Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 30 (ANI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan arrived at Hamad International Airport in Doha at 6 AM (local time) on Thursday, according to the Chief Minister's office.

Kerala Minister Saji Cherian is accompanying the Chief Minister on the visit. He was received by leaders of various expatriate organisations.

At the Qatar airport, he was received by Indian Ambassador Vipul, members of the Loka Kerala Sabha, Norka Roots Director C.V. Rappai, Pravasi Welfare Board Member E.M. Sudheer, Qatar Samskrithi President Sabith Zaheer, and Secretary Shamsheer Arikkulam, among others.

During the day, CM Vijayan will hold meetings with Qatari officials and later interact with Indian business and community leaders at a program at the Sheraton Hotel. In the evening, he will inaugurate the Malayalotsavam public event at the Ideal Indian School Ground. This marks the first visit by a Kerala Chief Minister to Qatar in 12 years.

Meanwhile, Kerala Minister M. B. Rajesh on Thursday stated that the state is set to become the first in India to eradicate extreme poverty.

He explained that the initiative was the first decision taken by the second Pinarayi Vijayan government in its 'very first cabinet meeting' after returning to power in 2021, to launch an exclusive scheme to eradicate extreme poverty.

'Kerala is all set to create yet another history by becoming the first Indian state to eradicate extreme poverty. This was the first decision taken by the second Pinarayi government in its very first cabinet meeting after coming back to power in 2021. The government launched an exclusive scheme to eradicate extreme poverty,' Rajesh told ANI.

He said that after identifying and finalising the list of extremely poor families, micro-plans were prepared for each family. He said the government had lifted 64,006 families out of extreme poverty.

'The very first step was to identify extremely poor families through an elaborate process. A process was carried out involving public representatives, local bodies, social organisations, and voluntary organisations to find out about extremely poor families. 4 lakh people were trained by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration to carry out this exercise,' he said.

'After identifying and finalising the list of extremely poor families, micro plans were prepared for each and every family...These micro plans had immediate plans, medium-term plans and long-term plans. After four years, we have implemented these micro plans, and through the implementation of micro plans, we have been able to bring these 64,006 families out of extreme poverty,' he added.

Rajesh further claimed that 'after China, Kerala is becoming second place in the world to eradicate extreme poverty.' (ANI)