What is Extreme Poverty?
Definition: Extreme poverty is the condition where individuals are unable to meet even the most basic needs for survival — food, safe drinking water, shelter, sanitation, healthcare, and education. It reflects severe deprivation of basic human capabilities rather than just low income.
- Global Monetary Metric (World Bank):
- 1990s → US $1.90/day (PPP 2011)
- Revised 2022 → From US $2.15/day (PPP 2017) to $3.00/ day (PPP 2021)
- SDG Target 1.1: “By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere.”
- Multidimensional Metric (UNDP-Oxford MPI):
- Based on three dimensions: Health, Education, and Standard of Living.
- A person is “extremely poor” if deprived in ≥ one-third of weighted indicators.
- Indicators include nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, access to cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, and assets.
Background & Context
- Kerala has the lowest Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) among Indian states, as per NITI Aayog 2023 report — only 0.55% population is multidimensionally poor (vs. India’s 14.96%).
- The Athidridrya Nirmarjana Project (Extreme Poverty Eradication Project – EPEP) aims to completely eliminate extreme poverty within 5 years.
- Focus: Families outside existing welfare schemes, suffering critical deprivations in multiple dimensions.
Objectives
- Identify and assist families experiencing extreme poverty (beyond income measure — includes deprivation in food, health, housing, income).
- Ensure that every family attains basic human needs, rights, and social security.
- Move from welfare dependency to empowerment and inclusion.
Methodology – Unique Features
- Community-based identification:
- Involved over 14 lakh people statewide in identification.
- Led by Local Self Governments (LSGs) with help from:
- ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, Kudumbashree units,
residential associations, NGOs & activists.
- ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, Kudumbashree units,
- Deprivation Indices:
- Developed after multiple trials to capture critical and very critical deprivation.
- Indicators: food insecurity, chronic illness, lack of housing, no steady income.
- Validation process:
- Multi-stage verification — community identification → field validation → super-check → final approval in grama/ward sabhas.
Key Findings
- Total Identified: 64,006 families (1,03,099 individuals) in 1,032 local bodies.
- Identified through four stress factors:
- Food insecurity
- Health issues
- Income instability
- Housing inadequacy
Implementation Strategy
- Micro-plans for every family:
- Prepared through household visits and participatory meetings.
- Each plan includes short-term relief + long-term livelihood measures.
- Local Self-Government (LSG) Sub-plans:
- Codified into local plans with budgetary allocations.
- Integrated into annual plans of LSGs.
- Digital Monitoring:
- Each family’s needs recorded on an MIS (Management Information System).
- Tracks how much of each need is met by LSGs/departments.
- Rights & Access:
- Provided Aadhaar, Ration Cards, UDID (disability cards), Voter ID.
- Enabled access to health insurance, social security pensions, etc.
- So far, 21,263 families received essential identity and emergency service benefits.
- Community Monitoring:
- Kudumbashree acts as community service provider and monitor.
- Priority Interventions (Phase 1):
- Immediate provision of food security and healthcare for each family.
Institutional Mechanisms
- Nodal Department: Local Self-Government Department (LSGD).
- Partners: Kudumbashree Mission, Health Dept., Social Justice Dept., Civil Supplies, and Panchayati Raj institutions.
- Governance model:
- Decentralised, participatory, and data-driven.
- Uses bottom-up planning and digital tracking for accountability.
Progress (as of 2025)
- Over 50,000 families (~78.7%) already moved out of the “extreme poverty” category.
- Kerala on track to become India’s first state to eradicate extreme poverty.
Why It Matters
- Model for SDG-1 (“No Poverty”) implementation at sub-national level.
- Demonstrates that decentralisation + community mobilisation + data systems can achieve poverty eradication sustainably.
- Reinforces Kerala’s “human development first” approach as an alternative to growth-centric models.
Takeaways for UPSC
| Dimension | Kerala’s Strategy | UPSC Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | Participatory, data-based | Inclusive governance, SDG 1 |
| Intervention | Family-specific micro-plans | Decentralised planning |
| Monitoring | Digital MIS + community oversight | Good governance practices |
| Outcome | 78% families out of extreme poverty | Human Development success model |
Summary for Prelims:
- Project: Athidridrya Nirmarjana / Extreme Poverty Eradication Project (EPEP)
- State: Kerala
- Launched by: Local Self Government Department (LSGD)
- Identified Families: 64,006 (≈1.03 lakh persons)
- Deprivation factors: Food, Health, Income, Housing
- MIS for tracking, Kudumbashree as monitor
- 50,401 families lifted out of extreme poverty (2025)
Courses by UPSCprep.com
A comprehensive range of courses meticulously designed to help you cover the syllabus in phases, without overwhelming you with long classes, ensuring you have ample time for self-study.