India, Nov. 1 -- Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan formally announced in the state assembly on Saturday and that the state has eradicated extreme poverty. The LDF government claims Kerala is the first state in India to do so.

This comes after the state government launched Extreme Poverty Alleviation Project in 2021 and identified 64,006 families as "extremely poor". These families then became beneficiaries of a four-year-long project with the objective of eliminating extreme poverty in the state.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the announcement on November 1 on the occasion of anniversary of Kerala's formation day.

According to MB Rajesh, the minister for local self-governments, the project came about after a NITI Aayog study...