A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SC WELFARE SCHEMES IN HABITATS AND OTHER PLACES: A KERALA CASE STUDY

This work is an endeavor to evaluate and compare the impact of the SC welfare schemes in habitats and other dwelling places. It mainly focuses on three main factors which are crucial for shaping the future of SCs namely education, housing and employment. The Kottayam District of Kerala is taken as a sample for empirical study. Using the primary and secondary data the authors find the deprivation index, the indicator of the human development. An attempt is made to determine the major factors affecting deprivation. To compare the socio- economic status of SCs a new form of index of development, SEDI (Socio Economic Development Index) is developed and Statistical techniques are employed to find out the major factors affecting socio-economic development. This book is a hazardous journey of investigation based on theory, direct observation and shared experience which suggests some remedial measures. It also sheds light on certain dark areas of the miserable life of millions of SCs and highlights certain solutions, which would be of much use to policy-makers, planners, and above all, to the developing Nations that in turn provide tremendous benefits to the down-trodden in general.