New Delhi: The Union government has clarified that Kerala will continue to receive the same quantity of foodgrains under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) even after the state declared itself free from extreme poverty, Food Minister Pralhad Joshi informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written reply, the minister said extreme poverty is not a parameter for identifying eligible households under AAY, and therefore, no revision in the allocation of subsidised foodgrains to Kerala is currently under consideration.

“As extreme poverty is not any criterion for identification of eligible households in the AAY guidelines, no change in the supply of foodgrains to Kerala is envisaged for the present,” Joshi said.

Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), beneficiaries covered under AAY receive 35 kg of foodgrains per household per month, while priority households receive 5 kg per person per month.

The Centre uses the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to measure poverty levels across the country. According to the report titled 'National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023', released by NITI Aayog, the proportion of the population living in multidimensional poverty in India fell from 24.85 per cent to 14.96 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-21, indicating that around 13.5 crore people exited poverty during the period.

In Kerala, the share of people living in multidimensional poverty declined marginally from 0.70 per cent to 0.55 per cent in the same period, which implies that approximately 53,239 people escaped multidimensional poverty in the state.

NITI Aayog estimates further show that multidimensional poverty in India reduced from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23, signalling that 24.8 crore people moved out of poverty over the last decade.

On November 1, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced in the state assembly that the state was officially free from extreme poverty following government interventions and welfare schemes.

PTI inputs