Kerala Forward

  As people hit old age, those employed in the public sector can retire and live off the pensions and other benefits doled out by the government. Those posted in the private firms, on the other hand, could save enough and secure life post-retirement. But what about the other at-risk group, the non-earning elderly people who depend on others for money?   The State Government assists them with welfare pensions. The government has implemented the pension scheme to help senior citizens without any source of income to be independent for their primary needs. As per the records, more than 46 lakh people receive social security pensions from the State Government, while another 6.5 lakh people draw the welfare fund board pensions. In the past four years of the current administration, a total of 29,770 people were included in the beneficiary list for pensions. The government also scrutinized the list and weeded out the people who are ineligible to get the benefits.  Much to the...

When every new academic year kicks off, the biggest challenge for teachers is not simply getting the students to read or take proper notes — it is getting them the textbooks right on time for their study. Some students opt to use second-hand textbooks when books are not readily available, but not many are fortunate enough to have seniors around them willing to give away course materials.  Luckily for these students – and for teachers too, the first volume of textbooks will arrive by April 15. Over three crore textbooks for the 2020-21 academic year have been printed and are ready to ship. Like the previous academic years in school, the government made constant efforts to ensure the students receive their textbooks on time for study.   Distributed by the Kerala Books and Publication Society (KBPS), the textbooks are being published in three volumes, the first of which is now ready for distribution.  As many as 3.3 lakh textbooks have now been published in Arabi, Urdu...

  Walking to the Public Health Centre (PHC), Fousiya Cholakkadan carries a distinct spring in her step. The 45-year-old housewife from Malappuram has brought her mother to the PHC for the treatment of her age-related ailments, for which she won’t have to stand in long winding queues. She has taken a web-based appointment for her mother under Aardram project, the Kerala government project to deliver quality healthcare, patient-friendly services in government hospitals. The ambitious programme aims to add speciality and super-speciality facilities to the district and Taluk hospitals. It also looks to turn the PHCs into the Family Health Centres (FHC) to effectively meet the healthcare needs of all the members of the family and to address the preventive, promotive and rehabilitative healthcare. The key features of the project are that this enabled a web-based appointment system, patient reception and registration, improved facilities in waiting areas. The FHCs will have more numbe...

The past five years saw the Kerala Government showcase the courage to act on sensitive issues that led to frequent conflicts in the state. The ban on Nooku Kooli or 'gawking wage' has been one such measure that came as a jolt to trade unions who charged hirers for just looking while others worked. Making this obsolete gawking wage practice unlawful, the government made the all-important step to transform Kerala as an investment-friendly destination  Nokku Kooli, which literally translates into 'gawking wage or fees', is a localised term used to refer to the money extortion done by organised labour unions in the state. Under this unwritten law, wages have to be paid to trade union workers for loading and unloading works carried out by other workers or by machines. This practice has received criticism from all quarters for its futility and senselessness, and was considered a product of militant trade unionism that often led to constant fights between workers and busines...

  Over the past five years, Kerala has been a state of trend setters. So it should come as no surprise that the state, which has already launched a lot of first-in-the-country projects, came up with another in the form of a digital university. As is customary for Kerala in most of the previous projects, this one too is a pathbreaking venture in the country. It was Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammed Khan who inaugurated Kerala University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology based in Technocity at Mangalapuram, the first phase of which now completed with an academic and hostel block. The varsity is an outcome of the state's resolve to embrace new technologies and the continued efforts to use them for producing positive changes in people. It is expected to be a global hub for higher learning and technology.  Setting international standards in digital education for higher studies, the varsity will provide a digital platform for those wanting to pursue postgraduate and r...

  Surya’s mouth was dry, her clammy hands shaking uncontrollably and her heart beating faster as she left for the school on the opening day of SSLC examination last year. She was indeed engulfed by fear and anxiety about the exam and, more importantly, about Covid-19 and the chances of catching it from her friends. But special arrangements made at the centre to fight the coronavirus killed her fears, and Surya was finally relieved she would not have to wait for another academic year to finish her Class X because of the pandemic.  Like Surya, thousands of others had waited with bated breath as the public examinations in the state were deferred owing to the nationwide pandemic-induced lockdown. Opposition protest was mounting as the Kerala Government, which had to put off the SSLC and Plus Two exams indefinitely, later decided to conduct them with proper arrangements against Covid-19 spread.  The government, which allowed the Schools to organise the exam, also s...

  The Covid-19 saw a mass exodus of NRKs from the Gulf countries to Kerala. While some of them returned home on furlough, others flew back to the state after losing their day jobs. The mass NRI arrivals plunged an already crisis-hit country into deep water, but the Government in Kerala was not one to sit back and watch. It was first off the blocks to roll out programmes that rehabilitated the expats who landed in the state empty-handed.  The State launched different projects such as help desks, online medical consultation for patients, registration for Kerala expats, under the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) ROOTS. Using the schemes, the State Government actively intervened in the issues of those searching for jobs abroad, those who were stranded overseas and those who have arrived back in Kerala after being laid off from their organisations.    As many as 1,056 flights touched down at Kerala after the Centre launched Vande Bharat, a mission ...