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Satna: A bizarre clerical error in Madhya Pradesh has turned a local farmer into an unlikely internet sensation, with social media dubbing him the "poorest man in India" after an official certificate listed his annual income as just ₹3.
The income certificate, issued to Ramswaroop (45), a resident of Nayagaon village in Kothi tehsil of Satna district, went viral after it surfaced online this week. Dated July 22 and bearing the signature of Tehsildar Saurabh Dwivedi, the document stated that Ramswaroop earned merely ₹3 a year—equivalent to 25 paise a month.
As the certificate gained widespread attention on social media, netizens reacted with disbelief and humour, calling Ramswaroop the “poorest man in the country”. The situation quickly caught the attention of authorities, who acted to rectify the blunder.
By July 25, a revised income certificate was issued, showing Ramswaroop’s actual annual income as ₹30,000, or ₹2,500 per month. Tehsildar Dwivedi confirmed the error, saying, “It was a clerical mistake, which has now been corrected. A new certificate has been issued.”
The incident sparked political backlash, with the Madhya Pradesh Congress seizing the opportunity to criticise the ruling government. Sharing the viral certificate on social media platform X, the party wrote, “In MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's rule, we discovered India's poorest man! Annual income: just ₹3!”
The Congress post went on to allege deeper issues, remarking, “Isn’t it shocking? A mission to make people poor? Because now the chair itself eats the commission.”
The episode, while quickly corrected, has highlighted both bureaucratic carelessness and the power of social media to amplify local issues to national attention.
With PTI inputs