Kerala

Kerala State India:

Other States

Area : 38,863 sq km

Population: 3,18,38,6119; growth rate (1991-2001): 9.42%

Density per sq km: 819

Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males): 1,058

Literacy rate: 90.92% (males: 94.20% females: 87.86%

Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

No. of Districts: 13

Legislature: Unicameral

Principal Language: Malayalam

Important Cities, Towns, and Religious/Tourist Places:

Alleppey (sandy beach), Alwaye, Calicut (also called Kozhikode, was capital of Zamorin Rajas; Vasco da Gama landed here in 1498 AD), Cannanore (was capital of Kolathiri Raja), Choruthuruthi (famous poet and scholar Vallathol set up "Kerala Kalamanalam" here for revival of kerala are Forms), Cranganore (was capital ofcheraman Perumal, king of Kerala), Ernakulam, Guruvayoor (famous for ancient shrine of Lord Krishna), Idukki (hydro-electric Project), Kaladi (birth Place of Adi Sankaracharya, great Indian philosopher of 8th century), Kalpetta, Kasaragod (fort Projecting on to the sea), Kochi (earlier name Cochin, known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea), Kodanad (tourist place for trapping and taming wild elephants), Kottayam (main commercial centre), Kovalam (sea-side resort), Kozhikode, Malampuzha (picturesque surroundings and river project ).

Malappuram, Munnar (highest town of kerala), Neyyar Dam (famous for scenic beauty), Palakkad, painavu Pathanamthitta, Periyar (wild life sanctuary) located near Thekkadi), ponmudi (famous bill station), quilon, Thiruvananthapuram (earlier name Trivandrum, known for Padmanabaswami temple, Veli lagoon at the outskirts), Trichur.

Judicature: High Court at Erankulam.

Location: Located in south India, Kerala is bounded north by Karnataka, cast and southeast by Tamil Nadu, south - west by the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea in the west.

History: The State of kerala, created under the states Reorganization Act, 1956, consists of the previous State of Travancore - Cochin, expert for four taluks of the Trivandrumdistrict and a part of the Shencottah taluk of Quilon district. It took over the Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South from Madras state.

Economy: Nearly 50 percent of the population of kerala is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. About 13 percent of the total cropped area is under irrigation. Cashewnut, arecanut, cocount, cotton, tea, cocoa, ginger and cardamom are the main cash crops of kerala. Rice and tapioca are important food crops. Forests account for 24 percent of the area of the State.

Ilmenite, rutile, monazite, zircon, sillimanite and clay, quartz sand and lime shell are the important minerals of the State. Coir, cashew, rubber, tea, ceramics, electrical and electronic appliances, telephone cables, transformers, bricks and tiles, drugs and chemicals, general engineering, plywood, splints veneers, beedi and cigar, soaps, oils and fertilizers are the important industries of kerala.

The new industries include precision instruments, machine tools. Petroleum and petroleum products, fertilizers and allied products, paints, aluminum, communication cables, rubber, rayon, pulp, paper, scooter, glass and nonferrous metals. The principal export products are cashew nuts, tea. coffee, paper and other spices, lemongrass oil, seafood's, rosewood, coir and coir products.

The important power projects are: Panniyar, Sholayar, Sabarigiri, Sengulam, Peringalkuth, Neriamangalam, Idukki, Pallivasal, Edamalayar and Kuttiadi.

Seaport : Kochi is the major seaport.

Airports : Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. Out of them, the first two are international airports.