Implementation of Social Security System in Kozhikode District, Kerala

Abstract

Kerala has a long tradition of extending social security to the marginalised sections of society, and its programmes are deliberately diversified to meet the distinct needs of vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly. This paper examines the implementation of the social security system in Kozhikode district, Kerala. Drawing on secondary data from official government dashboards, departmental records, and published literature, it analyses the delivery of the five major state social security pensions (the Agriculture Labour Pension, the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension, the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension, the Pension for Unmarried Women above 50, and the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension), together with the wider set of measures administered by the Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM) and the Social Justice Department. The analysis considers the district-wise, gender-wise, category-wise, and urban-rural distribution of beneficiaries and reviews the major welfare schemes implemented in Kozhikode between 2020-21 and 2024-25. The findings show that old-age pensions dominate provision, that beneficiaries are concentrated in rural areas and in the general category, and that male pensioners outnumber female pensioners, even as the district continues to deliver more than sixty distinct social security measures to its people.