Indian government to endorse universal basic income 'as way forward', says leading UBI advocate

[The_Showstopper]

Indian government to endorse universal basic income 'as way forward', says leading UBI advocate


India’s Chief Economic Advisor has already confirmed country's annual financial report will discuss free money

India is a rising economy but a substantial proportion of the population remains in poverty Getty
India is going to endorse a Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to a leading advocate of the system.

The world’s largest democracy will release a report in January stating that UBI is “basically the way forward,” according to Professor Guy Standing, who has worked on universal income pilot projects in India.

If implemented, India would join Finland in providing free money to citizens.

However, Prof Standing, a founding member of the Basic Income Earth Network, didn’t believe UBI would be introduced universally across India because of its radical nature.






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Elon Musk believes Universal Basic Income will follow more automation
Under a universal income system, citizens would receive a set amount of money from the state, forfeiting other benefits.

India, which has an estimated population of 1.3 billion people, has a growing economy but around 29.5 per cent of people live in poverty, according to a 2014 government report – particularly in rural areas.

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Prof Standing told Business Insider the effects of the UBI trials had been “remarkable positive” on their communities, allowing people to have a sense of control over their money, reducing debt and empowering women.

"As a consequence of this,” Prof Standing said, “The Indian government is coming out with a big report in January. As you can imagine that makes me very excited. It will basically say this is the way forward."

While Prof Standing said the government report would say UBI was “feasible” he added: "I don't expect them to go the full way, because it's such a dramatic conversion.”

India’s Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian, confirmed in October that the annual Economic Survey would discuss UBI.

Mr Subramanian has been sympathetic towards the concept of a universal income, telling The Indian Express: “The government spends a lot of money on schemes to help the poor… It is not clear that the money actually reaches the poor. So the question is whether the UBI is a more effective way of reaching the poor that the current schemes that government employs.”

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The concept of UBI received a boost recently when the government of Finland announced the introduction of a trial involving 2,000 unemployed people.

The recipients will be given €560 (£480) every month for two years unconditionally, even if they find work.

In a statement, the Finnish government said: “The primary goal of the basic income experiment is related to promoting employment. The experiment, including follow-up research, aims to find out whether basic income promotes employment."

However, UBI projects in Finland and India - if it goes ahead - are likely to strongly vary in their scale and implementation due to the vast differences in social and economic context.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ing-finland-pilot-earth-network-a7508786.html

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

No. India is not ready for UBI. Give a set of money? So the drunkyards can have a fun day each of every month?

Digitalize every record of PDS intake and out-take, banking, cash benefits for limited things like LPG, new house building and other resources.

 

[Shajida Khan]

I agree that it is a bad idea. Better open soup kitchens etc where hungry can eat. Ultimately you need to provide employment by creating a diverse industry instead of hand outs.

 

[gslv]

No freeloaders please. In nature nothing is free.

 

[That Guy]

No. India is not ready for UBI. Give a set of money? So the drunkyards can have a fun day each of every month?

Digitalize every record of PDS intake and out-take, banking, cash benefits for limited things like LPG, new house building and other resources.

Neither India, nor Pakistan can afford UBI at the moment. India should learn from Pakistan's BISP program (which is sort of like a UBI) which has NOT worked well. Even taking away the issue of corruption and incompetence, there is simply not enough money to go around to have an effective UBI program.

Right now, UBI programs are only realistic in developed nations, with reasonable growth rates (2% average). Canada is (again) starting a few new UBI pilot programs, one of them, I believe has already begun in P.E.I. A few European nations have also started the program, but even then, there are concerns about affordability of such a program.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Neither India, nor Pakistan can afford UBI at the moment. India should learn from Pakistan's BISP program (which is sort of like a UBI) which has NOT worked well. Even taking away the issue of corruption and incompetence, there is simply not enough money to go around to have an effective UBI program.

Right now, UBI programs are only realistic in developed nations, with reasonable growth rates (2% average). Canada is (again) starting a few new UBI pilot programs, one of them, I believe has already begun in P.E.I. A few European nations have also started the program, but even then, there are concerns about affordability of such a program.

MNREGA and NAREGA have been running for more than a decade.

 

[That Guy]

MNREGA and NAREGA have been running for more than a decade.

Skimming google, those simply seem like guaranteed employment plans, not basic income plans. UBI way more different, as UBI is literally giving money, with zero strings attached (meaning, you can be unemployed and still receive this money). BISP is far more similar to UBI, than MNREGA and NAREGA.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Skimming google, those simply seem like guaranteed employment plans, not basic income plans. UBI way more different, as UBI is literally giving money, with zero strings attached (meaning, you can be unemployed and still receive this money). BISP is far more similar to UBI, than MNREGA and NAREGA.

a massive income transfer program that's only one step away conceptually from UBI.

 

[Deadpool]

Hell no.

I voted for Modi for smart economics. If i wanted crappy dole out schemes that take my country backward, I would have stuck with Congress.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Hell no.

I voted for Modi for smart economics. If i wanted crappy dole out schemes that take my country backward, I would have stuck with Congress.

Lol he even thought BJP is 'better' than congress.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

MNREGA and NAREGA have been running for more than a decade.

Those are job plans where payment for labour is given in cash. They need to be 100% digitalized first so no corruption can happen.
Second we cannot simply afford UBI. For that we need thorough documentation. And Poverty might not actually reduce as we might not know how the beneficiaries intend to use it. We can provide services in places of subsidies.

Neither India, nor Pakistan can afford UBI at the moment. India should learn from Pakistan's BISP program (which is sort of like a UBI) which has NOT worked well. Even taking away the issue of corruption and incompetence, there is simply not enough money to go around to have an effective UBI program.

Right now, UBI programs are only realistic in developed nations, with reasonable growth rates (2% average). Canada is (again) starting a few new UBI pilot programs, one of them, I believe has already begun in P.E.I. A few European nations have also started the program, but even then, there are concerns about affordability of such a program.

India with its large population simply cant afford UBI. And for that, we need to digitalise everyone in India. The process is going on, which will take a decade to build a real database on that information.
Secondly we cant assure if the intended recipient use that money for the purpose it is utilised. In India its hugely impossible to track.
In Canada, some of my friends who are citizens got about 6-800 CAD (not sure of original amount) per month as unemployment benefit for a year. Are u referring to that or a completely new one?

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Those are job plans where payment for labour is given in cash. They need to be 100% digitalized first so no corruption can happen.
Second we cannot simply afford UBI. For that we need thorough documentation. And Poverty might not actually reduce as we might not know how the beneficiaries intend to use it. We can provide services in places of subsidies.



India with its large population simply cant afford UBI. And for that, we need to digitalise everyone in India. The process is going on, which will take a decade to build a real database on that information.
Secondly we cant assure if the intended recipient use that money for the purpose it is utilised. In India its hugely impossible to track.
In Canada, some of my friends who are citizens got about 6-800 CAD (not sure of original amount) per month as unemployment benefit for a year. Are u referring to that or a completely new one?

100% digitization is what modi did by pushing Aadhar (which he said he won't do). Modi has increased funding for MNREGA massively (which he said he won't do). He'll probably shut down mnrega and convert the whole thing into UBI.

 

[That Guy]

a massive income transfer program that's only one step away conceptually from UBI.

One could make that argument, but it is on the condition that the person actually works; it is not free money, which means human labor is still going into the economy.

Those are job plans where payment for labour is given in cash. They need to be 100% digitalized first so no corruption can happen.
Second we cannot simply afford UBI. For that we need thorough documentation. And Poverty might not actually reduce as we might not know how the beneficiaries intend to use it. We can provide services in places of subsidies.



India with its large population simply cant afford UBI. And for that, we need to digitalise everyone in India. The process is going on, which will take a decade to build a real database on that information.
Secondly we cant assure if the intended recipient use that money for the purpose it is utilised. In India its hugely impossible to track.
In Canada, some of my friends who are citizens got about 6-800 CAD (not sure of original amount) per month as unemployment benefit for a year. Are u referring to that or a completely new one?

Unemployment benefit is completely different, and is extremely conditional, so no, it is not that.

UBI has zero conditions, which means that whether you work or not, the government will guarantee that you have a yearly living income.

Just some points, 100% digitization won't end corruption, it will only make it harder. Digital white collar crimes still occur.

Second, it has already been proven with historical UBI projects, such as Mincome, that poverty and homelessness WOULD drastically reduce. Mental health cases would also reduce, and hospital visitations would decrease (again, Mincome pilot).

I do agree that it will take decades to get to where India and Pakistan would even consider thinking about UBI, but with automation coming into play, things aren't looking bright for either nation's future.

 

[Indika]

Doling free money has never worked it will simply lead to massive corruption. MNREGA already has lot of fake ppl skimming money away. Instead it would be feasible to make basic requirements like food , shelter, transport...etc very economical. Education is a good example, it has yielded good result in long run even when our education infra has stagnated.

 

[That Guy]

Doling free money has never worked it will simply lead to massive corruption. MNREGA already has lot of fake ppl skimming money away. Instead it would be feasible to make basic requirements like food , shelter, transport...etc very economical. Education is a good example, it has yielded good result in long run even when our education infra has stagnated.

You have it backwards, it won't lead to corruption, rather corruption already exists, and will corrupt the project.

The issue isn't if the project will work, rather, it is getting reducing corruption to the point that it won't affect the project in any meaningful way.