Kerala Demographic Challenge and the Way Forward

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#opinion Kerala is a state that is often considered one of the best places to live in India. It ranks high on multiple indices of the NITI Aayog and boasts impressive Human Development Indicators such as literacy rate, healthcare, education, and low corruption. This success is attributed to the contributions of visionary leaders, irrespective of political affiliation, as well as public participation in socio-politics, policymakers, subject experts, the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom, and many others. This collective effort has led to what is known as the Kerala Model of Development. The state is among the top ten in terms of both GDP and per capita income. Despite Kerala's significant progress in quality of life and human development parameters, there are other fronts where this success is lacking. Today, Kerala is in the news for negative reasons such as a financial crisis, decreased revenue, rising debt, high unemployment, brain drain, and other challenges. While some issues are ov
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Important takeaways from the Kerala Budget 2023

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The budget speech was held on 3rd April by the Financial Minister of Kerala K N Balagopal in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The Economic Review report was presented in the Assembly on February 2, 2023. Mr Balagopal’s third Budget after taking over as Kerala’s Finance Minister.



Major announcements from the Budget Speech 

  1. GSDP rate- 2021-22 - 12.01% 
  2. Public Debt- ₹2,19,974.54 crore
  3. "Kerala has weathered multiple crises in recent years to post robust economical growth."
  4. ₹2000 crore to control price rise
  5. Kerala has witnessed the lowest price rise in the country. 
  6. Expected 10.5% growth rate
  7. Rubber subsidy increased to 600 crores. 
  8. ‘Centre imposing unjust limits on State borrowing’ 
  9. ₹50000 per year for each school student to control Emmigration.
  10. ₹1000 crore for Make in Kerala. 
  11. Clean ocean program for ₹5 crore
  12. ₹71,393 crores for salaries and pensions
  13. International trade venue for Thiruvananthapuram
  14. ₹300 crore allocated for the west coast industry corridor
  15.  Ayyankali employment guarantee scheme in urban areas 
  16. Power sector- ₹1758 crore 
  17. Meat products of India- ₹13.5 crore 
  18. Industrial sector-₹1259.66 crore
  19. Special package for MSME units- ₹21.5 crore
  20. Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhati (KASP)- ₹574 crore
  21. LIFE housing mission- ₹1432 crore
Major Takeaways 
  • Financial Crisis in the centre 
  • Centre-State conflicts on debt and borrowing
  • A special R&D budget for the Knowledge Economy
  • Allocation for controlling Price Rise.
  • Knowledge-Economy Mission
  • ₹972 crore for the agriculture sector
  • Emphasis on Vizhinjam Port
  • Green hydrogen hubs will be set up in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram
  • Enough schemes for social welfare 
  • Massive infrastructure and new-age transportations push 
  • ₹320.64 crore animal husbandry
  • ₹114.76 crore for dairy development 
  • ₹321 crore for fisheries sector
  •  Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) to provide internet to BPL families
  • ₹260 crore has been allocated to Kudumbashree
  • ₹22,801 crore- Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)
  • Sabarimala-₹30 crore 3
  • Massive modernisation across the state of Educational institutions 
  • 25 new POSCO fast track special courts

Cheap vs Costly


Transportation Infrastructure 

  • Roadways 
    • ₹1000 crore for Vizhinjam Ring Road development
    • ₹133 crore for development of 1933 km of highways 
    • ₹1000 crore for Thiruvananthapuram ring road
    • KSRTC-₹131 crore
    • Rebuild Kerala gets ₹904.83
  • Waterways 
    • ₹58 cr for dam improvement
    • ₹54.45 cr for irrigation and flood control projects 
    • ₹2 cr for river clean-ups
    • ₹40.5 crore for minor ports
  • Airways 
    • ₹15 crore for charted flight services
    • Expansion of NORKA ambulance services
    • Special purpose vehicle for developing airstrips under KIIFB

Startups

  1. New cooperatives to attract a lower tax rate of 15 per cent.
  2. Agriculture-based rural startup support. 
  3. 100 joint commissioners for disposal of small appeals. 
  4. Rs 1cr for Fisheries Innovation Council under KDISC
  5. ₹125 crore- Kerala Startup Mission

Education 
  1. Short-term fellowship and Exchange programmes 
  2. Knowledge-Economy Mission
  3. Nursing colleges in Idukki and Wayanad 
  4. ₹1873.09 crore- the education sector
  5. ₹344.64 crore allocation- mid-day meal scheme
  6. ₹40.5 crore- Government engineering colleges
  7. National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) gets an allocation of ₹18.9 crore.
  8. Hike in salaries of guest lecturers
IT 
  1. IT park in Kannur
  2. Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram
  3. ₹10 crore was allocated for work from home 
  4. Technopark at Trivandrum-₹26.6 crore
  5. Kochi Infopark-₹35 crore
  6. Kozhikode-₹2 crore
  7. ₹ 50 crore for Work Near Home projects

Environment, Agriculture and Tourism 
  1. Clean ocean program for ₹5 crore
  2. ₹50.85 crores to mitigate human-wildlife conflict
  3. ₹10 crore for smart Krishi Bhavans
  4. Green Hydrogen Hubs
  5.  Dairy park under the Kerala Livestock Development Corporation
  6. ₹20 crore for the modernization of the food park
  7. ₹5.5 crore for removing plastic waste from the Arabian Sea
  8. MSP of coconut raised to ₹ 34
  9. ₹26 crore for forest conservation projects 
  10. ₹7 crore for eco-tourism projects.
  11. ₹1 crore for Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Kottoor, Thiruvananthapuram
  12. ₹5.2 crore for Project Elephant
  13. ₹4.76 crore for 16 wildlife sanctuaries
  14. Group insurance project for fish workers
  15. Thrissur Pooram- ₹8 crore
  16. Culture sector gets ₹182.14 crore
  17. ₹22 crore for Solid Waste Treatment 
Digital Push 
  1. Smart Krishi Bhavans
  2. ₹100 crores for public service delivery infrastructure in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporations.
  3. Kerala State Film Development Corporation’s OTT platform
  4. ₹3.5 cr for paperless High Court
Technology 
  1. ₹10 crore has been allocated to India Innovation Centre for Graphene.
  2. ₹1000 crore for Make in Kerala
  3. The use of Hydrogen and EV
  4. ₹25 crore has been earmarked for Electric Vehicle (EV) consortium
  5. ₹10 crore for setting up solar projects
  6. ₹7.98 crore for EV charging points at the district level
  7. ₹71.84 crore for Kerala Space Park.
  8. ₹23 cr for Kerala State Science and Technology Museum
Criticisms 
Principal opposition party Congress criticised the hike in cess and other forms of taxes which will give way to a price rise. Amidst the revenue crunch, too much to spend but where is the money. Opposition BJP has also sharply criticised for raising taxes. Over 2000 crores are spent to control price rise in an inflationary budget. 

Analysis 
We can see that there is a massive push for infrastructure, development, transportation etc. Also enough push for the education, environment and tourism sectors. State under the Economic Survey showed an excellent bounce back from the pandemic period. Although the state is still under the grip of cash crunch and borrowings. The agriculture sector, Fisheries, and KIIFB have been given huge attention throughout the budget. 
 
This is an important push for the modernisation of education, infrastructure and transportation in the recent years which is very different from classical ruling regime budgets. Albeit controversial K-Rail didn't secure any mention. IT sector and startups will get big boost and can help reduce unemployment and reduce emmigration. Enough importance has also been given to the fight against Climate Change and environmental problems. Increase in taxes although can fight inflation, will lead to a price rise of essential commodities.  A large section of the population may feel betrayed due to this. Social welfare may have taken a back seat, unlike other typical LDF budgets. Overall it was a deviation from classical communism.  

Credits- The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Manorama Online

Check full speech here- 

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/kerala-state-budget-2023-live-updates/article66465840.ece 

https://www.asianetnews.com/budget/kerala-budget-2023-review-rpi3zr


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