In a groundbreaking announcement, Kerala’s Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, is slated to officially declare the state completely free from extreme poverty on November 1, 2025. This momentous occasion will be celebrated at a grand event in Thiruvananthapuram’s Central Stadium, graced by esteemed South Indian actors Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Kamal Haasan as special guests. The Minister for Local Self-Governments, M.B. Rajesh, confirmed that all state ministers and the Leader of the Opposition would also be invited, highlighting the widespread significance of this achievement.
Minister Rajesh emphasized that the ambitious extreme poverty eradication program was initiated in 2021, marking one of the very first cabinet decisions made by the current Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
This declaration builds on the Chief Minister’s previous statements regarding the state’s determined efforts to eliminate extreme poverty by the target date of November 1, 2025.
He proudly cited a 2021 NITI Aayog study, which already recognized Kerala as the state with the lowest poverty rate in India, at a mere 0.7% of its total population. “The government proactively engaged with this remaining vulnerable population, working diligently to address their fundamental needs. With this initiative, Kerala is poised to become the first state nationwide to achieve the monumental milestone of complete extreme poverty eradication,” Minister Rajesh stated.
Through meticulous ground-level surveys, an initial count of 64,006 families across the state were identified as living in extreme poverty. These assessments considered crucial factors such as access to food, healthcare, sustainable livelihoods, and adequate shelter. Alarmingly, many on this list were highly marginalized, lacking even basic identification documents like voter IDs, ration cards, or Aadhaar cards. To address these profound challenges, comprehensive micro-plans were crafted, focusing on both the immediate and long-term needs of each family. As part of this extensive effort, essential documents were secured for 21,263 individuals who previously lacked them. Furthermore, homes were constructed for 3,913 families, land was allocated to 1,338 families, and housing repair work, costing up to ₹2 lakh each, was completed for 5,651 families, he detailed.
Minister Rajesh provided a detailed breakdown of the program’s outcomes: out of the 64,006 families initially identified in the 2021 survey, 4,421 individuals (counted as single-member households) unfortunately passed away during the intervening period. Additionally, despite exhaustive searches and outreach, 261 nomadic families, many of whom are believed to have migrated to other states, could not be located. Provisions are now in place to assist these families should they return. He also noted 47 instances where members of the same family were inadvertently listed across different local bodies; these cases have since been consolidated and addressed under a single family micro-plan. Consequently, excluding these 4,729 cases, an impressive 59,277 families have successfully been lifted out of extreme poverty.
The state’s success, he explained, stems from a comprehensive strategy that integrated all existing government assistance and services across various schemes, supplemented by the introduction of targeted special initiatives. A thorough social audit process for the entire program is nearing completion, with each beneficiary’s household being geo-tagged and relevant data meticulously collected to ensure transparency and accountability.
Emphasizing the collaborative nature of this monumental achievement, the Minister credited a “collective effort” involving all local bodies, even those governed by the Opposition front. Their unified commitment was crucial to the program’s success.
General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, appointed to lead the organizing committee for the upcoming November 1st declaration event, was also present at the press conference, underscoring the high-level coordination involved.