Nava Keralam Mission

by Sneha Singla

Sneha is a second year undergraduate student at Lady Shri Ram College, pursuing an honours in Political Science with a minor in Economics.

INTRODUCTION

The Navakeralam Mission is an initiative by the Government of Kerala, launched in 2016 in order to address the socio-economic development challenges faced by Kerala, and subsequently create a New Kerala. The main objective of the mission is to organize and coordinate sustainable development activities in 4 primary areas: environment, housing, education and health. This is envisioned by resolving existing limitations and at the same time, utilising people participation and technology to strategically confront future challenges. In 2021, the government introduced Navakeralam Karma Padhati-2, which integrated the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI) under the same umbrella as well. NKP strategizes a coordinating and convergent role by linking the activities of the four development missions and the Rebuild Kerala Initiative simultaneously ensuring continuity in the existing mission activities.

KEY FEATURES

Aardram Mission (Health)

The project aims to strengthen the functioning of family health centers, taluk hospitals, district hospitals, district general hospitals and medical collegesFurther, it envisages to collect a basic health database of all the citizens of each region and based on data analytics, lifestyle diseases can be identified and treated at the early stage. Universal Immunization programmes (which provide free vaccinations to children and pregnant women) are implemented in all districts through Aardram Mission

	Other objectives include:Transform PHCs into FHCsAvail the best service of the best doctors and para medical staffReform out-patient management procedures with state-of-the-art facilitiesFacilitate with hygienic and spacious wards, rooms, beds and toiletsAvail Life Saving Medicines from the hospital concerned on moderate rates
LIFE Mission (Housing)	In Kerala, at least 4,78,331 families are either landless and homeless or own a piece of land but without a home to live in.LIFE (Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) has introduced a comprehensive housing scheme for all the homeless and landless in the state.The government received 9,20,260 applications for houses under Life Mission from July 2020- April 2022.Achievement: According to the government, it had completed 2,62,409 houses in the five years of the first LDF government from 2016 to 2021.It includes services of Primary Health Care, Geriatric Supports, Skill Development and provision for financial services.Key objectives includeAssuring the secure feeling of an own homeHelping to make houses for those who have landAssuring homes in apartments for 1,58,000 landless peopleGeriatric care and Palliative careFinancial empowerment by providing means for livelihood.
Haritha Keralam	This initiative mainly addresses three areas of concern Water resource management:Due to lack of proper conservation mechanisms, despite heavy monsoon and diverse water resources, Kerala often faces droughts. Efforts are made to conserve and protect 44 rivers, 50,000 ponds and 60,000 wells, lakes and streams Waste management:Faced primarily in urban areas, The Waste sector contributed to almost 8% of gross GHG emissions

(excluding LULUCF) of Kerala in 2021 b. Haritha Keralam promotes household level segregation and disposal of the waste scientifically through methods like composting, bio gas production, etc. It also implements solutions for the disposal, reuse and recycling of institutional wastes. Organic farming (agriculture)Envisions self sufficiency in producing vegetables, fruits and paddy by promoting the methods of organic farming. As a part of the programme organic farming will be extended even to small lands attached to households and a new culture of agriculture will be inculcated among the people of the state.

Vidyakiranam (Education)

The mission aims at: Betterment of educational surroundingsUse of technology in educationRenewal of learning method1000 schools will be uplifted as Smart SchoolsFrom each category educational assistance will be provided to 25 children from each district for duration of 10 months The change won’t be limited not only to the infrastructure. It implements the newest teaching and learning methods as well. Class rooms will be converted to smart classrooms and provide opportunities for students to acquire knowledge using state-of-the art technology tools. In 2021, 45,313 laptops were distributed to ST students as part of Vidyakiranam.

KEY CHALLENGES

Coordination: The Nava Kerala Mission requires close communication between various departments of the government in order to recognise the beneficiaries, screen the applicants, accumulate the final lists and subsequently provide the benefits of the Yet, a lack of coordination has been reported between the various departments, which leads to inordinate delay.
This can be exemplified in two areas:
1. LIFE mission: while the government received almost 10 lakh applications, there has been reported a lack of coordination between departments to finalise the lists of beneficiaries
2. The laptop distribution scheme envisaged distribution of 4 lakh laptops, but its mechanisms are still unclear.
Vulnerable populations: The poorest sections of the society including the coastal population, plantation workers, and those who stay in temporary shelters in the government According to the mission, they are to be given top priority, yet the implementation is lacking.
Budget: There is a lack of clear financing. Many of these projects are significantly overlapping with other schemes of the In this context, budgetary allocation for the mission does not clarify the money given to each project.
Taking a look at some of the past budget allocation:
1. In FY 2019-20, Rs 100 crore were set aside for the Nava Kerala
2. In FY 2025-26, Rs 500 crore was allotted for implementing Nava Kerala Projects
3. Many projects were proposed to be financed by taking donations from the public, primarily in the form of CSR. The authority to take these donations i.e. who will invite bids for each specific project is unclear.
4. At the same time, there has been a reduction in grants from central govt. Grants from the centre in 2023-24 are estimated at Rs 15,866 crore, a decrease of 39% over the revised estimates for 2022-23. This decline is on account of the discontinuation of GST compensation after June 2022, and a reduction in revenue deficit grants.
5. Further, the following budget allocation for FY 23-24 clearly shows the overlapping of funding, hence the lack of clarity:

Source: Annual Financial Statement, Kerala Budget 2023-24; PRS.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:

Data Collection:
1. Strategically implement data collection mediums at the ground level, in order to gain constant feedback and data-driven insights.
2. Leverage frontline workers, panchayats and NGOs to enable this data There are approximately 2.5 million Anganwadi workers and helpers in India.
3. This data can be further used to formulate effective and specific budgets, with clear demarcations within various projects.
4. Public social audits to be conducted regularly
5. Utilise data highways and AI for better estimation, governance and
Integration with existing projects, such as farmer’s markets to promote organic Increase coordination with local authorities for solid waste management projects, encouraging community level initiatives in collaboration with NGOs.
Clear demarcation of authorities undertaking each project with respect to budgeting and implementation. This is to foster coordination and avoid mismanagement of resources in overlapping efforts.
Home based care/ telemedicine to build capacity under Aardram mission. The Indian telemedicine market is growing significantly, with the market size expected to increase from $1.10 billion in 2022 to $5.15 billion by 2030.

CONCLUSION

The Nava Kerala Mission is not one isolated project, it is in fact embedded in a long term vision of building a New Kerala. It works in tandem with many other projects, which often overlap. It is also evident that there are gaps in data collection and reporting which must be addressed in order to realise the fullest potential of this policy.

Nava Keralam Mission

INTRODUCTION

KEY FEATURES

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:

CONCLUSION

SOURCES

PM Surya Ghar Yojana, 2024

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