Kerala
For long the economy of Kerala, one of India's most literate states, had been financed by petro-dollars sent by people from the state working overseas, especially in the Persian Gulf region.
The state has been going through a series of problems trying to raise the level industrialisation, usher in a free market economy, attract higher foreign direct investment, and establish a healthy services sector. The domineering presence of Leftist unions has to an extent curbed Kerala's ambitions.
Yet, the standard of living in Kerala is among the best in India. The state has a very well developed tourism, banking and finance, and communications sectors. Yet it suffers from a high level of joblessness fuelling corruption. It has thus been categorized as 'Highly Corrupt.'
V S Achuthanandan is the state chief minister.
Image: Tourists enjoying a ride aboard a houseboat in the backwaters of Alappuzha in Kerala. | Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images
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