Kerala Information
Kerala or Keralam is an Indian state located on the
Malabar coast of south-west India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 by the
States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking
regions.The state has an area of 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered
by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south,
and the Arabian Sea[note] on the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the state
capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey
by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are
located in Kerala.Kerala is a popular destination for its backwaters,
beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery.
Kerala has the highest Human Development Index in India, higher than that
of most developed countries The state has the highest literacy rate in
India with 93.91 percent. It hopes to be the first e-literate state in
India through the state run Akshaya project. The state recently became and
is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village.A
survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as
the least corrupt state in the country. Kerala is also ranked as India's
cleanest state.Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people,
especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and
is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate
community.
Kerala is a top tourist destination in India.National Geographic's
Traveller magazine names Kerala as one of the "ten paradises of the world"
and "50 must see destinations of a lifetime". Travel and Leisure names
Kerala as "One of the 100 great trips for the 21st century". The Kerala
Government Tourism Department, a government department in charge of
promoting tourism has adopted the slogan God's Own Country for its
campaigns.
