Kerala becomes first State to declare itself free of extreme poverty
SOCIETY – POVERTY
2 NOVEMBER 2025
- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared Kerala ‘free from extreme poverty’ at a special session of the Assembly on the occasion of the State Formation Day (Kerala Piravi), making it the first State to do so.
- The Opposition United Democratic Front walked out of the session questioning the propriety of convening a special session just for the Chief Minister to make a statement under Rule 300 of the House procedures.
- Considering food, health, housing and income as the critical factors for identifying the extremely poor, micro plans were prepared for 20,648 extremely poor families.
- Houses were provided under the LIFE mission for 4,677 families, while 2,713 families were provided land and houses. Livelihood support was provided to 4,394 families. A total of 35,041 families were made part of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
