Kerala is set to make history once again. On November 1, the state’s formation day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will officially declare Kerala as 'extreme poverty-free,' the first Indian state to achieve the feat, and only the second region in the world after China to do so.
The landmark announcement will take place at Thiruvananthapuram’s Central Stadium, in the presence of all state ministers, local body representatives, and film icons Kamal Haasan, Mammootty, and Mohanlal, who will attend as chief guests. The Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has also been invited to the event, which will feature cultural performances before and after the main ceremony.
“This is a historic moment. Kerala has become the first Indian state to eradicate extreme poverty,” said Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh and Education Minister V. Sivankutty at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
What ‘extreme poverty-free’ means
Extreme poverty is defined as a condition in which individuals or families are unable to afford even the most basic necessities - food, shelter, healthcare, education, and clothing.
The World Bank sets the threshold at living on less than $2.15 per person per day (around Rs 180). India’s own measurement, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by NITI Aayog, goes beyond income and includes indicators like nutrition, housing, sanitation, education, and access to basic services.
According to the 2023 NITI Aayog MPI, Kerala already had the lowest proportion of multidimensionally poor citizens in India, with just 0.55 percent of its population classified as such, followed by Goa (0.84 percent) and Puducherry (0.85 percent).
How Kerala did it: The inside story
Launched in 2021, Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Project was one of the first flagship initiatives of Vijayan’s second government.
The idea was simple but radical: identify every single family in 'extreme poverty' through a ground-up survey, then build custom micro-plans for each household instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
Over three to four months, ‘Kudumbashree’ workers, ASHA health workers, and local representatives surveyed the entire state. They identified 64,006 families (1,30,009 individuals) as ‘extremely poor’.
From there, local self-government bodies rolled out interventions based on individual needs, housing, medical assistance, livelihood programs, or social welfare support.
“Instead of a generic state-level scheme, we created micro-level solutions,” a Local Self Government Department (LSGD) official told The Print. “Some people needed assistive devices or palliative care. Others needed jobs or house repairs. The idea was to ensure no one slipped through the cracks.”
The execution: Coordination and follow-through
The project, overseen directly by the Chief Minister’s Office, involved coordination across multiple departments, from housing and healthcare to transport and revenue, The Print reported.
According to Minister Rajesh, “At every stage, we reviewed progress under the CM’s leadership. It was through this inter-departmental coordination that we achieved this milestone.”
The government spent Rs 80 crore in FY 2023–24 and Rs 50 crore in FY 2024–25 on the initiative, mainly for housing, healthcare, and livelihood support.
- 3,913 houses were built.
- 1,338 families were given land.
- 5,651 families received Rs 2 lakh each for house repairs.
- 21,263 individuals received essential documents like ration cards.
Even nomadic groups and landless families were accounted for. The state also pledged ongoing vigilance to prevent families from slipping back into poverty.
Before the official declaration, the state has undertaken multiple layers of verification, including social audits and cross-checks at local body level.
Minister Rajesh told The Print that 4,421 individuals had passed away, 261 nomadic families couldn’t be located, and 47 duplicate entries were found. The final list now includes 59,277 families, all of whom have been lifted out of extreme poverty.
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