Kannur (Kerala), Apr 13 (PTI): Dharmadam, the Assembly constituency represented by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has become the first in the state to be declared free of extreme poverty.

The Chief Minister made the announcement on Sunday in a post on 'X'.

"Dharmadam becomes the first Assembly Constituency in Kerala to be declared extreme poverty-free!" he posted.

He added, "With less than 1% of our population in extreme poverty, we are now working towards declaring the entire state extreme poverty-free on November 1 — a milestone in our journey of inclusive development. #KeralaModel."

Vijayan had earlier stated that Kerala already has the lowest poverty rate in India, and the government was now working to eradicate extreme poverty completely.

The state aims to achieve this goal by November 1, 2025, as part of the fourth-year celebrations of the second Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government.

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Bengaluru: In a significant development for medical aspirants, Karnataka has received 200 additional MBBS seats for the ongoing third round of NEET counselling, as approved by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC).

The additional seats have been distributed across four private medical colleges, with each institution receiving 50 new seats. The colleges include Subbaiah Medical College in Shivamogga, BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences in Bengaluru, Sridevi Medical College in Tumakuru, and AJ Institute of Medical Sciences in Mangaluru, as reported by Deccan Herald on Tuesday.

For the third round, 377 medical seats were already available and now 200 additional seats have been included.

The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has opened the portal for candidates to re-enter and revise their college preferences in light of the new seat availability. Option entry will remain open until 8:00 a.m. on October 15.

KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna urged candidates to carefully review the fee structures of the newly added colleges before making their selections. “Even candidates who have already been allotted and admitted to medical colleges in the first and second rounds can also participate in this round if they wish. Such candidates can enter their new options for these colleges from 11:00 a.m. on October 15 to 8:00 a.m. on October 16,” DH quoted Prasanna as saying.

Since these candidates have already paid the admission fees, they do not need to pay any caution deposit. However, those who have not yet been allotted a seat must pay the required caution deposit fee before participating.

Prasanna pointed out that if a candidate is allotted a seat in this round, admission to that seat will be compulsory.

Additionally, vacant or cancelled seats arising during the process will also be made available. “Therefore, even if some seats do not appear as available in the seat matrix, candidates are still advised to include those colleges while entering their options,” he added.