Challenges faced by the government during the exercise:

1. Assessing families in extreme poverty, particularly those who had slipped through existing welfare nets, such as the chronically ill, undocumented individuals, those with mental health issues or isolated elderly living alone.
2. During post-COVID recovery and central fund cuts, allocating Rs 1,000 crore for EPEP strained state resources, relying on borrowing and microfinance. Economists raised concerns about the sustainability of welfare models.
3. A major implementation hurdle was securing land for landless and homeless families in a densely populated state with limited arable areas, delaying construction for thousands. This affected over 4,700 houses planned under the program.
4. Despite targeting deprivations, only 5% of beneficiaries were from Scheduled Tribes, leaving concerns about 4.85 lakh Adivasis in 1.16 lakh families

In the lush and fertile landscapes of Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, Kerala has long been a paradox—a state of staggering social achievements shadowed by economic vulnerabilities. On November 1, 2025, coinciding with Kerala Piravi, the state's formation day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stood before the Legislative Assembly and proclaimed a historic milestone: Kerala had become the first Indian state to eradicate extreme poverty.

This declaration, met with applause from the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) benches and boycott by the opposition, marked the culmination of the Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP), a four-year journey that lifted 59,277 families—comprising over 100,000 individuals—from the brink of destitution. Defined by the World Bank as living on less than $3 per day (adjusted for 2021 purchasing power parity), extreme poverty in Kerala was not a vast epidemic but a bitter memory affecting just 0.55% of the population according to NITI Aayog's 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

 Yet, its eradication symbolized more than statistics; it embodied decades of progressive governance, community mobilization, and an unyielding commitment to human dignity. As Vijayan noted, "This is not just an achievement for the government but a triumph of the people of Kerala," a sentiment echoed in the jubilant posts flooding social media, where users hailed it as "the Kerala Model in action." Kerala's journey toward this pinnacle began not in 2021, but in the fertile soil of mid-20th-century reforms, when the state transitioned from shadows of Britishers and maharajas into a laboratory of social democracy.

Formed in 1956 by merging the princely states of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar, Kerala inherited a legacy of agrarian inequities, caste hierarchies and colonial exploitation. Poverty rates hovered around 60% in the early 1970s, further aggravated by high population density, limited arable land, and reliance on remittances from migrant workers in the Gulf. United Nations reports from that era painted a grim picture: rampant malnutrition, infant mortality rates and literacy barely scraping 50%. Yet, the seeds of transformation were sown by mass movements and visionary policies.

These interventions, blending socialist ideals with liberal democracy, reduced multidimensional poverty to under 1% by 2021, as per NITI Aayog data. Economists like Jean Drèze have long praised the "Kerala Model" for its emphasis on human development over GDP growth, proving that high human capital indices—life expectancy of 75 years, infant mortality under 10 per 1,000—could coexist with modest per capita income of around Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. This legacy of equity, forged through trade unions, women's collectives like Kudumbashree (women empowerment program started in 1998 with 4.5 million members), set the stage for EPEP, a targeted attack  to fulfill the  "last mile of deprivation.”

The launch of EPEP in May 2021 was no knee-jerk reaction. In the LDF's first cabinet meeting after re-election—marking the first consecutive term for a communist-led government in Kerala—the program was greenlit with a deadline of November 1, 2025, aligning symbolically with Kerala Piravi. Spearheaded by the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) and Kudumbashree, EPEP targeted "extreme poor" families outside existing welfare nets, identified through a rigorous, four-stage survey involving 400,000 enumerators. The list finally shrank to 64,006 families.

These were households deprived in at least four dimensions: food (e.g., skipping meals), housing (e.g., thatched roofs prone to collapse), income (e.g., no steady livelihood), and health (e.g., untreated chronic illnesses). For each, tailor made plans were formulated—short-term aid like emergency food kits for 18,438 families, medium-term interventions such as skill training for livelihoods, and long-term measures including land allocation and home construction.By October 2025, 78.74% of families were uplifted, with the remainder crossing the threshold just in time.

Yet, no achievement is without obstacles and cliffs, and Kerala's path was riddled with formidable challenges that tested the program's resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic struck just as EPEP kicked off, disrupting surveys and increasing vulnerabilities—remittances plummeted by 30%, pushing 20,000 Gulf returnees into joblessness, while lockdowns led to food insecurity for 20,648 families reliant on daily wages. Natural calamities compounded the crisis: the 2024 Wayanad landslides displaced thousands, including tribal communities in Mundakkai, forcing EPEP teams to pivot to rehabilitation micro-plans amid debris and grief.

Fiscal constraints loomed large: Kerala's economy, buoyed by tourism and remittances but battered by a 2020-21 contraction of 8.6%, strained under central fund cuts; the LDF's ₹1,000 crore outlay relied on state borrowing and Kudumbashree's microfinance, amid accusations of fund diversion (e.g., ₹1.5 crore from housing to the declaration event). Inclusivity gaps persisted: only 5% of beneficiaries were Scheduled Tribes, despite 4.85 lakh Adivasis facing landlessness and malnutrition. ASHA workers, pivotal to outreach, protested meager honorariums (Rs 223/day), highlighting labor welfare voids that the government addressed with a Rs 1,000 monthly hike in October 2025.

The declaration ignited a firestorm of viewpoints, weaving politics with profound societal debates. Politically, the LDF hailed it as vindication of socialist governance. Vijayan framed it as "Nava Keralam"—a new Kerala of equity—crediting mass movements and reforms from land redistribution to universal PDS. Yet, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) boycotted the session, branding it "pure fraud" and pre-election propaganda. Leader of the opposition V.D. Satheesan accused data fudging, questioning why Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries—over 5 lakh families—were excluded if truly poverty-free. BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar dismissed it as "state propaganda," attributing reductions to central schemes like PM Awas Yojana, and highlighted delays from 1.24% poverty in 2014.

At the same time, non-political voices added various dimensions to this exercise Left-leaning intellectuals penned an open letter decrying opaque parameters-pointing out that no expert committee vetted the $3/day threshold—and tribal exclusions, asking how the poverty of 4.85 lakh adivasis was shown to be eradicated without giving proper details. Environmentalists worried about sustainability amid climate threats, while economists like Jean Drèze praised the model but cautioned on employment gaps. These critiques, while sharp, underscore a consensus: EPEP's replicability could inspire India, but transparency is key. Amid the euphoria, persistent problems remind that eradicating extreme poverty is but a an effort on steeper journeys. Tribal communities, comprising 1.2% of Kerala's 35 million, remain stuck  in deprivation. School dropouts among tribal children exceed 20%, fueled by malnutrition and remoteness. Youth unemployment lingers at 13.3%, ballooning to 29% for graduates, as remittances falter and informal jobs dominate—23% of non-farm work is formal, per NFHS-5. Gender disparities persist: women's labor participation at 31% masks underemployment, while an ageing society strains pensions for 62 lakh elders. Rising costs—food inflation at 8% in 2025—threaten relapses, especially post-disasters.

Kerala's challenge now: scaling EPEP's spirit to tackle multidimensional vulnerabilities, ensuring no one slips back. From 60% poverty to zero extreme deprivation, Kerala’s story offers a blueprint for India and the Global South: invest in people, decentralize power and listen to the margins. Yet, as shadows of unemployment and exclusion linger, the true measure lies in vigilance. The achievement doesn't just celebrate a milestone; proves that poverty's defeat is not an endpoint but a beginning.