By Santosh Kumar Mohapatra
On 1 November, Kerala scripted a historic chapter in India’s development narrative by officially declaring itself free from extreme poverty—becoming the first state to do so.
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Kerala’s declaration of freedom from extreme poverty is both an inspiration and an invitation—to policymakers, scholars, and citizens. It demonstrates that with political will, sound governance, community engagement, and coordinated welfare systems, eradicating extreme poverty is achievable even within a middle-income economy.
Extreme poverty—defined as the lack of basic human needs such as nutritious food, secure housing, healthcare, and stable livelihood—has remained a stubborn challenge across India despite rapid economic expansion. The World Bank has officially revised its international extreme poverty line to $3.00 per day, measured in 2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms. This is an update from the previous line of $2.15 per day (2017 PPP). This revision, announced in June 2025, accounts for global inflation and updated national poverty lines, providing a more current and realistic measure of the cost of living in low-income countries.
Before obliterating extreme poverty, Kerala had achieved a remarkable reduction in its poverty rate, declining from 59.8% in 1973-74 to an exceptionally low 0.55% in 2023, according to NITI Aayog’s multidimensional poverty index. Kerala, home to just 2.8% of India’s population and encompassing 1.2% of the nation’s land area, contributes over 4% to India’s GDP. Renowned for its exceptional human development outcomes, Kerala’s success—often termed the “Kerala phenomenon” or “Kerala model”—is anchored in a robust human development index, comprehensive social welfare programmes, and exemplary achievements in education and healthcare.
This model, initiated by the state’s first Left Democratic Front (LDF) government under EMS Namboodiripad, prioritised land reforms, social upliftment, and active civil society participation, sustained through a social democratic welfare approach.
The Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP) 2021-2025 was launched soon after the LDF’s 2021 election victory. EPEP was an ambitious, four-year statewide campaign implemented primarily by Kudumbashree, Kerala’s well-established state poverty eradication mission, in partnership with local self-governments. This programme was unique for its scale, precision, and multidimensional design. Government welfare initiatives, including direct cash transfers and targeted micro-plans tailored to the unique needs of each household, have significantly reduced poverty rates.
About 400,000 trained workers—including Kudumbashree members, ASHAs, local volunteers, and government officials—conducted door-to-door monitoring. Local committees and gram sabhas validated outcomes, ensuring transparency, accountability, and community consent. Through this, in India’s largest-ever door-to-door survey, 64,006 families comprising over 100,000 individuals were identified as living in extreme poverty across 1,032 local self-government institutions.
Rejecting one-size-fits-all welfare, each family received an individualised intervention plan addressing immediate, medium-term, and long-term needs. The programme’s strength lies in its integrated approach, weaving together food security, housing, healthcare, income support, and social protection under one umbrella. This multidimensional focus tackled the complex realities of poverty better than purely income-focused metrics.
EPEP converged numerous state and central government schemes into a single coordinated framework. This included housing under the Life Mission Scheme, primary healthcare via Aardram Mission, social pensions, ration cards, voter IDs, health insurance, educational support, and employment through MGNREGA.
By 2025, nearly 4,000 houses were built for homeless families, over 1,300 landless families were granted land titles, and 21,263 individuals received essential identity documents for accessing government benefits. Monthly food assistance reached more than 20,600 families, including those unable to cook food, served by community kitchens.
Under the Ujj Vanam Project, skill training, entrepreneurship promotion, and job placement were provided, enabling thousands to secure paid employment. MGNREGA’s expansion ensured work opportunities for over 34,000 families.
The Kerala Model offers valuable lessons on prioritising social investments and governance, decentralisation, and civil society involvement. It emphasises social welfare and equitable distribution as core development pillars, making it an influential blueprint for other states seeking sustainable and inclusive growth.
The writer is an Odisha-based economist and columnist.
