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He said the initiative to eliminate extreme poverty was one of the first decisions of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government after returning to power in 2021. The scheme was launched during its first cabinet meeting to ensure that no family in the state remains in extreme destitution, Rajesh told ANI.
“Kerala is set to create another history by becoming the first Indian state to eliminate extreme poverty. This was the first decision taken by the second Pinarayi government in its first cabinet meeting after coming back to power in 2021,” Rajesh said.
He said that after identifying extremely poor families and finalizing the list, micro plans were prepared for each. “The government has successfully lifted 64,006 families out of extreme poverty,” he said.
According to Rajesh, public representatives, local bodies, social organizations and volunteers were involved in the identification process. Nearly four lakh people were trained by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) to carry out this massive exercise.
“After China, Kerala is becoming the second place in the world to eliminate extreme poverty,” Rajesh said.
He said that micro plans include short, medium and long term measures tailored to individual family needs. “After four years of implementing these micro schemes, we have been able to bring 64,006 families out of extreme poverty,” the minister said.
However, Kerala BJP president Rajiv Chandrasekhar criticized the ruling CPI(M)-led government’s claim, calling it an attempt to “mockery of the poor”.
Chandrashekhar told reporters earlier this week, “The CPM government’s claim to credit for bringing people out of extreme poverty is a mockery of the poor. When Asha workers were demanding a nominal salary hike, the CPM ignored them. Now they are using propaganda to mislead people and score political points.”
Citing recent World Bank data, Chandrashekhar said national-level progress on poverty alleviation was largely driven by central government policies. “The World Bank’s April 2025 report shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives like PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission have lifted nearly 20 crore Indians out of extreme poverty in the last decade,” he said.