Comment by titomc | Hacker News Reader

Comment by titomc | Hacker News Reader

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I do not know about India as a whole making strides in economic growth. It has to do something with the overall education level. I am taking the example of Kerala , a small coastal state in the southern part of India. This small state in India has made great strides in economy as well as high living standards. I think this has to do with the high literacy rate in the state due to various socioeconomic & political reasons. This model of development is called Kerala model.

An excerpt from the Wikipedia article , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala_model

" Kerala, a state in India, is a bizarre anomaly among developing nations, a place that offers real hope for the future of the Third World. Though not much larger than Maryland, Kerala has a population as big as California's and a per capita annual income of less than $300. But its infant mortality rate is very low, its literacy rate among the highest on Earth, and its birthrate below America's and falling faster. Kerala's residents live nearly as long as Americans or Europeans. Though mostly a land of paddy-covered plains, statistically Kerala stands out as the Mount Everest of social development; there's truly no place like it. "

Some of the recent news in which Kerala stands out from all other states in India.

1. The Cochin International Airport in Kerala is the world's first fully solar powered airport.

http://time.com/4002630/solar-power-india-airport-flight-gre...

2. Did I mention that Kerala too has 1Gbps connectivity, currently given for startup incubators in IT parks, soon the entire state will have it.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/Kerala-All-Set-...

3."As Kerala gets ready to be declared India’s first ‘Digital State’ on August 15, a host of vital data shows that the state is well ahead of other states in e-matters."

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Data-Shows-Ker...

Wikipedia article about Kerala State https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala

PS: I am from Kerala state & I enjoy almost the same living standards in Kerala as that of US where I am currently working.

Take the Kerala story with a pinch of salt. Kerala model is loved by the Indian left and is seen as competing model for right's Gujarat model. The state was ruled by communists for long time but almost all parties focused on redistribution of wealth including forcibly taking away people's land and giving it away to others. Over years economists like Amartya Sen have spoken about the model using it to demand that Indian government focus on redistribution.

There are pretty good counter arguments against Kerala Model too as outlined by Prof. Bhagvati in his book "Why growth matters".

Kerala in 18th century was ruled by a king named Marthanda Varma who focused on trade. Unlike other states his lowered taxes, invested extensively in building trade routes, waterways etc. Through some clever ideas he also made his kingdom war-proof. This was the period during which Kerala bloomed economically. By the time British colonized India Kerala was already far superior in health,economy and education compared to other states which are ravaged by war, British plunder etc. (British could not plunder Travancore Kingdom in Kerala as much as they would have liked compared to say Kolkata which was another trade port.)

Since 1947 to 2016 Kerala's progress on most parameters is pretty slow despite huge government spending. Kerala spends 7 times more on public health per capita than Punjab to get results only marginally better than Punjab. Despite having the highest per capita government spending on health, Kerala has even higher private expenditure on health than most other states to get results only marginally better than other states.

Despite the focus on redistribution Kerala has highest income inequality in the country.

Kerala was third poorest state in India when Communists came into rule in 1953. I will commend the communists for improving the socio-economic indices, not sure but perhaps the only state with 100% literacy in India, which they have done in 90s. But because of the LDF coalition, many businesses have stayed out of the state, on the economic front Kerala has ways to go.

Totally agree. Kerala is probably the most anti-industrial/anti-capitalist state in India. A majority of the working population earn their livelihood abroad (mostly Middle East), sends money and keeps the local economy running.

Being Anti-industrial/Anti-capitalist is a bad thing ? That is news for me.

It is if there aren't enough jobs to support the local population and there are only few jobs Government can create. To the people who are not familiar with political atmosphere in Kerala, it's not the 99%/Feel-the-Bern kind of socialism you see in US, but "how dare you start something which will make you rich and also create jobs" kind of communism. For god's sake, it is probably the only place in the world where common people use terms like "bourgeoisie".

> British could not plunder Travancore Kingdom in Kerala as much as they would have liked compared to say Kolkata which was another trade port

Incidentally, Kolkata is not just a Communist hotspot, but has had the longest-serving democratic Communist government in the world. That has not worked out so well for Kolkata and West Bengal, sadly.

Just pointing that out as a counterexample in another Marxist regime.

>> I am from Kerala state & I enjoy almost the same living standards in Kerala as that of US where I am currently working.

You've got to be kidding me. The definition of first world country isn't a fast internet connection. Heck US has 2G speeds all over the country.

Having world class road/transportation infrastructure, dependable energy security, national security, economic infrastructure, public schools which provide same quality of education throughout country etc. These are some of the things that count as metrics for development.

Kerala or any state in India is atleast 5 decades away from the standard of living I've seen in the US.

Well to be fair, under the Wikipedia article GP posted, it clearly says

Human Development Index: [1]

"From the starting of this index, Kerala has scored high, comparable to developed countries." ..<.. "The statistic is composed from data on Life Expectancy, Education and per-capita GDP (as an indicator of Standard of living)"

As far as internet, they are planning on introducing statewide free wifi both in rural and urban sectors. [2][3.1] [3.2] (technical) [3.3] (technical)

Now if you want to pick as to how they deal with modern issues, this could be an example. (Kerala becomes first state to unveil transgender policy) [4]

So yes while I agree it still has to catchup on some grounds, I don't think its decades away from achieving the standard of living found in the US.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala_model#Human_Development...

[2] http://kerala.me/blog/kerala-cities-to-become-wi-fi-enabled-...

[3.1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akshaya_project

[3.2] http://www.networkmagazineindia.com/200403/casestudy02.shtml

[3.3] http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu/docs/retreat_oct_05/mubaraq-econ...

[4] http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/kera...

Sorry, to see effects of Kerala model you don't even have to go that far.

Keralites can't wait to leave kerala for greaner pastures. Its no heaven. In fact going by the number of Keralites seeking jobs outside their state to merely make a living, Kerala is anything but developed.

I expected this comment. Happy to see it. Though this comment isn't worth anything per say, this shows how the rest of India is ignorant or cannot accept the facts that this state is a shining example of how other Indian states should be. All I can relate this comment is to the below fable.

"Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.'

People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply this story to themselves."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes#The_fab...

I get it, I should have seen this coming.

Either way, its near impossible for any Indian to accept anything negative told about their state, regardless of how shitty the actual conditions are.

Either way, very happy to know that Kerala == U.S.A

All the best.

Have you lived in both places ? I have. Hence.

Yes, have lived. Hence.

Do you speak malayalam , can you read/write malayalam ?

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