Background
The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) began with an announcement in 2003 of six AIIMS-type hospitals. The scheme was approved in March 2006. Its primary objective is to correct regional imbalances in the availability of affordable and reliable tertiary level healthcare, and to improve medical education in under-served or backward States. Besides new AIIMS, PMSSY also covers upgradation of existing government medical colleges. As per the PIB release cited here (2017), 19 AIIMS and 71 medical colleges or institutions were being taken up. That release lists Kerala only under upgradation: Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Alappuzha medical colleges.
Announced:
2003 (six AIIMS-type hospitals)
Scheme approved:
March 2006
AIIMS undertaken (per 2017 PIB release):
19
Medical colleges for upgradation (per 2017 PIB release):
71
Why it matters for exams: PMSSY is a standard Union health-scheme question, and its objective of correcting regional imbalance is the examinable core.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PMSSY Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana — A Union health scheme for AIIMS-type institutions and upgradation of government medical colleges.
AIIMS All India Institute of Medical Sciences — A tertiary-care medical institution set up under PMSSY in many States.
Background
The University of Kerala's own page records it as established in 1937, as the University of Travancore, during the reign of Sree Chithira Thirunal. Its Facts and Figures page calls it the 16th University in India. Its charter is the Kerala University Act of 1974 (Act 17 of 1974); it was earlier governed by the Travancore University Act of 1937 and the Kerala University Act of 1957. Its motto is Karmani Vyajyate Pranja (Wisdom through Action). The Registrar's address is Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram. Listed campuses include Senate House (17 acres) and Kariavattom (359 acres).
Established:
1937
Original name:
University of Travancore
Charter:
Kerala University Act, 1974 (Act 17 of 1974)
Kariavattom Campus (acres):
359
Why it matters for exams: Kerala PSC regularly asks about Kerala's older institutions, their founding year and the Act that governs them.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Act 17 of 1974 Kerala University Act, 1974 — The Act that is the University of Kerala's present charter.
Background
This explains two Kerala institutions in the fisheries sector. Matsyafed, the Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development Ltd., was registered on 19 March 1984 as an apex federation of primary welfare societies in the coastal fishery sector. Its objective is the economic and social development of fishermen through schemes in production, procurement, processing and marketing. The Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) was established on 20 November 2010 and is governed by the KUFOS Act, 2010. Its page calls it the first Fisheries University formed in India. Its headquarters is at Kochi, with the main campus of 75 acres at Panangad.
Matsyafed registered:
19 March 1984
KUFOS established:
20 November 2010
KUFOS headquarters:
Kochi
Panangad campus (acres):
75
Why it matters for exams: Kerala PSC asks about apex co-operative bodies and Kerala's specialised universities, with their founding dates and headquarters.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Matsyafed Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development — The apex federation of primary fishermen welfare societies in coastal Kerala.
KUFOS Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies — The State's university for fisheries and ocean studies, headquartered at Kochi.
Background
The body that recommends how much of Kerala's tax revenue goes to its panchayats and municipalities is the State Finance Commission, which the State constitutes under Article 243-I and Article 243-Y of the Constitution of India to review the financial position of the Panchayats and the Municipalities. The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act was passed as early as in 1994, and the first State Finance Commission was constituted immediately after that. The first Commission's award covered the five years from 1996. Kerala has since constituted its Commissions without any break; the Seventh State Finance Commission was constituted in 2024 and its award covers the five-year block that opens in 2026. Kerala was the first State to set up a Cell in the Secretariat to follow up the implementation of the recommendations, in 1997. The Commission's own account says that panchayats in Kerala have transformed into the third stratum of government.
Basis for panchayats:
Article 243-I
Basis for municipalities:
Article 243-Y
First Commission constituted:
23/04/1994
First award period:
April 1996 to March 2001
Seventh Commission constituted:
26/09/2024
Seventh Commission's devolution period:
April 2026 to March 2031
Why it matters for exams: Devolution to local governments is examined through the constitutional article, the State Act and the numbering of the Commissions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Devolution — The transfer of a share of State taxes and of functions to local governments.
Article 243-I — The provision requiring a State to constitute a Finance Commission to review panchayat finances.
Background
The Economic Review that sets out the state of Kerala's economy before each Budget is the work of the Kerala State Planning Board, the body that also formulates the State's Five-Year and Annual Plans. The Board was constituted in 1967. The Chairperson of the Board is the Chief Minister of the State, and the term of the Board is co-terminus with the term of the ruling Government. Its functions include formulating Five-Year and Annual Plans, preparing the annual Economic Review, monitoring Plan implementation and coordinating the work of the Decentralisation Cell. The Director, Bureau of Economics and Statistics, was the first Member Secretary of the Board. The Chief Secretary to the Government and the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department are permanent invitees, and the Board's office is at Pattom in Thiruvananthapuram.
Constituted:
September, 1967
Chairperson:
Chief Minister of the State
Term:
co-terminus with the term of the ruling Government
First Member Secretary:
The Director, Bureau of Economics and Statistics
Office:
Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram
Why it matters for exams: The Planning Board's chairpersonship, its year of constitution and the Economic Review are standard Kerala PSC questions on State economic machinery.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Economic Review — The Planning Board's yearly account of how each sector of Kerala's economy has performed.
Co-terminus — Lasting exactly as long as something else, here the government in office.
Background
Much of the scrutiny work of the Kerala Legislative Assembly is done away from the floor, by standing committees that are constituted afresh for each Assembly and that meet in the conference halls of the Legislative Assembly complex. The financial side includes the Committee on Estimates and the Committee on Local Fund Accounts, the second of them named for local funds rather than for the accounts of State departments. Other committees cover Subordinate Legislation, Government Assurances, Papers Laid on Table and Privileges and Ethics. The Rules Committee and the House Committee sit alongside them, as does a committee on Official Languages. A further group of welfare committees covers the Welfare of Fishermen and Allied Workers, the Welfare of Non-Resident Keralites and the Welfare of Senior Citizens, among others. Committee reports are published through the Legislature, and the Committee on Local Fund Accounts of the present Assembly was constituted for the term 2026-29.
Committee for local body accounts:
Committee on Local Fund Accounts
Term of the present committee:
2026-29
Other financial committee named:
Committee on Estimates
Why it matters for exams: Questions regularly ask which Assembly committee handles a given subject, and local fund accounts is the one candidates most often miss.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Subordinate Legislation — Rules and orders made by the government under powers a law has given it.
Government Assurances — Promises ministers make on the floor of the House, which a committee then tracks.
Background
Kerala's classical Sanskrit theatre is recognised by UNESCO not as a monument but as living heritage, on a list of its own. Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre, is practised in the province of Kerala and is one of India's oldest living theatrical traditions. It was inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and had been proclaimed earlier, in 2001. Originating more than 2,000 years ago, Kutiyattam represents a synthesis of Sanskrit classicism and reflects the local traditions of Kerala. In its stylized and codified theatrical language, neta abhinaya (eye expression) and hasta abhinaya (the language of gestures) are prominent. Actors undergo ten to fifteen years of rigorous training; a single act may take days to perform and a complete performance may last up to 40 days. Kutiyattam is traditionally performed in theatres called Kuttampalams, which are located in Hindu temples.
Inscribed:
2008
Originally proclaimed:
2001
Training period for an actor:
ten to fifteen years
Length of a complete performance:
up to 40 days
Why it matters for exams: Examiners test whether a candidate can tell UNESCO's intangible heritage list apart from the World Heritage List, and Kutiyattam is the standard Kerala example.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Kuttampalam — The roofed theatre hall built inside a temple compound for ritual performance.
Abhinaya — The acting technique by which a performer conveys meaning through body, face and gesture.
Representative List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — UNESCO's main list of living traditions, kept separate from the World Heritage List of places.
Background
Kasaragod, the district at the northern end of Kerala that hosts the Central University of Kerala, was formed in 1984. It was created on the basis of the order of 19.05.1984 of GO (MS) number 520/84 / RD, comprising the Hosdurg and Kasaragod taluks, which were part of the undivided Kannur District. The district has Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka to its east and the Arabian Sea in the west. Its administrative frame today is four taluks and 129 villages, with two revenue subdivisions. On the local government side it has six blocks and 38 panchayats, and it holds five Assembly Constituencies. The district headquarters town also gives its name to the Kasaragod tiles made from the local hard red clay.
Formed:
24th May, 1984
Order number:
GO (MS) number 520/84 / RD
Date of the order:
19.05.1984
Parent district:
undivided Kannur District
Taluks and villages:
Taluk (4) and Villages (129)
Blocks and panchayats:
Blocks (6) and Panchayats (38)
Assembly constituencies:
Assembly Constituencies (5)
Why it matters for exams: District formation questions ask the date, the parent district and the taluks, and Kasaragod is the State's youngest district by this route.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Taluk — The revenue unit between the district and the village in Kerala's administration.
GO (MS) Government Order (Manuscript series) — The numbered written order through which the State government takes a formal decision.
Background
A warning issued for a Kerala district is acted on at the Collectorate, where the district's Emergency Control Room works. A district control room is reached on the toll free number 1077, while the State Control Room is 1070. The same directory lists the State Emergency Operation Centre separately from the State Control Room, and gives it no toll free number of its own. For the deployment of outside help, district directories list the Ernakulam Collectorate as the room contacted for providing NDRF/ NAVY service. A district directory also lists the offices the control room works through, among them the District Collector, the District Police Chief, the District Medical Officer, the Coastal Police station and the Deputy Director of Fisheries. Knowing which number belongs to the State and which to the district is the practical part of the system.
District control room:
1077
State Control Room:
1070
State-level centre:
State Emergency Operation Centre
Room listed for NDRF and Navy help:
Ernakulam Collectorate
Why it matters for exams: Helpline numbers and the district-versus-State split of disaster machinery are asked directly in Kerala PSC general awareness papers.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
NDRF National Disaster Response Force — The central force called in for rescue work when a State asks for it.
Collectorate — The District Collector's office, the hub of district administration.
Background
The Kerala Legislative Assembly, the House the Governor summons for each session, has not sat without interruption: the Legislature's own record of President's Rule in Kerala lists seven spells. They are 23-3-1956 to 5-4-1957, 31-7-1959 to 22-2-1960, 10-9-1964 to 6-3-1967, 4-8-1970 to 3-10-1970, 5-12-1979 to 25-1-1980, 21-10-1981 to 28-12-1981 and 17-3-1982 to 23-5-1982. The longest of them ran for about two and a half years, from 10-9-1964 to 6-3-1967. The shortest ran for about two months, from 4-8-1970 to 3-10-1970. Three of the seven fall within a span of three years at the start of the nineteen-eighties. The record shows no further spell after 23-5-1982.
Spells listed in the record:
7
First spell begins:
23-3-1956
First spell ends:
5-4-1957
Longest spell begins:
10-9-1964
Longest spell ends:
6-3-1967
Last spell ends:
23-5-1982
Why it matters for exams: The number of spells of President's Rule in Kerala and the longest of them are asked in both State and national polity papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
President's Rule — The arrangement under which a State is administered by the Union when its government cannot be carried on under the Constitution.
Background
The smallest protected area under the state forest department is not in the Western Ghats but in the heart of Kochi city. Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary lies in Ernakulam district and has an area of 0.0274 sq km. It is the only bird sanctuary in Kerala which is located in Mangrove forests. The word Mangal means mangroves in Portuguese. The sanctuary was established in 2004. A survey found that there are 194 birds in 32 species, and the number of bird species recorded so far from this area is 72. There are also 17 species of butterflies and 51 different types of spiders on record here.
District:
Ernakulam
Area:
0.0274 sq km
Established:
2004
Bird species recorded so far:
72
Why it matters for exams: Kerala PSC repeatedly asks which is the smallest protected area in the State and which sanctuary stands in mangrove forest; both answers are the same place.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Protected area — An area notified by government for the conservation of wildlife and its habitat.
Mangrove — Salt-tolerant forest that grows on tidal coasts and estuaries.
Background
India's first planned eco-tourism destination lies in the foothills of the Western Ghats, in the Kollam district of Kerala. Thenmala is a government-managed facility. It is run by the Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society (TEPS). Thenmala is the meeting point of Kollam-Shencottah road and Trivandrum-Shencottah road, surrounded by dense forest, and is 66 kms east of Kollam. The destination offers lush green forests, butterfly safaris, musical dancing fountains, and adventure activities such as trekking, hiking and night camping. The stated aim of the Thenmala Eco Tourism area is preserving, protecting and even improving the environment.
District:
Kollam
Managed by:
Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society (TEPS)
Distance from Kollam:
66 kms east of Kollam
Why it matters for exams: The 'first in India' tag and the name of the managing society are the two details an examiner can convert into a one-mark question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
TEPS Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society — The government society that runs the Thenmala eco-tourism area.
Eco-tourism — Tourism planned so that visitor use does not degrade the natural area it depends on.