Background
The High Court of Kerala was established on November 1, 1956, the same day the State of Kerala itself was formed under the States Reorganisation Act by merging Travancore-Cochin with the Malabar district of Madras State. It was formally inaugurated on November 5, 1956. The court's seat is at Ernakulam, and its territorial jurisdiction extends over the entire State of Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Two of its judges hold notable firsts in Indian judicial history: Justice Anna Chandy became the first woman High Court judge in India, and Justice M. Fathima Beevi became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Established:
1 November 1956
Seat:
Ernakulam
Why it matters for exams: The founding date, seat and dual-jurisdiction (Kerala plus Lakshadweep) of the Kerala High Court are standard Kerala PSC polity facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
The Kerala Public Service Commission was formed on November 1, 1956, when the Travancore-Cochin Public Service Commission was transformed into the Kerala PSC following the reorganisation of states that created Kerala. The Travancore-Cochin PSC itself had been created on July 1, 1949, by integrating the public service commissions of the princely states of Travancore and Cochin. The earliest predecessor traces to Travancore, where G. D. Nokes served as the first Public Service Commissioner from June 14, 1936. The Commission's membership has grown over the decades, from three members to eighteen members by 2005, with increases in strength recorded in 1959, 1971, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984.
Kerala PSC formed:
1 November 1956
Members (2005):
18
Why it matters for exams: The lineage from the Travancore Public Service Commissioner to today's Kerala PSC is a recurring Kerala PSC history question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
As the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly prepares for its second session starting October 12, 2026, its basic structure remains the standing framework for the state's legislature. Kerala has a unicameral legislature, meaning it has only one House, the Legislative Assembly, unlike a few Indian states that retain a Legislative Council. The Assembly is headquartered at the Niyamasabha Mandiram in Thiruvananthapuram. Sessions such as the upcoming one are convened by the Governor and conducted under rules framed by the House itself.
Legislature type:
Unicameral
Assembly location:
Thiruvananthapuram
Why it matters for exams: Whether Kerala's legislature is unicameral or bicameral, and who convenes its sessions, are basic and frequently tested polity facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Wayanad was formed as Kerala's 12th district on 1 November 1980, carved out of parts of Kozhikode and Kannur districts. It comprises three taluks - Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery and Vythiri - with Kalpetta as the district headquarters. The district lies on a plateau within the Western Ghats, at elevations between 700 and 2,100 metres above mean sea level, bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Wayanad ranks first among Kerala's districts in both pepper cultivation and coffee plantation, and its cash crops - pepper, cardamom, coffee, tea and other spices - make agriculture the principal occupation of its people. The district has no railway line. The name Wayanad is derived from 'Vayal Nadu', meaning the land of paddy fields, and the district is described as having a mainly tribal-oriented culture.
District formed:
1 November 1980 (12th district)
Headquarters:
Kalpetta
Why it matters for exams: District formation dates, headquarters and crop rankings of Kerala's districts are a recurring objective-question theme in Kerala PSC exams.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
G. D. Nokes was appointed the first Public Service Commissioner of Travancore on 14 June 1936, while Cochin set up a Staff Selection Board the same year, later forming a three-member Public Service Commission in 1947. Following the integration of Travancore and Cochin on 1 July 1949, a Public Service Commission for the State of Travancore-Cochin was constituted by an ordinance, with three members including the Chairman. When Kerala State was formed on 1 November 1956, the Travancore-Cochin Public Service Commission was transformed into the Kerala Public Service Commission. The Commission's strength has grown steadily since, from five members in 1959 to eighteen members by 2005, and it continues to function under the constitutional provisions that came into force with the Constitution of India.
Kerala PSC formed:
1 November 1956
Members by 2005:
18
Why it matters for exams: Kerala PSC's own constitutional lineage and formation history from the Travancore-Cochin Commission is a frequently asked topic in Kerala PSC preliminary exams.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Kudumbashree, Kerala's poverty eradication and women empowerment mission, was inaugurated on 17 May 1998 at Malappuram, in the presence of Chief Minister E. K. Nayanar and Minister for Local Administration Paloli Mohammed Kutty. It was registered in November 1998 under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, and began full operations on 1 April 1999. The mission grew out of the People's Plan Movement, with a three-member task force of S. M. Vijayanand, T. M. Thomas Isaac and Dr Prakash Bakshi recommending a state-level mission for poverty eradication. Its community organisation follows a three-tier structure: Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) of 15-20 households, Area Development Societies (ADS) at the ward level, and Community Development Societies (CDS) at the local government level. Kudumbashree functions as a community network working in tandem with Kerala's local self-government institutions, and achieved statewide coverage by 2003 after phased expansion.
Inaugurated:
17 May 1998, Malappuram
Structure:
NHG - ADS - CDS
Why it matters for exams: Kudumbashree's three-tier structure and its link to Kerala's local self-government system are staple Kerala PSC questions on state welfare schemes.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Eravikulam National Park, located in Devikulam Taluk of Idukki district near Munnar, was established in 1978 as the first national park in Kerala. It lies in the Kannan Devan Hills of the Western Ghats and features high-altitude grasslands and shola forests at elevations around 2,000 metres. The park contains Anamudi, the highest peak in South India at 2,695 metres. Eravikulam shelters the largest wild population of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) and is managed by the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife. The park is also known as the 'Land of Neelakurinji', for the mass flowering of Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana), which occurs once every 12 years.
Established:
1978
Highest peak:
Anamudi, 2,695 m
Why it matters for exams: Eravikulam's status as Kerala's first national park, its Nilgiri Tahr population and the Neelakurinji flowering cycle are recurring Kerala PSC environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC