The Kerala government has claimed it has eradicated extreme poverty in the state. K J Joseph, Aswathy Rachel Varughese & Kiran Kumar Kakarlapudi explain the conceptual framing, outcome metrics & the way forward for a state that’s not just fighting poverty, but reframing what it means to be poor
l Extreme poverty in Kerala’s context
KERALA’S CLAIM THAT it has eradicated extreme poverty draws from its Extreme Poverty Eradication Project (EPEP), launched in 2021. In a unique departure from conventional poverty metrics, it reimagined how the extreme poor are identified: not through income thresholds or self-enrolment, but via a community-validated, multi-dimensional lens. The project identified households across the state who lacked secure shelter, food, income, or access to healthcare and education despite existing welfare coverage.
This definition does not mirror the UN’s global benchmark of living on less than $2.15 a day. Instead, it reflects Kerala’s multidimensional and rights-based approach, viewing poverty as a failure of basic entitlements rather than as a number on an income scale. In spirit, this aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 1.1, which commits to ending extreme poverty by 2030, but in practice it operates through deprivation as a social injustice, not merely a statistical condition. However, the absence of external verification and the fluidity of poverty itself invite caution.
l Poverty, extreme poverty, and multidimensional poverty
THE THREE TERMS are different but inter-related. Poverty traditionally denotes economic insufficiency when income or consumption falls below a basic threshold. India’s national poverty lines, from the Tendulkar to the Rangarajan Committee, used consumption expenditure patterns to define who is poor.
Extreme poverty represents the lowest rung: people who cannot meet even subsistence needs. Kerala redefined this category in social, not monetary, terms, identifying families who had effectively fallen outside the state’s safety net.
Multidimensional poverty, by contrast, measures deprivation across several indicators: education, health, nutrition, housing, electricity, and sanitation. India’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) integrates these into a composite score. Kerala’s MPI of 0.55% (2023) is lowest in the country indicating how its decades of social investment have narrowed deprivation across sectors.
l Identifying the extreme poor
LAUNCHED UNDER THE Athidharidrya Nirmarjana Project, the EPEP sought out those who had slipped through the cracks of existing welfare systems, using a deprivation index that captured critical and very critical stress factors. Unlike national or global frameworks that often rely on survey-based proxies or asset ownership, it mobilised over 14 lakh grassroots actors including ASHA and anganwadi workers, local activists, Kudumbashree members and residents to conduct door-to-door mapping. This participatory census culminated in the identification of 64,006 families (1,03,099 individuals) across 1,032 local bodies, many of whom lacked basic documentation and were invisible to the system. The process involved multiple layers of scrutiny from ward-level nominations and mobile app-based interviews to final confirmation in grama sabhas ensuring both accuracy and legitimacy.
l How Kerala did it with micro-plans
THE STATE DESIGNED customised micro-plans for each household. These plans addressed immediate and long-term needs across four critical domains such as food security, healthcare access, housing, and sustainable livelihoods.
It strategically repurposed and syncronized its existing welfare system in making a shift from vertical, scheme-specific spending to a horizontally integrated model of service delivery. Key interventions included the Avakasam Athivegam (Rights Fast) campaign, which expedited access to civic entitlements such as Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter IDs crucial for those excluded from welfare nets. Kudumbashree kitchens ensured regular, dignified meals, while the LIFE Mission provided secure housing solutions. What distinguishes Kerala’s model is its deliberate prioritisation of visible deprivation over income-based eligibility.
l Preventing any relapse is key
THE REAL CHALLENGE is to ensure that those lifted remain secure. This calls for sustained handholding: the initiative must evolve from relief to long-term livelihood planning through skill training, microcredit and self-employ-ment support. The state must also anticipate emerging risks such as urban homelessness, elderly isolation, and climate-linked livelihood shocks. Institutionalising coordination among panchayats, welfare departments, and community networks with digital tracking can prevent vulnerable families from slipping back into poverty.
l Lessons for other states
KERALA’S success rests on a foundation of decentralised governance, social mobilisation, and long-term investment in human development. Other states could adapt the Kerala model by strengthening local institutions, redefining poverty in contextually relevant terms, and building trust-based mechanisms for community participation.
Joseph is director while Varughese and Kakarlapudi are assistant professors at Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, Thiruvananthapuram
