership, Trusts and Corporates. No data is furnished to find out the status of the aided and unaided schools in Kerala. Again the community wise distribution of managements is not attempted to identify the major communities in the educational sector. Absence of this data leads to unequal distribution of schools among different communities. The corporate school system and the total number of schools, strength of students and staff under this category is completely left out in the educational statistics of the State.

No information is available on the professional qualification of a teacher. Data on academic qualifications and training of teachers, total number of sanctioned posts in each year, the number of new recruitments in each year, the number of teachers retiring in each year, the number of teachers leaving the profession due to any reasons, the number of teachers staying outside the village where the school is located, the housing facilities available to teachers, the total beneficiaries, the average experience of teachers, the number of teachers teaching the subject of their specialization etc, are not available.

Educational statistics again do not furnish information on the physical facilities of a school. These include total land area, area of the school building, ownership of school premises, the adequacy of amenities in schools, expansion potential of a school etc. The income and expenditure statement of schools either in the aided or unaided category provide no accurate data. Information on fee structure is totally absent in all educational data. The fee and non-fee component in fee structure, private expenditure on education, the recurring and non-recurring expenditures of schools etc are some of the missing data in this category.

A serious limitation of the educational statistics is the absence of a co-ordinating agency to collect data from different types and stages of education, the paucity of arrangements to publish the data and to avoid delays in publishing.

In the highly volatile and unpredictable market the official data system may have several constraints. This suggests the need for an autonomous body to collect and collate data, and to present it in a meaningful fashion.



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FISHERIES SECTOR OF KERALA-A STUDY

Introduction

The fisheries sector of Kerala had been incorporated to the world markets around early sixties due to the increased demand for processed seafood. This integration, an outcome of a technological revolution in the harvesting, processing and marketing spheres in the rural economy, provided ample opportunities and challenges to the millions of domestic producers, exporters and the government alike (Platteau, 1992). The increase in the volume of marine fish landed by various producers, the increase in the quantities of seafood processed and exported, the volume of foreign exchange earned through exports, the economic opportunities generated through ancillary industrialisation and the volume of employment generated by these activities are pointed out as the positive benefits of market integration. It is noted, however, that these economic benefits have accrued only to a few fishermen while majority of the artisanal fisher folk are still at the mercy of nature and world markets. Development initiatives in this sector extending over four decades have led to over capitalisation in the harvesting and processing activities. Large numbers of fisher women are displaced from their traditional occupations. Degradation of various fisheries and the conflicts over the allocation of property rights among artisanal, modern and the deep-sea fishing fleets have also been reported. Kerala fishermen also demanded the eviction of all fleets belonging to other states from their territorial waters, as, such operations are found to be harmful to the interests of domestic producers and fish workers. Careful management of the dynamics of fisheries development hence becomes imperative for ensuring sustainable and equitable distribution of economic benefits to various stakeholders from fishing and fish marketing.

Good Governance and Database

Market is largely responsible for disorders in the domestic economy. However, many people believe that good governance is the responsibility of the state. Unfortunately, most nation states in developing world are not rich enough to manage the degradation of natural resources and environment assets. However, many natural resource economists now believe that the state should initiate a partnership of governance and lead /guide this process of governance that ensures sustainable use of resources (Kurien, 1998;Berkes, et.al, 2001). Good governance of the fisheries sector demands a variety of information about the resources, their habitats, the markets, producers, consumers, traders, the quality of products produced, processed, etc. and the lack of such information restricts the authority's management capabilities.

This paper examines the present nature of the database on the Kerala's fishery economy and evaluates its ability to provide an understanding of the issues of fisheries governance. It also identifies the gaps and suggests some guidelines for the improvement of this database. The paper is divided into three sections. Section 1 provides a simple model of the Kerala's fishery economy in relation with the world markets. Section 2 discusses the nature of the existing database and points out the major limitations for forward planning and management. Section 3 deals with some suggestions for improvement.
Fishery: An Evolving System

The fishery economy of Kerala had been traditionally conceptualised as a network of relationships in the realms of production, consumption and exchange (Kurien, 1974). Production and exchange relations in this rudimentary economy are influenced by the growth in both internal and external consumption. The consumers and producers are self-seeking utility/profit maximizers and the state is responsible for regulating these relationships. This famous neo-classical economic modeling of the fisheries economy of Kerala demands the collection of data on some crucial variables of these relationships to introduce the strings of control and forward planning. This conceptualisation demanded data collection of some major indicators on production; prices and fish consumption and the task of data collection were entrusted to the Department of Fisheries.


Until early sixties, the fishery economy of Kerala was largely influenced by forces of internal demand mainly from the rural and nearby urban markets due to the non-availability of a reliable modern processing technology. The Blue Revolution technologies have revolutionised these relationships and started influencing internal relations in many significant ways. Ever since, the external relations became crucial for the domestic producers, traders and consumers.

The opening up of village economies to the world markets has significant bearing on the domestic ecosystems too. They are now being exploited intensively than before and information is needed to document the nature of such production and exchange activities. As these ecosystems are still used by domestic producers and traders as a source of livelihood, information is also required on the nature of sustainability of these systems. The limits and capabilities of these ecosystems to sustain economic activities also became crucial. Ideally, the data generating agencies are expected to collect data on such variables. We shall argue below that the data generating machinery of the Kerala government is not structured to undertake such a challenging task. Its flexibility is limited and most often fails to establish the necessary partnerships with other stakeholders for introducing cost effective data gathering and management strategies.


Database on Kerala Fishery

The existing database relevant for the fisheries economy of Kerala has been generated by five sources: the State Fisheries Department, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), the Fisheries Survey of India (FSI), the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and NGOs.

Department of Fisheries

The Department of Fisheries was responsible for the collection and dissemination of fisheries data. The task of data collection was organised through the fishery officers located in the district offices of the Department. These were tabulated at Trivandrum and supplied to planners on request. Since the process of data collection, tabulation and dissemination is expensive; the department has limited its liability to the collection of a few critical variables. Department collects and publishes data on the activities of both capture and culture fisheries. The following chart shows the nature of capture fisheries statistics collected by the Department.

Against criticisms on the reliability and coverage of these data, the task of estimating marine fish landings was later handed over to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. The Department of Fisheries still collects and publishes data on inland fish landings. Despite criticisms raised by fishery scientists about the modes of data collection and reliability of the published data, the Department still continues this data collection as a routine exercise.




Price and Consumption Data

The price data by the department of Economics and Statistics and the data on fish consumption were collected by the National Sample Survey (NSS) as part of various rounds of expenditure surveys. The State Planning Board uses these sets of data for planning purposes.

Culture Fisheries

In the case of culture fisheries, the Fisheries Department collects information through its District Fishery Offices and sometimes through institutions viz. the Agency for the Development of Aquaculture (ADAK), the Brackish Water Fish Farmers' Development Agency (BFFDA) and the Fish Farmers Development Agency (FFDA)) exclusively promoted for the development of such activities. The following chart shows the nature of data available





A critical examination of the database reveals that the information provided by these sources are not enough to understand the crucial issues faced by the sector. For instance, we still have to know, the distribution of various culture systems by area, size and the level of input applications and volume of output levels of these different systems. Similarly, information on the nature of trade practices, credit relations and involvements of intermediaries and merchants are inadequate. The data relating to the indigenous ornamental fisheries and the millions of disorganised rural producers is absent. There exists no mechanism within the Fisheries Department to collate this information and learn from these sources.

By institutionalising such a process of data collection at the Department level, the Government was, in fact, limiting its liability of governance to the commercially viable activities of the sector. Reduction in the level of production and value is viewed seriously by the State and appropriate policies were designed to increase production or value. The simple profit maximising model behind such data collection process is well known and needs no further elaboration.

A major critique of this mode of data collection came from the scientific community in early 1970s. Scientists argued that since fishery is an evolving system with diverse forms of biota, habitat and human users as integral components (Shackle, 1985), detailed database is required for the management of these resources. International fishery managers suggested the collection of data from the biological, economic and social realms of the fishery system for the scientific management of fisheries. Management experts and social ecologists (Berkes and Folke, 1998) emphasized the need to view resource users as an integral component of the ecosystems while environmental economists started treating natural ecosystems as integral components of the economic system.

Collecting information on the major ecological environmental and socio economic database is beyond the capabilities of the department of fisheries as it lacked enough scientific and technical skills for collecting "scientific data" about the multi species fisheries and their habitat diversity. Moreover, such data collection and tabulation processes were expensive and were beyond the financial limits of the State Fisheries Department.

Three Central government agencies shouldered the responsibility of collecting scientific information on resources, and exports. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has perfected its methodology of fish landing estimation and started collecting the time series on species-wise landings of major fisheries along the west and east coast of the Indian peninsula. The Fisheries Survey of India (FSI) started its deep-sea expeditions and experiments for estimating deep-sea fisheries potential. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) started collecting data on exports of fish products from India. [See next section for details]

There is no doubt that the data provided by the Department was useful to the planners and policy makers in the 1950s and 1960s. The data has revealed the economic importance of this sector to the Kerala economy in terms of production and level of employment. But the technological developments in fisheries and the subsequent evolution of resource crisis and conflicts within the sector demanded more accurate and reliable information on many biological, economic and social variables for better policy formulation. The Department could not provide such information systematically due to shortage of manpower, technical and scientific skills and financial resources

Socio-economic Database

Accurate socio economic data is a pre requisite for introducing people-centred entered welfare and developmental activities among the fisher folk. There is a general feeling that a socio-economic database covering major demographic characteristics, education, occupation, income, expenditure, housing, rural infrastructure, ownership on crafts and gears, traditional property institutions, group formation behaviours, conflict resolution mechanisms etc, are essential for the better governance of fishery resources and the fisher folk alike. At present, the Department does not have any mechanism to collect systematic information on these variables causing considerable delays in implementing economic and welfare oriented programmes for the sector. But this does not mean that the Department marginalizes the importance of such information. In fact the socio economic survey published in the early 1990s is a response of the Department to initiate such data gathering initiatives.

Another major concern faced by planners relates to the relative profitability of different craft-gear combinations both in the inland and marine sectors. The understanding of profitability depends on the collection of systematic data on the costs and earnings of various craft-gear combinations. The Department, which is the regulatory agency, does not have any mechanism so far to collect such information. It mainly depends on individual studies conducted by social scientists and voluntary agencies for taking a decision on economic viability of such units.

Enforcement of Laws and Conflict Management

The Department is also engaged in the enforcement of marine and inland fisheries regulations on the coastal and inland water bodies within its territorial limits. In this process, it has collected much information on various aspects of legal violations, conflicts and conflict resolution mechanisms. In fact, for an institutional fishery economist, this is indeed a rich source of information as it clearly reveals the nature of interaction between the conflicting stakeholders on the one hand and the Fisheries Department, the court and police as mediating regulatory agencies on the other hand. No attempt has so far been made to make this data public. The Department does not think that such data is relevant for resource management and even feels that the publication of such information is violation of formal law.

The CMFRI Data

The CMFRI data on fish landing covers an array of commercially important species of marine fishes available along the Indian coastal waters. The time series data on fish landings is available on request from the Resource Assessment Division of the CMFRI. The data covers a period of around 50 years (from 1950 to 2002). The Department of Fisheries of the Government of Kerala has abandoned this data collection and is relying completely on the data supplied by the CMFRI. A variety of tabulations are undertaken using this database. The distribution of fish landings by pelagic and demersal, the distribution of fish landings by mechanised, motorised and artisanal sectors, the number of mechanised motorised and artisanal crafts and gears, monthly and seasonal distribution of fish landings, distribution of landings by major gears both in the mechanised, motorised and non mechanised sectors and even the district-wise distribution of landings are all possibilities of this computerised database maintained by the CMFRI. The following chart indicates some major categories of tabulations undertaken by the CMFRI.



On the question of the reliability and coverage of the CMFRI data, the opinion of the scientific community is divided. For instance, the Expert Committee for Fisheries Management Studies, Kerala, in its introductory remarks of the report submitted to the Government, states that "some of the committee members were doubtful about the authenticity of the CMFRI database and instead they suggested generation of fresh data from the field by conducting new surveys " (Nair, 2000:5).
4.3. The Fisheries Survey of India (FSI) Database on Marine Resources
The Fisheries Survey of India is a research organisation with a mandate to collect data on the potential of fisheries within India's exclusive economic zone. FSI has conducted many expeditions/trials during the past and has generated information on the deep-sea fishery potential in the waters of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The data indicates that potential reserves are available in deeper waters and the government should formulate a policy that promotes a sustainable harvest of resources.
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Database

The Indian marine products export industry is concentrated in Kerala and provides valuable contribution to its economy. However, the Department of Fisheries of the Government of Kerala does not have any systematic and reliable information on the structure of this industry. The activities of this sector, to a large extent, are monitored by the Marine Products Export Development Authority. The Authority was constituted in 1972 by an Act of Parliament for the promotion of activities relating to fishery exports. MPEDA has been promoting selective export oriented activities in the capture and culture sectors of the fishery economy. It also undertakes activities like introduction of new processing technologies, modernisation facilities and market promotion activities for the Indian seafood industry, which is largely concentrated in Kerala.

MPEDA collects and publishes the statistics of marine products exports from India to the rest of the world. The data is available from 1961 to 2002 (MPEDA, 2001). The database focuses mainly on the quantity exported and its value, different varieties (species) exported, the destinations of export and major markets for Indian seafood industry. The data has good coverage and is useful for understanding the general growth scenario of the Indian seafood industry. However, planners require more precise information at the level of individual enterprises and, MPEDA is not involved in the collection of such statistics at present. Some crucial variables like the installed and utilised capacities, concentration of industrial output, information on industrial effluents and quality standards, technical and economic efficiencies of enterprises, and the evolving new business practices are of interest to planners and policy makers. The Authority should make an honest attempt to publish such information for the benefit of the industry.

Non-governmental Organisations

Apart from the above-mentioned agencies a number of non-governmental organisations working for the development of fishermen are also engaged in the collection and publication of socio economic data. The data available with the South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) and the Programme for Community Organisation (PCO) merit special mention in this context. For instance, SIFFS has good database on the level of output landed and the costs and earnings of different craft-gear combinations mainly supported by the District Federations under its control. The recent Census on fishing crafts and gears and fishing population, conducted by SIFFS (2000), has also attracted appreciation at the academic and policy circles. SIIFS also maintain good data base on the activities of fisherwomen engaged in fish vending. Data available with these agencies provide useful tips for better management and governance. It may be recalled that many Ministries and Departments of the Government of India have now started depending on this sector not only for the collection of reliable statistics, but also for introducing many programmes of development and resource management.

Suggestions and Guidelines

In the foregoing section, we examined the nature of the existing database on fisheries and pointed out some of the limitations of the existing database. The major limitations of the database may be summarized as follows:


Decentralised planning so far is based on weak database. This should change. A number of studies are undertaken by PhDs and MPhil scholars, but they often do not, in any way, become an input for policy making. It is important that steps are taken to see that such research findings do not go waste.



Although the state itself is the key catalyst of fisheries development and has a diversified network of controlling offices, it does not have a "good databank" for designing appropriate long-term policies. It lacks flexibility, skills and resources for the production of such database required for the socio economic management of resources.


The process of data collection has been influenced by the neo-classical models of economy and state governance, which assumes the social organization of fisheries mainly for profits. As this model is no more relevant for modern resource management, the database derived from such models is of little relevance to the planners and policy makers.


The learning process of the government is very slow and is limited to the periodic contractual arrangements with some individual researchers and research institutes.


It lacks sufficient resources (scientific, technical and financial) and knowledge for introducing scientific fisheries resources management.


Although there exists a number of agencies for the collection of fisheries statistics, there is no coordination of such activities either by the Department of Fisheries of by any agency.


Modern management of fisheries sector requires accurate information on a variety of major attributes in ecological/environmental, economic and social realms.


As the data collection is expensive, the Department has to search for alternate cost effective ways of data collection including exploring the possibilities of associating with non-governmental organisations, local grama panchayats and even community organizations and associations. Such partnerships will not only generate good database but will help in introducing good resource conservation measures and livelihood securities to traditional fishermen.

AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF KERALA ECONOMY-AN INTROSPECTION

Introduction

Agriculture and allied sectors are the most crucial sectors of the Kerala Economy as they provide livelihood to approximately two-third of the population and contribute a fourth of the SDP. The rich and varied biophysical resources of the State are exploited by this sector for the production of a wide range of agricultural products including spices and plantation crops and this sector accounts for bulk of the export earnings of the state. Moreover extensive infrastructure and support services including generation and transfer of technology, input supply, credit, processing, marketing, storage and irrigation have been created to provide the much need backward and foreward linkages. Obviously planning and policy making for these sectors necessitate extensive database for formulation of appropriate strategies within a comprehensive framework. The objective of the present paper is to appraise the adequacy and suitability of the present database in agriculture and allied section to serve the needs of planning and policy purposes in the dynamic contact of gloablization and to identify critical gaps in the database.


Need for a Database

It is imperative to have a comprehensive and scientific database for the purpose of sectoral planning, policy formulation, programme and project planning, implementation monitoring and evaluation, support system planning and for assisting the PRIs to take up decentralized planning and development. It also assumes great significance in the context of globalization with special reference to the trade in agriculture under the WTO regime. The following specific needs are identified.

For Sectoral Planning and Policy Formulation


1.Planning policy changes on export - import (foreign trade) price support subsidies, infrastructure and other market intervention policies.


2.Planning provision of other support services like credit, marketing, technological support, value addition, storage, transport etc.


3.Policy planning in respect of the use of bio-physical resources, like land and water, land use and cropping pattern, bio-diversity, environmental protection etc.


4.Issues relating to land reforms, labour supply, agricultural wages, terms of trade etc.


Programme Planning and Implementation

1.Planning and implementing programme to enhance production and productivity of different segments in agriculture and allied sectors.


2.Planning location specific development programmes under decentralized planning and for developing location specific technology.


3.Operationalising price support, price stabilization procurement, storage and marketing of agricultural products.


4.Monitoring and evaluation of different agricultural development programme.


5.Database to evaluate the input of major development programmes like irrigation, HYVs, marketing etc. on production, productivity and income.
User-oriented and demand driven data on market dynamics


1.Data on domestic and foreign trade of important agricultural products for the State.


2.Data on sanitary and phytosanitary standards.


3.Market Intelligence Data


Features of the Existing Database.

The main features of the existing database are


1.a commodity approach in data collection and management in contrast to the widely adopted system of multiple cropping systems in the state;


2.focus on institutional, programme and scheme-oriented database rather than on functional and behavioural performance aspects; and


3.the involvement of multiple agencies in data collection and compilation resulted in non-comparability of data due to differences in the methods, reference periods and coverage. The important agencies involved in collection and compilation of data are the following:


Commodity Boards (Coconut, Spices, Coffee Rubber and Tea


Department of Economics and Statistics


Departments of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Forestry, Soil Survey, Irrigation, Ground Water, Meteorology, Farm Information Bureau, Land Use Board etc.


Cost of cultivation scheme


Agricultural Prices Board


The level of disaggregation of most of the data is at the district level. For certain aspects only state level pooled data are available. Lack of disaggregated data is the major constraint faced by local self-governments in preparing and implementing plans at the Panchayat and Block levels.


Although a lot of useful data is thrown up by individual research as well as through research projects, these are seldom related to the database. The quick compilation of certain date by the panchayats revealed that existing date base is weak and is beset with in accuracies.
There is thus a lack of data base management policy and programme, which could co-ordinate the efforts of different agencies, which collect and compile data in isolation depending on their perception, requirement, infrastructure and administrative convenience. Unfortunately there is not only duplication of efforts but also of these data-unsuitable for planning and policy purposes.

Limitations

It needs to be noted that date base of the agricultural and allied sectors is most comprehensive compared other sectors of the economy. A lot of useful data is compiled and published by the efforts of a number of agencies and departments, which include data on area, production and productivity of individual crops, area covered by HYVs, details of area irrigated and sources of irrigation, fertiliser consumption schemes of agricultural development, area under forests and forest plantations, production of livestock, poultry and eggs, milk production, procurement sale etc. However critical gaps are seen to exist in a wide range of statistics. The limitations of the existing data are thus examined in terms of coverage, adequacy, usefulness for planning and policy making and information gaps including absence of disaggregated data in critical areas. Some of the most important limitations are briefly examined in the following paragraphs.

Optimising the use of Bio-physical Resources

Although a lot of data on different aspects of bio-physical resources are compiled and published, they are not fully adequate for the purposes of land use planning, cropping system planning and for optimisation of the use of land and water resources. The data on bio-diversity is also imperfect and inadequate to make any real use in planning and policy making. Data on irrigation, land use, soil capabilities are not available in the required form and at the desired level of disaggregation. Even the land use statistics is not uniformly available for all panchayats and local bodies. In the absence of reliable database on soil types, nutrient characteristics, soil capability at disaggregated levels, planning of agricultural development at panchayat levels has become an unscientific effort.

Contribution of Sub-sectors

The changing profile of agricultural development in terms of the relative contribution of major crops and sub-sectors in SDP cannot be captured from the existing data. While the overall decline in the share of agriculture in SDP is clearly shown by the data, the relative changes in the shares of major crops or segments is not reflected in the SDP statistics. This is a very crucial information for not only planning the support services for the fast growing sectors, but also to make efforts to minimise any possible unfavourable impact on the segments, which show declining trends.
Even the production data for certain perennial crops especially spices are far from satisfactory. There are complaints about unreliable estimates of the area and production of pepper in Kerala. The production figures quoted by trade circles are far different from the official estimates. This used to result in un-expected fluctuations in the price into forecasting and failure to anticipate the total supply more or less accurately.


Farming System-related Problems

The commodity based approach in collection and compilation of data employs the "accounting" area concept based on specific norms of crop density in each district. However except for rice, tea and cardamom and to a large extent rubber, the commodity approach is not relevant in farming. Ion the context of multiple cropping systems prevalent in the state, the objective of the farmer is to optimise the income from the farm and not from a single crop. Hence the commodity-based data are unsuitable for judging the productive (or economic?) efficiency of different farming systems. Moreover, the degree of crop diversification under different farming systems is an essential component of the risk management strategies of the farmers having different farm sizes. This aspect also cannot be captured from the present date base.
Even the impact of fall in the price of one or few crops on the total farm income cannot be assessed by the conventional methods in the context of multiple cropping systems. The farmer is more concerned with the overall farm income rather than income from a single crop. The impact will be different on different cropping systems. The multiple cropping had enabled the farms in the state to generate highest agriculture income per hectare (Rs.32000) compared to the most agriculturally advanced state of Punjab (Rs.22000).

Another consequence is to pool all cultivators and to treat them as a "homogenous category" disregarding their principal source of income and the nature of their stake in agriculture. While 85 per cent of the farms are owned and operate d by persons who derive principal source of income from outside the agricultural sector, the conventional methods of agricultural extension and transfer of technology becomes irrelevant. They are further segmented under different farming systems and sub-systems. In the absence of more elaborate information on these aspects, the transfer of technology appropriate to the farm conditions as well as support services needed for small farms cannot be planned. Even the crop specific package of practices has to be appropriately modified. All these require information on the average number of coconut palms, pepper vines etc. per small and marginal holdings, which can reflect the built in problems confronted by different types of farming systems.


Impact of HYVs and Hybrids

The improved technologies have contributed to faster growth in production and productivity in all major crops. But the present database is inadequate to assess the relative contribution of these improved varieties on production and productivity in respect of most of the crops except rice. No separate break-up is available on the area under improved varieties and their productivity in contrast to traditional varieties.
Even in rice where area under HYVs is reported, HYVs are treated as a generic group although dozens of varieties are cultivated in different locations. But the data fails to provide answers to the following questions:


Which varieties are widely accepted and in which areas they are adopted ?.


Why are they accepted or adoption ?.


What is the average yield realized in contrast to their genetic potential ?.


Which of the varieties are relatively diseases free.
But these types of information are very crucial for monitoring development of new varieties with desired attributes and for developing appropriate strategies for reducing the yield gap. There could also be price and quality differences, which also need to be examined. If a particular variety of certain crop like ginger, turmeric, cardamom or pepper is seen to have "geographical indications" or specific quality attributes, these need to be farther explored for getting premium price and rich export market to the farmers. These assume greater importance in the context of globalized trade under WTO regime.

These issues are equally relevant in animal husbandry and dairy development also. They are also relevant for medicinal herbs, minor forest products, floriculture and other related areas.


Labour Productivity and Real Wage Cost

The statistics on agricultural labour fails to provide information on changing profile of labour absorption (crop-wise, gender-wise and task-wise) in seasonal, annual and perennial crops. There are widely debated issues relating to agricultural labour which cannot be ensured with the help of available data. Some of the most important issues are (1) What is the evidence for declining labour response to rice cultivation in Kerala especially for weeding, harvesting and threshing (2) Has technology upgradation resulted in displacement of female labour by male labour in areas such as weeding, harvesting and threshing (3) Has there been significant gender bias especially against women in farm mechanisation and technological upgradations. (4) What is the truth in the reported decline in labour productivity in agriculture especially in seasonal and annual crops? (5) Is there a declining trend in the response of farmwomen to seasonal agricultural operations? (6) Which are the areas in which labour substitutions and labour displacements are taking place? The All India Labour Enquiry Surveys and the Agricultural Labour Enquiry Survey in Kerala had earlier provided useful data on the pattern of employment, number of days employment and wage rates. But in the absence of recent rounds the trends are not known..

Impact of changes in the Cropping Pattern

There has been a significant change in the cropping pattern at the micro level which might have caused notable changes in income and employment levels of small and marginal farmers as well as the agricultural labour especially the women. But this cannot be seen from secondary data. Moreover, impact of such changes at the average farm levels also cannot be seen from available data.

One very perceptible change in the agricultural sector has been the observed trend of increasing conversion of paddy land for other purposes. Although its impact is likely to be pervasive, practically little information is available on its impact and the nature of conversion. It is only marginally reflected in the decline in the area under rice. Other issues like how much land is converted? For which crops or for what purposes they are used? Are unanswered. Although the area under current fallow has been increasing, it cannot be related to reduction in paddy land and land conversion.

It is widely argued that there has been decline in soil fertility and degradation of crop lands especially low lands due to unscientific water management and irrational application of chemical fertilizers and neglect of soil conservation. This is a serious issue which cannot be addressed with the present database.


Impact of promotional efforts cannot be assessed


Although a wide range of support services are provided for promoting agriculture, the present database is inadequate to make assessment of the impact of programmes such as irrigation, distribution of planting materials, credit, fertilizer distribution, etc. The indicators of agricultural development published by the Department and the Planning Board are too general like fertilizer consumption per hectare, total planting Board are too general like fertilizer consumption per hectare, total planting materials distributed (irrespective of crops and varieties) which cannot be effectively used for examining the linkage between support services and productivity with the existing data. Moreover data on input supplies are not crop specific.

Here also the quality of data is very poor. For instance, the following problems are observed in the case of data on irrigation.


The irrigation data fails to show the actual area irrigated season wise as it is primarily based on irrigation potential created rather than on actual irrigation.


Since good part of the water from major irrigation projects is used for drinking purposes, the irrigation data reported seems to be an over estimate.


The unscientific water management practices and the lack of maintenance of canal systems result in tremendous wastage of water which reduces the area irrigated substantially.

Consumption Data

For most of the crops, reliable estimates of domestic requirement and consumption are not available. For instance no break up on domestic consumption within the state, outside the state, industrial/processing sectors' use and exports are available for some of the commercially important crops. Database is fairly good for those commodities covered by Commodity Boards.

There is also lack of information about the quality standards of the product. The uses of different segments are usually linked with specific qualities, but very seldom the break up is available.

Processing, Storage and Marketing
The present database lacks information on storage and warehousing facilities as well as on processing and value addition in respect of agricultural products. The scattered data is not adequate to make any commitments on procurement and storage of a product like copra, paddy or pepper. In spite of the increased thrust given for agri-processing by the Centre, absence of database has been a major constraint in the way of planning for processing and value addition of different agricultural products.

Gap in Trade Statistics

Besides, there is a virtual absence of market information. The biggest constraint in designing appropriate strategies for facing the challenges of the WTO regime is the lack of reliable data on international trade, prices, import duties, export opportunities, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, quality standards, technical barriers to trade etc. A dynamic database to take advantage of the emerging opportunities and threats in international trades is a very urgent necessity.

A closely related issue is the inadequacies in the price statistics for crops not covered by the commodity Boards. The seasonal variations and the linkage with the market arrivals are incomplete in many respects.

Consumption Data on Meat, Milk and Egg

The supply gap for these products are estimated on the basis of the normative levels of consumption recommended by ICMR or Nutrition Monitoring Bureau and not based on the actual levels of demand. These could naturally be overestimates in many respects. However a lot of data on the consumption pattern for these products are available from N.S.S. rounds, which show the shifting food preference from cereals to milk, eggs, fish and meat. These data are not incorporated while examining the projected scenario in cattle and poultry development.

The livestock statistics thrown up by the Quinquennial Livestock Census is fairly comprehensive. But good part of it is not linked with the published statistics. However the level of disagregation is not satisfactory for local level planning.
Forest Data

The degree of imperfection seems to be greater in the case of forestry statistics. Even though the geographical coverage of forests is around 8 per cent only, it is still reported to be around 23 per cent. This is probably based on the legal status of forest lands which has nothing do with actual forest cover. The extensive loss of forest cover, progressive depletion of forest resources, and continuing trend of degradation of forest lands are not at all reflected in the forest statistics. Therefore it can seldom be used for planning and policy making. Even the classification of forests according to ever green, semi-ever green and forest plantations is incorrect. This is also true of the estimates of the outturn of minor and major forest products, which are affected by pilferage and extensive un-authorized utilization. The qualitative deterioration of the forest ecosystem cannot be linked with the available database.

Conclusion

The foregoing analysis was an attempt to highlight some of the important limitations of the existing database and to identify certain critical areas of data gap. The analysis is only tentative and suggestive. There are other areas of inadequacies, which also should receive urgent attention. But it needs to be remembered that the specific requirements of data are related to their end uses in planning, programming, monitoring, evaluation and policymaking. We need to have a clear statement of objectives for data base development and management. The data collections by different Departments are to be coordinated to satisfy the basic objectives mentioned above. The gaps already identified need to be filled and the consistency between different sources is to be ensured.

Above all, it is necessary to have Panchayat level disaggregated data to enable the Panchayats to attempt scientific process of planning at the grass root level.



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Tuesday 26 August 2008

KERALA-THE LAND OF BOAT RACES

Boat Races of Kerala
Another, unparalleled attraction of God's Own Country. Another great event as important as the land’s ethos as the elephant pageant. A sport that signifies the excellent team spirit, integration and amity of the people of this backwater country. An occasions of great excitement that is a reflection of a vibrant people.

The snake boat races of Kerala. Magnificent fiestas that brings alive the tranquil backwaters. Snake boat races are held in connection with Onam, the harvest festival in August/September. Scores of long snake boats and other smaller crafts participate in these events. The largest team sport in the world, the snake boat races are preceded by colourful water parades.

Usually, a snake boat is manned by four helmsmen, 25 singers and 100-125 oarsmen, who row in unison to the fast rhythm of vanchipattu (song of the boatman). Thousands of people crowd the water's edge to cheer the huge black crafts as they slice through the waters to a spectacular finish. The oldest of these events have curious legends and myths attached to their origin. Myths closely linked to the rustic people and their beliefs.

The snake boat races of Kerala from July to September are:
Champakulam Moolam Boat Race
The oldest and most popular snake boat race in Kerala, and is closely connected to the Sree Krishna Temple at Ambalappuzha. The race is held on the Champakulam Lake on the moolam day of the Malayalam month Midhunam, the day of the installation of the deity at the Temple.

Legends say that Maharaja Devanarayana of Chempakasseri, as instructed by the royal priest, built a temple at Ambalappuzha. But just before the installation of the deity he was informed that the idol was not auspicious. The king was disturbed, but his minister suggested an inspired solution. To bring down the beautiful idol of Sree Krishna - presented to Arjuna by the Lord himself, from the Karikulam temple in Kurichi. The minister with a few others went to Kurichi, met the authorities there and returned with the idol. On the way back they stopped at Champakulam to spent the night and perform a pooja. The next morning boats from the entire region assembled to escort the idol in a colourful, ceremonial procession through the lake to the Temple. Years later the pageant is still re-enacted with the same enthusiasm. An exotic procession of water floats, boats decorated with colourful parasols and performing arts greets the spectator before the race. The race proper is held in various stages for various categories of boats.

Aranmula Uthrattadi Vallamkali
The two day Aranmula Boat Race is more a water fiesta than a competition, conducted during Onam. The event is a re-enacting of the legend involving a devout Brahmin who made a votive offering of feeding one pilgrim a day. One day Sree Krishna himself appeared to him and the overjoyed Brahmin vowed to offer 51 measures of rice and all the provision for the thiruvona sadya (the sumptuous Onam feast) at the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple. Once, the thiruvonachilavu thoni (the boat carrying the offerings) was intercepted by rivals from another village, but the Brahmin's own villagers came to the rescue on snake boats. From then on the offering was carried by a fleet of palliyodam - about 48 of them representing the nearby backwater villages. (A palliyodam is a large, luxurious snake boat used by gods and royalty.)

The event is marked by a colourful water carnival - an imposing effigy of Sree Krishna is taken out in procession on the lake with children dressed as nymphs and princesses. On the second day, snake boats decorated with silken parasols, carrying helmsmen, oarsmen and singers assemble near the temple early in the morning and then move away in pairs, creating a magnificent pageant. The boat race proper is held in the afternoon.

Payippad Jalotsavam
The three day annual fiesta on the Payippad Lake, 35 km from Alappuzha, commemorates the installation of the deity at the Subramanya Swamy Temple, Haripad. The story is that the people of the village decided to build a temple with Sree Ayyappa as the presiding deity. After the temple was ready, they had a vision directing them to a whirlpool in Kayamkulam Lake where they would find the idol of Sree Subramanya, which was to be installed at the temple. Accordingly, the elders of the village with divers and swimmers rowed to the spot and found the idol, which was escorted, back ceremoniously by devotees from the entire region in colourfully

Nehru Trophy Boat Race
The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is one of those events, which the people of Kerala look forward to with excitement. Thousands of Keralites - men, women and children - throng the watersides of Alappuzha to witness the spectacle. Pavilions are set up for spectators on the banks and in the middle of the Punnamada Lake - the venue of the race.

This boat race is so named because the former Indian Prime Minister, JawaharlalNehru instituted the trophy for the winners. Over 16 chundan vallams participate in the race along with scores of smaller crafts like the churulan, veppu, odi etc., with a prize for each category. There are separate races for women too. The race begins with a colourful pageant of floats, performing arts and decorated boats. And goes on late into the evening.

The boat races held during the months of August - September:
ATDC Boat Race, Alappuzha, Rajiv Gandhi Boat Race, Pulinkunnu, Neerettupuram Boat Race, Kumarakom Boat Race, Karuvatta Boat Race, Kavanattinkara Boat Race, Kumarakom Arpookara Vanitha Jalamela, Kottayam Mahatma Boat Race, Mannar, Thazhathangadi Boat Race,Kottayam, Kottapuram Boat Race, Kodungallur and Kumaranasan Smaraka Jalotsavam, Pallana, The Indira Gandhi Boat Race is held on the Ernakulam Lake during the Cochin Carnival in the last week of December.

CLIMATIC FEATURES OF KERALA

The diversity of the geographical features of the state has resulted in a corresponding diversity in climate. The High Ranges have a cool and bracing climate throughout the year, while the plains are hot and humid.
The average level of annual rainfall is quite high when compared to other Indian states, almost three times higher than in Karnataka while twice than in Tamilnadu. The state basically enjoys 4 types of climate such as Winter ,Summer ,South West Monsoon and North East Monsoon .


Winter

The winter season sets in during the month of December and continues till end of February. During this season comparatively there is less rainfall especially in the northern parts of the state.

Summer
Winter is followed by the summer season. Its tarts in February and continues till May. Temperature is very high during this period. Occasional showers with Lightning is a characteristic of this season. Kottayam receives the highest rainfall during this season.

South West Monsoon

The South West Monsoon begins either in the end of May or in the beginning of June and fades out by September. Moving towards north, this seems to gain intensity. During this period Peerumedu in Idukki and Vaithiri-Kuttiyadi range in Malabar receive the highest rainfall. The rainfall is comparatively low in the Lakshadweep islands. In the southern areas the monsoon is around 40-50% and in the northern areas it is around 80%.

North East Monsoon
The NorthEast Monsoon commences in October, dry weather setting in by the end of December. The Kanjirappalli-Peerumedu range and Kuttiyadi area experience the abundance of NorthEast Monsoon. The northern parts of the state account for a mere 10% of the annual rainfall.

Temperature
The annual range of temperature is comparatively low in Kerala. The coastal areas record a maximum temperature of 320c and a minimum of 220c.The interiors record a maximum of 370c during summer. In the coastal area it is hot and humid during April-May while cool during December-January.

LANGUAGE OF KERALA-MALAYALAM

The term ‘Malayalam’ as referring to the language of Kerala is of comparatively recent origin. To begin with, it denoted the land itself. It is probable that the term is the resultant of a combination of two words, mala meaning mountain and alam meaning the land or locality (which lies along side the mountain).

Subsequently the synonyms Malayanma and Malayayma came into being as denoting the language of the Malayalam county and finally the name of the land itself was taken over as the name of its language.

Evidently Malayalam belongs to the Dravidian family of languages, but there is considerable difference of opinion about the exact nature of its relationship with the other languages of the stock, with Tamil in particular towards which it bears the closest affinity. Quite a few scholars are of the opinion that Malayalam is but an offshoot of Tamil, or rather, a daughter. This view, first held by Bishop Caldwell, has since been elaborated and substantiated by a well-known grammarian of Kerala, A.R.Raja Raja Varma. The intimacy that subsisted between the two languages all through the centuries, the identity that the grammars and vocabularies of both the languages evince, and the old practice of using the term ‘Tamil’ as a synonym for Malayalam have all lent considerable support to this theory. But in the light of the increasing application of scientific methodologies in the assessment of affinities between languages and the comparative studies since carried out in respect of the two languages, this theory would seem to require further examination.

Malayalam is classified as a South Dravidian language. It is the official language of Kerala. About 31.8 million people consider Malayalam as their mother tongue. Possessing an independent written scipt, it also has a rich modern literature. There are at least five main regionaldialects of Malayalam and a number of communal dialects. It belongs to the Dravidian family. Many words have been borrowed from Sanskrits. There are 37 consonants and 16 vowels in the script. Malayalam has a written traditional dating back from the late 9th century and the earliest work dates from 13th century. The script used is called Kolezhethu (Rod-script) which is derived from ancient Grandha Script. Malayalam differs from other Dravidian language as the absence of personal endings on verbs. It has a one to one correspondence with the Indo Aryan Devanagari syllabarry.

RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND OF POPL OF KERALA

Kerala hailed, as God's own country, by many, deserves this accolade because of many features geographical and sociological. A long coastline in the west and mountains on the east forming clear natural boundaries. Religion has played a crucial role in Kerala's culture. There are mainly three religions in Kerala - Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. As far as the religion of Kerala is concerned, the origins could be traced to Hinduism.

Then came in the Islamic faith and Christianity with its various sects. The other Indian religions like Buddhism; Jainism had some influence among the Hindus and was found scattered with their migration to Kerala.

According to the 1991 census 57.38% of the population of Kerala are Hindus, 23.33 Muslims and 19.32 Christians. The earliest settlers of Kerala were the Proto-Australoids, the Mediterranean, Dravidians, and the Aryans in 321-297 BC.

Hinduism
Hinduism, the world's oldest religion dates back to about 5000 BC. The sacred texts include the Vedas, Epics and Puranas, apart from other philosophical treatises. Hinduism is a way of life and is based on the principle of Sanathana Dharma. The Hindus worship the Supreme Being under three forms, Brahma- the creator, Vishnu- the preservator and Shiva - destroyer.

Earlier inhabitants (Dravidians) of Kerala followed primitive animism and spirit worship to propitiate the Gods. With the arrival of Aryans settler from the north India, the human forms of worship and caste division were evolved. But history is silent about worship of Goddess (Baghavathy). Only in Kerala and West Bengal Goddess form the main deity. Mythology doesn't say much about Baghavathy. For many Keralites, Baghavathy is the family deity. Most of the festivals in Kerala are in depiction of Baghavathy.

Even today many temples in Kerala has mother (Baghavathy) and animism (snake worship) has their main deity.

Islam
Islam is believed entered into India through Kerala. There are historical records of commercial trading between Kerala and Middle East during 7th Century AD. The Jews and Arabs of the Pre-Islamic period were among the pioneers of spice trade with Kerala. The religion of Islam was also by these traders from Middle East, who later settled in Coastal belt of Kerala. To this day Muslims are very proficient in trade and commerce. Muslims in Kerala, as anywhere else in the world, are close-knit unit clear-cut religious and political agenda.

Christianity

The Syrian Christians of Kerala believe that St. Thomas, one of the direct disciples of Christ landed near Muziris in 52 AD and established 7 churches, of which 4 exist even today.

There is recorded evidence of a theologian from Alexandria coming to Kerala to preach the gospel in 180 AD and the migration of about 400 people from the Middle East in the 4th century and yet another exodus at the beginning of the 9th century.

The Portuguese who arrived in 1498 AD introduced Latin rites. Later, during the British rule, the Church Mission Society of London began its work in the country.

Today, there are five distinct branches of Christianity in Kerala, the Roman Catholic Church following either Syrian, Latin or Malayalam liturgies, the Orthodox Syrian Church, the Mar Thomas Syrian Church, the Church Of South India and the Nestorian Church.

Jainism
Though there is evidence of practice of Jainism in Kerala before the arrival of Aryans. History is silent about it. The Famous Jainmedu temple in Palakkad is the manifestation of Jainism in Kerala. Today few families of Jain community are found around Palakkad in Kerala.

Judaism
The traders from Middle East bought Judaism into Kerala during 7th Century AD. Later these traders settled in Kochi. Jew Town in Kochi, is the testimony of the Judaism in Kerala. Today it is one of few places in World where Jews are living in peace. There is a Synagogue in Jew Town. Today, Jew town is one of popular tourist location in Kerala, where one can find many interesting antiquities of Kerala.

GORGEOUS WATERFALLS OF KERALA






Athirappally & Vazhachal
Enchanting and serene waterfalls welcome you at the entrance of the Sholayar ranges. One can find frequents buses to Athirappally from Chalakudy-40 km from Cochin on the Thrissur route. Athirappally is 77 km north of Cochin (Kochi).

Thommankuth
Thommankuth waterfalls is another marvellous wonder of the nature situated at 74 kms from Cochin. There are buses from Thodupuzha, which is 18 kms away from Thommankuth. Hotels and restaurants are available at Thodupuzha.

Palaruvi

75 Kms away from Kollam on the Kollam-Shenkottai road near Aryankavu, is the Palaruvi waterfalls. There are frequent buses from Kollam to Aryankavu.

MAJOR RELIGIOUS PILGRIM CENTRES OF KERALA

Sabarimala
The Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, 80 kms. from the Pathanamthitta district head quarters, is a National Pilgrim Centre. This famous shrine of Lord Ayyappa is surrounded by hazardous hills like Karimala and Neelimala. Devotees visit Sabarimala after undergoing 41 days of ‘Vritha’ i.e., self-imposed devotional penance. They, with irumudikettu (bundle with offerings to Ayyappa) on their head, climb the mountain ranges and cross the forest bare footed repeatedly chanting ‘Saranam Ayyappa’ which means we seek refuge in Ayyappa. This is probably the only famous temple in Kerala, which does not restrict anybody from visiting it for not being a Hindu.

Malayattoor

Malayattoor Church, a Christian pilgrim centre situated 52 kms from Kochi beside the Periyar River at the top of a hill. The pilgrims can reach the place only by foot. This church which was established in AD 900 is believed to have been blessed by St.Thomas, one of the Apostles of Christ.

Agastyakudam
Agastyakudam, near Thiruvananthapuram, a prominent peak of the Western Ghats, is a pilgrim centre of the Hindus. This place is also noted for it’s abundant Ayurvedic herbs.

Varkala

This famous Hindu pilgrim centre is situated at 48 kms north of Thiruvananthapuram. It is noted for it’s mineral springs.

Sivagiri and Aruvippuram

Aruvippuram of Thiruvananthapuram district is famous through the consecration of the 'Siva Idol' by Sree Narayana Guru. Sivagiri is a major pilgrim centre that attracts not only the local tourists but also travellers from abroad.
Ochira: A unique pilgrim centre in Kollam district known for its Advaita Philosphy. Here there is no temple or idol for the presiding deity ‘the Parabrahma’. The ritual performance ‘Ochirakali’, which is usually held in June gathers a huge crowd.

Maramon Convention
Every year in the month of February, banks of river Pamba plays host to a famous religious convention of Christians for 7 days. This convention is addressed by the speakers of international repute and attended by people from various other communities.

Cherukolpuzha Convention
The famous Hindu religious convention held on the banks of river Pamba. It is attended by a large number of people and addressed by prominent religious scholars and cultural personalities.

MAJOR FORESTS & CAVES OF KERALA

Silent Valley
Silent Valley, which is about 50 kms northwest of Mannarkad is described as the sole surviving bit of evergreen forest in the Sahya ranges. These forests devoid of the chirping of Cicadas have aptly got that name. Vehicular transport is allowed only up to Mukkali. From Mukkali, at least 24 kms have to be covered by foot to reach the source where Kunthipuzha merges with Bharathapuzha. It is estimated that more than 1000 types of trees grow in this forest. Silent Valley is rich both in terms of wild life and natural resources.

Wagamon

The trekker’s paradise is situated 60 km. from Kottayam. The mist covered places like Kuttikkanam and Wagamon are known as Kerala’s Kodaikanal.

Marayur
The only place in Kerala having natural growth of sandal wood trees is situated in the outskirts of Munnar at Idukki. This may be called as a historian’s treasure house. It is believed that Pandhavas stayed at Maravoor during their exile.

Lakkidi

Bedecked among the hills, Lakkidi is considered to be the gateway to Wayanad. It receives the highest annual rainfall in Kerala. The mist-covered mountains make this place an enchanting one.

Jatayu Para‘Jatayu Para’ is a huge rock near Kollam where it is believed that ‘Jatayu’ the giant bird in the Epic Ramayana fell after failing in it’s attempt to stop Ravana from taking Sita away. It also offers an exhilarating hang gliding experience.

Nedumkayam

Nedumkayam, in Malappuram district is famous not only for its thick forest but also for the elephant training. Near to Nedumkayam, is Macheeri, the settlement of Chola Naikans, the primitive tribes.

Attappady
Attappady, mainly a tribal area, is about 38 kms north east of Mannarkad. This is a nature-blessed area with forests, rivers and mountains. Mainly Irulas and Mudugas inhabit it. These tribals worship the mountain peak ‘Malleswaran’ as a gigantic Siva ling (Idol).

Edakkal Caves
These are two caves in the Ambukuthy mountains located 3 kms away from Ambalavayal and 25 kms. from Kalpetta. These caves contain several paintings and pictorial writings of the new Stone Age civilization.