Thiruvananthapuram, May 23: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Friday that the state is on track to become poverty-free by November 1, 2025.
Speaking at an event marking the fourth anniversary of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, Vijayan credited people-centric policies and forward-looking industrial strategies for the state's progress.
"Kerala has consistently recorded the lowest poverty and inflation rates in the country. Our robust public distribution system has played a crucial role in this achievement," the Chief Minister said.
Reflecting on the LDF’s tenure since taking office in 2016, Vijayan highlighted efforts to revamp Kerala’s investment landscape. "We actively engaged with industrialists and stakeholders, leading to major regulatory reforms that improved ease of doing business," he said.
He also pointed to cultural change initiatives like the "Year of Entrepreneurship," which the central government recognized as a national model. "We knew we had to shift mindsets about entrepreneurship, and this initiative helped spark that change," he added.
However, Vijayan criticized the central government for what he described as an unfair allocation of tax revenue to Kerala. "In 2022-23 and 2023-24, our state's share of national tax revenue was just 1.53% and 1.13%, respectively, despite contributing 3.7% of the total own tax revenue by states," he said.
He asserted that based on population share, Kerala should have received 2.7%, amounting to an additional ₹2,282 crore in 2022-23 and ₹2,071 crore in 2023-24. "This isn't a special demand—it's Kerala’s rightful share," he stressed.
