Kerala 2005 - of Planning Commission

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fortunate in having had such a platform, strong though
fragmented, for a long period that has been instrumental in
bringing in so much a-capability enhancement. But history
cannot stop here. The question is: Can Kerala achieve real
development?
4. Concluding Observations
At a broad level, this chapter suggests that while progress
on the income front may have been retarded in relation to
advances in non-income dimensions of achievement in
an earlier phase of Kerala’s development, the preliminary
investment in human development has greatly facilitated
a spurt in growth during the subsequent phase of the
State’s development. Certain economic reforms in the
1990s, such as the depreciation of the rupee, the removal
of a number of constraints on investment and import of
technology/raw materials, provided a more conducive
environment for investment. It appears therefore that our
analysis does assume a ‘lagged’ effect in an unravelling
of the earlier phase of ‘human development lopsided
growth’ which, aided by a particular conjuncture of
economic forces, resulted in a high growth rate in the
second period. This hypothesis, of course, has to be
probed further.
In particular, the growth process in the post – 1980s
period has been significantly helped by Kerala’s distinctive
profile of demographic development, superior educational
attainment, which has been instrumental in promoting
out-migration; and remittances from the Gulf, which have
played a role in giving an impetus to both consumption
and investment. Enhanced income growth, it must be
expected, will be instrumental in maintaining, sustaining,
and possibly enhancing, the State’s historical record of
improvements on the human development front. However,
infrastructural inadequacies – especially in crucial sectors
such as connectivity and power, and with particular
reference to quality more than the quantity of provisioning
– are a potentially significant source of inhibition on the
growth process. But everything considered, the story so far
has been a relatively happy one: It is time to recognise that
the news may, actually, be a bit more mixed than it has
come across. This is attended to in the next two chapters.