喀拉拉邦，人口3600万，于11月1日宣布已消除极端贫困，成为印度唯一做到这一点的邦。根据政府的多维贫困指数（涵盖健康、教育和生活水平的12项指标），2019–21年喀拉拉州贫困率低于1%，而全印平均为15%。尽管对贫困阈值有争议，这一统计领先使喀拉拉成为印度的发展冠军。

推动这些结果的两个因素是政治和地方治理。权力在国大党和印共（马克思主义）之间交替；印度人民党在现代喀拉拉只赢得过一个议会席位。人口结构削弱了身份政治：略超50%为印度教徒，27%为穆斯林，18%为基督徒。分权的服务和社区组织——Kudumbashree（超过400万名成员）——帮助识别了6.4万户处于极端贫困的家庭，并制定了逐户的“微观计划”。分权在疫情期间也改善了接触者追踪和本地封锁定向等应对措施。

缺陷限制了增长：工业约占产出25%（两十年来未见增幅），而泰米尔纳德邦为33%。喀拉拉去年增长6.2%，落后于泰米尔纳德的11%和全国平均；青年失业率约24%（全国第二高）。来自海湾的汇款抬高了收入。印共（马克思主义）正吸引投资者并与工会疏远，但经济学人智库将喀拉拉排在15个邦中的第九；需要更多改革——土地、审批和删减繁文缛节——以把公平转化为更高的增长。

Kerala, population 36 million, declared on November 1 that it had eliminated extreme poverty, becoming the only Indian state to do so. According to the government’s multidimensional poverty index (12 indicators across health, education, living standards), under 1% of Keralites were poor in 2019–21 versus a 15% all-India average. This statistical lead makes Kerala India’s development champion despite debates over exact poverty thresholds.

Two factors drive results: politics and local governance. Power alternates between Congress and CPI(M); the BJP has won only one parliamentary seat in modern Kerala. Demography blunts identity politics: just over 50% Hindu, 27% Muslim, 18% Christian. Decentralised delivery and community bodies—Kudumbashree (over 4 million members)—helped identify 64,000 households in extreme poverty and produce household-level “micro-plans.” Decentralisation also improved pandemic responses like contact tracing and local lockdown targeting.

Shortcomings constrain growth: industry is ~25% of output (unchanged for two decades) versus Tamil Nadu’s 33%. Kerala grew 6.2% last year, trailing Tamil Nadu’s 11% and the national average; youth unemployment is about 24% (second-highest). Remittances from the Gulf inflate incomes. The CPI(M) is courting investors and easing union ties, but EIU ranks Kerala 9th of 15 states; more reforms—land, approvals, red tape—are needed to turn equity into higher growth.