SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF FISHERMEN COMMUNITY IN KERALA

Although the contribution of Fisheries to the revenue of both State and Central Governments are commendable, the social and economic life of fishermen all over India are not satisfactory. In Kerala, the socio-economic status of the fishermen community is still not better, the result of which is that the educational, health, occupational and income status have not been good enough to achieve personal economic well-being. The microfinance industry can play a major role in bringing up the status of fishermen upto a desired level. The objective of the main study is to assess the outcome of microfinance operations for the benefit of fishermen community in Kerala. The main study mainly aims to measure the changes in the socio-economic status towards personal economic well-being of the fishermen community. As a part of the main study, here presents the study relating to the most important aspects of socio-economic status of the fishermen community in Kerala as it is and a classification according to the socio-economic status. KEY WORDS: Fishermen, Educational Status, Health, Income, Microfinance