Kerala model of development
Also called: Kerala model · Topic: Politics of Planned Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Kerala model of development is the name for how Kerala reached high literacy, long life expectancy and low infant mortality (few babies dying before age one), even though its income per person was fairly low. It came from public spending on education and health care, land reform, and social mobilisation, meaning ordinary people organising to demand their rights. It shows that good human welfare does not depend only on high growth. Critics point to slow growth, unemployment among educated people and dependence on money sent home by workers in the Gulf.
Example
Beyond NCERT, Kerala's People's Plan Campaign of 1996 gave a large share of plan funds to local bodies. This took planning down to the village level.
Don't confuse with
- M.N. Roy's People's Plan (1945): it was a national plan drawn up for the Indian Federation of Labour. It is not linked to Kerala's 1996 campaign.