MUMBAI: The southern Indian state of Kerala declared itself free of extreme poverty last Saturday (Nov 1), becoming the first state in the country to achieve the feat.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the declaration following a four-year targeted drive led by local bodies under the state’s extreme poverty eradication project.
The World Bank currently defines extreme poverty as living on less than US$3 per day. In 2025, more than 830 million people worldwide are estimated to be in extreme poverty under this benchmark.
FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
Kerala’s poverty alleviation programme began in 2021 by identifying more than 64,000 families living in extreme poverty.
Instead of using income alone as a measure, officials focused on households that had fallen through the cracks – those without stable income, housing, food, or access to healthcare.
“These are the families who were not touched by any welfare schemes implemented so far,” said Minister for Local Self Government, Excise and Parliamentary Affairs MB Rajesh.
“These were the most disempowered (and) voiceless families. The definition of extreme poverty is those people whose survival is at risk without the support and help from the state.”
Over the past four years, various government departments worked together to lift these families out of destitution, providing them with food, shelter, medical care and scholarships for children.
Source: CNA
