Kerala Declared India’s First Extreme Poverty-Free State

Kerala officially declared itself India’s first extreme poverty-free state on November 1, 2025, during a special assembly session marking Kerala Piravi.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the announcement, saying, “Kerala has become the first state in India to eradicate extreme poverty.”
The declaration was based on the Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP), launched in 2021, which targeted 64,006 families identified as extremely poor.

The EPEP involved local bodies, Kudumbashree, ASHA, and anganwadi workers, focusing on housing, health, food, livelihood, and documentation.
As of 2025, 59,277 families were verified as uplifted, with the rest closed after verification due to migration, death, or duplication.
Major outcomes included the construction or renovation of over 10,000 houses, 34,000 families receiving income support, and extensive health and food aid.
Kerala applied the World Bank’s revised poverty line (Rs 180/day per person, or about $3) and NITI Aayog’s MPI to measure deprivation.

NITI Aayog’s 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) placed Kerala’s poverty rate at 0.55%, the lowest in India.
The government clarified that the claim means zero families meet the extreme poverty criteria, not zero poor people overall.
All data were uploaded to a public EPEP portal for transparency.

The Congress-led UDF boycotted the event, calling it a “political stunt” and “certificate fraud”, questioning the absence of independent audits.
Critics argued that some families still lack sustainable income and that nomadic and migrant groups were undercounted.
ASHA workers, involved in implementing EPEP, protested low wages, highlighting contradictions in the state’s welfare claims.

UNDP India praised Kerala’s community-driven welfare model.
NITI Aayog acknowledged Kerala’s progress but did not endorse the “zero” status.