‘Clerical error’ turns MP farmer into ‘poorest man in India’; income certificate goes viral

A certificate showing a Madhya Pradesh farmer’s annual income as Rs 3 went viral on social media with the Internet dubbing him as the “poorest man in India”, prompting the authorities to clarify that it was a “clerical error”.

A photograph of the income certificate issued to Ramswaroop (45), a resident of Nayagaon village under Kothi tehsil of Satna district, complete with the tehsildar’s signature, surfaced on social media this week.

The document, issued with the signature of Tehsildar Saurabh Dwivedi on July 22, was circulated widely on social media, with netizens calling Ramswaroop the “poorest man in the country”.

Officials soon scrambled into action, and by July 25, a new certificate was issued, boosting the farmer’s reported annual income to Rs 30,000, i.e., Rs 2,500 per month.

The original certificate implied Ramswaroop earned 25 paise a month.

"It was a clerical error, which has been corrected. A new income certificate has been issued,” Dwivedi clarified.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress pounced on the blunder, sharing the original certificate on X.

In MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s rule, we discovered India’s poorest man! Annual income: just Rs 3!” the party claimed in its post.

“Isn’t it shocking? A mission to make people poor? Because now the chair itself eats the commission,” it alleged.