Some Basic Issues Underlying Basic Income S. Subramanian

As India gears up for another general election, the politics of poverty eradication has again gained centre-stage; and there has been a great deal of talk, in recent times, about introducing some sort of basic income support scheme as a welfare measure in India. Any such seriously conceived and carefully thought-through scheme would be a welcome policy initiative, and in this context, it is useful to remind ourselves of the many complexities that must be expected to inform a policy of income support through cash transfers. In this essay, S. Subramanian, Economist, author of The Poverty Line, and Rights, Deprivation, and Disparity, discusses certain fundamental issues underlying a basic income scheme that are not often immediately apparent to the non-specialist evaluator. The essay, cast in a question-answer format, addresses various strands of this complex economic issue. The themes explored include the question of what a basic income support scheme is; a couple of alternative forms it could assume—those of a Universal Basic Income and a Basic Income Guarantee; why it might be deemed to be necessary in India at this juncture; and what are some of the information and logistical problems that are typically associated with it and how these problems might be mitigated. Sounding a note of caution against hastily conceived announcements on a politically attractive rhetoric such as income redistribution, Subramanian also puts forth—for public thought and informed discussion—possible scenarios for the feasibility of funding a reasonable universal basic income programme in India.

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