How the Indian State of Kerala Overcame Extreme Destitution and Hunger
The Kerala model achieved siginificant successes despite numerous challenges. But deficits remain in terms of sustainability.
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On the 69th State Formation Day - November 1, 2025 -, the Kerala government proclaimed the state’s success in eradicating extreme destitution and hunger. Although critics dismissed the proclamation as shallow and a pre-election stunt, the success comes after a landmark initiative launched in 2021 titled, Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP). The success underscores, the exceptional character of the Kerala model: a state with high fiscal deficit and limited industrial development is able to achieve better performance in global social indicators, becoming the first state in India to achieve this milestone.
Collective efforts at grassroot level promoted by local self-government bodies executed the initiative by convergence of multiple agencies. Leveraging the vast network of neighbourhood groups (NHGs), Kudumbashree (1) (State Poverty Eradication Mission) served as the pivotal implementing agency. Moreover, the Civil Supplies Department, the Health Department and the Social Justice Department of the state government worked in unison for the cause.
A multidimensional approach was followed which included indicators like food, health, income and housing to define the poverty status. Door-to-door surveys were conducted with the help of various community volunteers and Kudumbashree workers for a rigorous validation process. Lists in the category of extreme poverty were checked and approved by local village assemblies to ensure a better degree of inclusion. Around 64’000 families were included in the extreme poverty list – out of a population of 36 million officially projected for Kerala for 2022-23.
Moving Beyond Regular Schemes
More targeted welfare schemes were the need of the hour to address and uplift the beneficiaries in the list. There are diverse problems with respect to the survey indicators. Suppose a family mentioned in the list might have housing facilities but lack access to food or better health facilities and vice-versa. All these situations cannot be approached with a single solution. Families destitute due to homelessness were prioritized under LIFE Mission, the state government initiative for affordable housing. Similarly, those dealing with chronic illness were given better medical and palliative support. Thus, interventions addressing the cause of destitution were more effective by being more specific.
There is a category of families who lack relevant documents to access the public distribution system (PDS) and other benefits. The prime focus of PDS is on ensuring food security by making available staple cereals and grains at subsidised rates. It also comprises a buffer stock maintained by nodal agencies like Food Corporation of India for shielding the poor from adverse volatility in market prices. The government has launched a campaign to equip such vulnerable groups with documents to ensure they could access benefits like free food grains, social security and health insurance. As a result, around 21,263 people were brought into the system by obtaining relevant documents like Aadhaar official identification, ration cards etc, which help them to access various welfare schemes.
Climate Change Endangers Food Security
In the eradication of hunger the Kerala model produced a mix of good and bad results. The state already has solutions in place such as community kitchens mandated to deliver decent meals at subsidized rates, followed by the PDS and the Civil Supplies Department, both of which ensure the provision of food ingredients at nominal prices. While this works in the normal scenario, the situation can deteriorate rapidly during a natural calamity like floods, to which Kerala has recently been more prone. The supply chain is disrupted and thereby the cost of important cereals and vegetables increases. The families who were uplifted from extreme destitution now plummet back into that category. The federal duality – the fact that the central and state governments are controlled by different political parties – is yet another issue in which the central government slashes the amount of food grains allotted or the share of financial help for political reasons.
Perhaps the most curious aspect of Kerala’s accomplishment is that it has reduced hunger while remaining a consumer state that relies on its neighbours like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu for foodgrains and vegetables. The anti-hunger strategy has succeeded in distribution but failed in agricultural self sufficiency raising challenges about its long-term durability. Agricultural production faces challenges such as a drastic change in climate, soil degradation and higher labour charges.
Agricultural production faces challenges such as a drastic change in climate, soil degradation and higher labour charges. The state has taken up an agreement with the World Bank for the Kerala Climate Resilient Agri-Value Chain Modernisation Project (KERA) designed to enhance resilience to protect livelihood assets. Labour costs are one of the major challenges in commercial agricultural production in the state, the rates being the highest on the Indian subcontinent, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report. A labourer will charge around 1300 Indian Rupees (12-13 Euros) for a single day’s work, which is not economical for marginal farmers. The rate might even go up depending upon availability and demand. This attracts a large number of migrant labourers from Eastern Indian states like West Bengal coming to Kerala in the hope of being able to send good remittances back to their homes.
Kerala is one of the first states in the country to focus on social security schemes for migrant labourers. These groups are also considered in the poverty survey as they have become a vital and integral part of the state economy. A migrant labourer can earn thirty thousand rupees or more per month – which is higher than starting remunerations for graduates in the public and private sector. Their children can get the best possible education provided by the state and benefit from one of the best rated medical care systems. Although these measures meet their needs, the allocations from PDS may not suit their culture. For instance, a migrant labourer from the North would prefer wheat or pulses which are not the primary staple food within a Southern state and thereby his purchasing power is eroded.
Conclusion - Hidden Costs
This brings us to the hidden costs of the Kerala model. Comprehensive action plans for sustained impact demand immense social spending. Despite soaring scores in socio-economic developmental indices, the state’s expenditure exceeds its income. Combined with the borrowing limits imposed by the central government, this constrains its fiscal leeway.
The Kerala model is often compared with developed nations in developmental indices, and the state has successfully completed the initial phase towards a future Free of Hunger (SDG 02). While it serves as a global model in improving living standards, it needs to work on increased sustainability in agricultural production, building resilience to drastic climate change and better investments for economic growth rather than depending upon imported food and remittances from outside the state.
Dr. Archana Raghavan Sathyan, Assistant Professor ( Kerala Agricultural University) and German Academic Exchange Research Ambassador (South Asia)
Ganesh Siva Prasad, Student Assistant, Internationally Connected Digital Classroom Education Project
Footnote:
(1) Kudumbashree is an initiative implemented by State Poverty Eradication Mission under the Government of Kerala with prime focus on reduction of destitution through women empowerment.
