Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 3 (Agencies):
Kerala has become the first state in India to eradicate extreme poverty, following a four-year programme implemented under the state’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Project, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on November 1.
According to the World Bank, extreme poverty refers to living on less than US$3 per day. More than 830 million people worldwide are estimated to live under this threshold in 2025.
The initiative, launched in 2021, identified over 64,000 families living in extreme poverty, focusing not only on income but also on access to housing, food, healthcare, and education. Officials noted that many of these families had not benefited from any existing welfare programmes.
“These were the most disempowered and voiceless families,” said M. B. Rajesh, Minister for Local Self Government, Excise and Parliamentary Affairs. “Their survival was at risk without state support.”
Over the past four years, multiple government departments collaborated to provide food, shelter, healthcare, and educational assistance to those families, helping them move above the extreme poverty line.
At the national level, India’s extreme poverty rate fell to 2.3% in 2023, down from 16.2% a decade ago, according to World Bank data.
However, experts have warned that poverty and inequality remain major challenges. The Global Hunger Index 2024 ranks India 102nd out of 123 countries, with nearly 33% of children under five suffering from stunted growth due to malnutrition.
“Deprivation and poverty are still a mass reality among Indian people,” said Professor R. Ramakumar of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He added that inequality continues to widen, with the top 1% of households controlling 40% of the nation’s wealth.
Despite the milestone, analysts stress the need for continued investment in education, employment opportunities, and social welfare to sustain progress.
“Even if people have work, they are still not doing well,” said Sujata Sawant, president of the Adarsh Foundation. “Poverty still exists here.”
Source: CNA / Agencies