Universal Basic Income
The case for minimum basic income Puja Mehra https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-case-for-minimum-basic-income/article26131268.ece January 31, 2019
Updated: January 31, 2019 00:13 IST
It will improve equity, address rural distress and cover the urban poor
The reforms since 1991 have largely bypassed agriculture and other segments of the economy that engage poor and rural Indians. While incomplete economic liberalisation and technological advances have led to growth in national income, all individuals have not gained equally. The disproportionate share of gains from the reforms have gone to middle-class and rich Indians. This unevenness in development calls for a superior economic growth model. Until that happens, redistributive policy interventions such as income transfers can improve equity. Income transfers are not to be confused with doles or unemployment benefits. They are unconditional income supplements to compensate for policy failures and ease the economic anxieties of the less advantaged. In the West, economists are advocating universal basic income to fight inequality and slow wage growth, allay fears that immigrants will take away jobs, and advance automation.
Basic Income Could Empower Millions Of Indians, But India May Find Cost Too High
ByShreya Shah|24 Jun, 2017 https://www.indiaspend.com/basic-income-could-empower-millions-of-indians-but-india-may-find-cost-too-high-75113/
In a country where 21% of the population lives below the poverty line (of Rs 816 per capita per month in rural areas, and Rs 1,000 in urban areas), where the top 10% of the population own 53% of its wealth, with worsening inequality over the last two decades, a basic income could empower millions, even as the government said the programme might not be politically or economically feasible.
If 75% of the population received Rs 6,450 per capita per year, the UBI would cost India 4.2% of its gross domestic product--more than the 2016-2017 central government revised estimate for the department of food and public distribution, defense services, expenditure on departments of agriculture, farmers' welfare, fertilizers, telecommunications, road transport and highways, and atomic energy put together.
The UBI amount would be greater than all current welfare programs of the government including the Public Distribution System, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, the Integrated Child Development Scheme, the Mid Day Meal scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and the Swachh Bharat Mission, according to the 2016-2017 economic survey.
A basic income would be different from a payment for work done under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) because it does not have a work requirement, or from a payment made to mothers choosing to deliver in a hospital as the UBI isn’t for a specific category of people. It is also different from a payment made to only those below the poverty line because the income is meant for everyone, irrespective of the level of income.
UBI as an alternative to current programmes: could correct faulty targeting, reduce leakage
The 2016-2017 economic survey highlights the misallocation of funds in current programmes: it concludes there is little overlap between the share of poor in a district and the share of overall funding it receives from current welfare programs, suggesting the poorest districts do not receive the most money.