KOCHI: Kerala’s community-driven poverty alleviation model has received a strong endorsement in the Economic Survey presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, with the state’s approach cited as a benchmark alongside Bihar’s targeted livelihoods programme for ultra-poor women.
The survey highlighted Kerala’s comprehensive and participatory method of identifying and supporting the most vulnerable households, describing it as a model that combines community involvement, decentralised governance, and continuous monitoring to ensure long-term self-reliance.
“The Kerala government implemented a comprehensive method to identify the most vulnerable households through extensive community participation, led by local governments and supported by frontline workers,” the survey noted.
It highlighted the roles of ASHA and anganwadi workers, the Kudumbashree network, and activist groups in ensuring the last-mile delivery of welfare and entitlements. According to the Survey, vulnerable families in Kerala were supported with essential identity and welfare documents such as Aadhaar, ration cards, Unique Disability ID cards, and electoral IDs, along with access to health insurance, and social security pensions.