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.
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 (UDID) cards, and electoral IDs, along with access to health insurance, social security pensions, and emergency services.
“The programme prioritised ensuring basic food and medical care,” it said.
Kerala declared itself free of extreme poverty on November 1, 2025, becoming the first Indian state to achieve this, through targeted social welfare, housing (Life Mission), pensions, and micro-planning for vulnerable families, building on decades of focus on education and healthcare.
This involved identifying 64,006 households in deprivation and providing specific support like housing, land titles, health access, and social security pensions to lift them out of severe destitution, a milestone in inclusive development.
A key feature of the Kerala model, the Survey observed, was the preparation of individualised micro-plans for each identified family, coupled with regular digital tracking and monitoring of service delivery by local self-governments and line departments.
Local bodies also prioritised these interventions in their annual development plans, while Kudumbashree served as both a community monitor and a service provider.
The state’s approach was cited as a benchmark alongside Bihar’s Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY), a livelihoods programme launched in 2018 targeting ultra-poor women using the internationally recognised ‘Graduation approach’.
The Survey noted that SJY combines asset transfers, capacity-building, livelihood gap assistance and mentoring over 24 months to ensure sustained income generation and resilience.
“Both SJY and the Kerala model showcase the involvement of the community and a multipronged strategy with continuous support and monitoring to push the vulnerable out of the vicious cycle,” the Survey said, adding that such interventions enable households to remain resilient even during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citing evidence from a J-PAL study, the Survey noted that beneficiaries of the Bihar programme reported having a stable income source even when casual labour opportunities collapsed during the pandemic.
The recognition of Kerala’s approach, the Survey said, reflects broader national priorities of scaling up targeted social investments to promote inclusive growth, strengthen social protection, and enhance overall well-being.