Ujjeevanam 100-day State-level livelihood campaign; Kerala to become the first state having no residents living in extreme poverty

According to Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh, Kerala would be the first state in the nation to have no residents living in extreme poverty. He was giving a speech following inaugrtion formalities on Wednesday at the State-level launch of Ujjeevanam, a 100-day livelihood campaign coordinated by the Kudumbashree as part of a government strategy to end severe poverty.

According to the Minister, putting the initiative into practise scientifically will enable those in extreme poverty satisfy their basic needs.

Kerala has the lowest poverty rate in the nation, at 0.5%, according to the most recent NITI Aayog data. The government's first objective was to integrate these families into society. Ujjeevanam sought to bring every family into self-sufficiency by eradicating the primary source of poverty—a lack of livelihood chances. 

For the 64,006 families whom the Kudumbashree had determined to be living in extreme poverty, micro-plans had been created. Of these, 6,429 households in need of a means of subsistence would get training and financial support to launch businesses that guaranteed a steady flow of revenue.

The process of gathering family data to identify potential livelihoods will shortly begin. Using a smartphone app, would be accomplished. By November 1, 2024, up to 93% of these 64,006 households would be raised out of extreme poverty, and by November 1, 2025, the remaining 7% would also be brought out of poverty. The Minister stated that plans will be carried out in a timely way to achieve this goal.

In her keynote speech, Additional Chief Secretary for Local Self-Governments Sarada Muraleedharan stated that the Kudumbashree, working with local organisations, should be able to rescue these families from abject poverty as part of the State's objective to reduce poverty.