ABusiness owners and professionals
BUrban dwellers and educated individuals
CMarginalised social categories like SC, ST, fisherfolk
DGovernment employees and pensioners
Answer:
C. Marginalised social categories like SC, ST, fisherfolk
Read Explanation:
Key Insights into Poverty in Kerala: Targeting Vulnerable Groups
Poverty in Kerala disproportionately affects specific social and occupational groups, highlighting persistent inequalities despite the state's overall development achievements.
Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST): These communities continue to face higher rates of poverty due to historical disadvantages, landlessness, and limited access to quality education and employment opportunities.
Fisherfolk Community: Coastal populations, particularly those dependent on traditional fishing, often experience vulnerability due to fluctuating catches, environmental changes, market uncertainties, and lack of alternative livelihood options.
Other Marginalised Groups: Poverty is also prevalent among landless agricultural labourers, certain segments of the backward classes, and those engaged in precarious, informal sector employment.
Kerala Model of Development and Poverty: While Kerala is known for its high human development indicators (education, health), the 'Kerala Model' has also been critiqued for its inability to fully eradicate poverty, especially among these identified vulnerable sections.
Government Interventions: Various poverty alleviation programs and social welfare schemes are implemented by the Kerala government, but their effectiveness in reaching the most marginalized and addressing the root causes of poverty remains a subject of ongoing evaluation.