Kollam, which was formerly called Quilon, is a district on the south west coast of Kerala with its headquarters at Kollam city. It covers 2,491 sq km and the Arabian Sea lies to its west, Tamil Nadu to its east, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta to its north and Thiruvananthapuram to its south. The district is administered as two revenue divisions, Kollam and Punalur, with three taluks each, making six taluks in all. Ashtamudi Lake, a large water body with many branches and islands, is its best known backwater and a popular boating destination. The eastern side holds forest and eco-tourism country at Shenduruni, Thenmala and Palaruvi. Kollam's cashew industry goes back to the Portuguese period and the district is a leading exporter of processed cashew in India. Neendakara and Thangasseri carry its fishing harbours and marine industry. Thangasseri Lighthouse, St Thomas Fort and Thevally Palace survive from the Portuguese, Dutch and British periods. The district records annual rainfall of 270 cm.
Area:2,491 sq kmRevenue divisions:Kollam and Punalur, six taluks in allAnnual rainfall:270 cm
Why it matters for exams: Kollam's former name Quilon, its area of 2,491 sq km, its two revenue divisions of Kollam and Punalur with six taluks, and Ashtamudi Lake are the fixed district facts Kerala PSC geography questions use.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly keeps its own list of everyone who has presided over the House. The list names twenty three presiding officers. A Sankaranarayan Thampi is the first of them. Two people on the list served two separate terms each, Vakkom Purushothaman and Therambil Ramakrishnan. The others include K M Seethi Sahib, C H Muhammed Koya, V M Sudheeran, Varkala Radhakrishnan, M Vijayakumar, K Radhakrishnan, G Karthikeyan, N Sakthan, P Sreeramakrishnan, M B Rajesh and A N Shamseer. The Speaker presides over the House, keeps order in it and decides questions of procedure, and the Deputy Speaker takes the chair when the Speaker is away. Because Kerala has only one chamber, there is no corresponding presiding office in a second House.
Why it matters for exams: A Sankaranarayan Thampi was the first Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, twenty three presiding officers are on the Assembly's list, and Vakkom Purushothaman and Therambil Ramakrishnan each served two separate terms — the office and its holders are regular Kerala PSC material.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly maintains a list of everyone who has been Governor of the State. The list carries twenty six tenure entries for twenty five individuals, because H R Bhardwaj appears twice, each time as in-charge Governor. B Ramakrishna Rao is the first name on it, and his term began before the Assembly itself was first constituted. V V Giri, who later became President of India, comes second on the list. Three women appear on it, Jyothi Vencatachellum, Ramulari Sinha and Sheila Dikshit. Others include Bhagwan Sahay, Sikander Bakht, T N Chaturvedi, R L Bhatia, M O H Farook, Palanisamy Sathasivam and Arif Mohammed Khan. A Governor of a State is appointed by the President and holds office during the President's pleasure, and the same person can be given charge of more than one State at a time.
Why it matters for exams: B Ramakrishna Rao was the first Governor of Kerala, V V Giri held the office before becoming President of India, and a Governor is appointed by the President and holds office during the President's pleasure — all fixed Polity facts.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly keeps a table of everyone who has been Chief Minister of the State, with the day each tenure began and ended. The table runs to 24 tenures held by 13 individuals, because several returned to the office more than once. E M S Namboodiripad heads the list as the first Chief Minister of Kerala. K Karunakaran appears four separate times, more than anyone else. E K Nayanar and A K Antony each appear three times, and C Achutha Menon, Oommen Chandy and Pinarayi Vijayan twice each. The shortest tenures in the table lasted only weeks. Others on the list include Pattom A Thanu Pillai, R Sankar, P K Vasudevan Nair, C H Mohammed Koya and V S Achuthanandan. Reading the table is a quick way to see how often governments changed in the State's early decades compared with its later full five-year terms.
Tenures listed:Twenty fourIndividuals:ThirteenMost tenures:K Karunakaran, four
Why it matters for exams: E M S Namboodiripad was the first Chief Minister of Kerala, 13 individuals have held the office across 24 tenures, and K Karunakaran held it four separate times — the most asked facts about the office in Kerala PSC papers.
The public search of the Geographical Indications Registry carries the Payyannur Pavithra Ring as application number 6. The status shown against that application is Registered. The applicant named on the record is the Payyannur Pavithra Ring Artisans and Development Society, with an address on Main Road in Payyannur, Kannur district. The record places the goods in class 14 and gives the goods type as Handicraft. The geographical area is entered as Kerala and the priority country as India. The same entry shows journal number 7 and certificate number 144.
Why it matters for exams: Kerala handicraft tags are asked by applicant body, district, class and goods type, and the Payyannur Pavithra Ring sits in class 14 as a Handicraft with a Kannur applicant society.
The Geographical Indications Registry carries application number 641 as Tirur Betel Leaf, with Tirur Vettila given in brackets as the same name. The status against the application is Registered. The applicant is the Tirur Vettila Ulpadaka Sangam, whose address on the record runs care of Krishibhavan at Tirur, on the Tirur to Chamaravattom road at Alingal in Malappuram district. The goods are placed in class 31 and the goods type is given as Agricultural. The geographical area is entered as Kerala and the priority country as India. The entry carries journal number 120 and certificate number 354.
Why it matters for exams: The Tirur Vettila tag pairs a Malappuram producers' sangam with class 31 and the goods type Agricultural, the three details a GI question usually turns on.
The Geographical Indications Registry carries Kanthalloor Vattavada Veluthulli as application number 749, with the status Registered. The applicant named is the Anchunad Vattavada Kanthalloor Veluthulli Udpadaka Karshaka Sangham. Its address on the record runs care of Krishibhavan Vattavada at Kovilloor, post Vattavada, in Idukki district of Kerala. The record places the goods in class 31 and gives the goods type as Agriculture. The geographical area is entered as Kerala and the priority country as India. The entry shows journal number 159 and certificate number 428.
Application number:749District in applicant address:IdukkiClass:31Certificate number:428
Why it matters for exams: This tag ties the name Kanthalloor Vattavada Veluthulli to an Anchunad karshaka sangham in Idukki district, under class 31 of the register.
The Geographical Indications Registry carries Onattukara Ellu as application number 736, with the status Registered. The applicant named on the record is the Onattukara Vikasana Agency. Its address is given at the Mini Civil Station, post Kayamkulam, in Alappuzha district of Kerala. The goods are placed in class 31 and the goods type is given as Agriculture. The geographical area is entered as Kerala and the priority country as India. The entry carries journal number 159 and certificate number 427.
Why it matters for exams: On the register Onattukara Ellu is held by a development agency, the Onattukara Vikasana Agency, and its address at Kayamkulam fixes it in Alappuzha district.
The Thiruvananthapuram district site describes Neyyar Dam as a gravity dam on the Neyyar River in Thiruvananthapuram district. The site places it at the Western Ghats foothills, roughly 30 km from Thiruvananthapuram, and says it was established in 1958. The dam is situated in Kallikkad Panchayath of Kattakkada Taluk. The page says it was built on land given for irrigation purposes by an agriculturist named Karuvachiyil Krishan Panicker and other members of his family. One canal of the Neyyar flows to the western districts of Tamil Nadu. The main river runs through Kallikkadu, Ottasekharamangalam, Aryancode, Kezharoor, Perumkadavila, Marayamuttom, Neyyattinkara and Poovar. It ends at the Arabian Sea. Lying against the southern low hills of the Western Ghats, the dam has a scenic lake.
River:NeyyarTaluk:KattakkadaPanchayath:KallikkadDistance from Thiruvananthapuram:about 30 km
Why it matters for exams: Neyyar Dam pairs a river with an administrative address that is often asked together: the Neyyar River, Kallikkad Panchayath and Kattakkada Taluk in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The Ernakulam district site calls Hill Palace the largest archaeological museum in Kerala and the administrative centre of Cochin. The complex has 49 buildings in the local style on 54 acres. Along with the Hill Palace Archaeological Museum it holds a Heritage Museum, a Deer Park, a Prehistoric Park and a Children's Park, and there are many medicinal plants around the palace. The site credits the building of the palace in 1865 to the Maharaja of Cochin, who met the cost from his personal wealth. The Cochin Royal Family handed it over to the Government of Kerala in 1980, and the Archaeological Department took it over in 1986. The museum was opened in 1991 and at present has 11 galleries. Its collection holds ancient artifacts, sculptures, coins and materials belonging to the Cochin Maharaja and his royal family. The district page gives Tripunithura railway station, about 2 km away, as the nearest station.
Why it matters for exams: Hill Palace is the museum asked by its numbers: 49 buildings, 54 acres and 11 galleries, held by the Archaeological Department after the Cochin Royal Family handed it to the State.