Alas, the 'basic income' schemes that have hit the headlines in the recent past are a far cry from the genuine article in terms of coverage and fiscal implications, says Vijay Joshi.
The Survey estimated that a UBI that reduces poverty to 0.5 per cent would cost 4-5 per cent of GDP, assuming that those in the top 25 per cent income bracket are not part of the loop.
Telangana's Rythu Bandhu policy is an embryonic UBI, or rather embryonic QUBI (a quasi-universal basic income, pronounced Kyoo-Bee). And it could potentially also be the future of agricultural policy in India, says Arvind Subramanian.
'The Indian economy has been subsidised by the poor.'
President Droupadi Murmu's address to the nation on the eve of the 79th Independence Day.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
"There have been discussions on implementing UBI in J&K -- not just as a pilot in some districts, but in the entire state, according to Drabu's proposal in the state's Budget," said an official. "Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is also supportive of the idea. A presentation will now be made at the PMO."
Some of his directives had the Supreme Court judges disclose their assets whereas the row over the discovery of cash from a sitting judge's official residence paved way for inquiry.
India could gain four times over by winding up dysfunctional subsidies.
Switching to the UPS could be a game-changer for your retirement planning, especially if you value guaranteed benefits and higher government contributions, observes Ramalingam Kalirajan.
'Gruha Lakshmi Yojana' is an attempt of the Congress party to share the 'burden of the exorbitant' LPG prices and the 'costly daily expenses' that a woman has to bear, the party said.
'In India, we are very far away from the per capita incomes of the West. And so the need to support many more people with much more money will come sooner in India than in other nations,' says Aakar Patel.
Tax administration could be improved to reduce discretion and improve accountability
'All of us have believed in decentralisation. You may not like property taxation, neither do I. My solution is that the Centre does the tax collection, but we can give a matching grant instead of redistribution,' says the outgoing CEA, Arvind Subramanian.
Justice Khanna, who will serve as CJI for a little over six months, will demit office on May 13, 2025.
It raises three major questions - the incentive compatibility issue, the fairness issue and fiscal challenge, said Panagariya.
Major focus will be on adequately funding existing schemes to ensure their timely completion before the next General Elections.
'UBI is a tricky subject.' 'Our worry is the government could get rid of UPA's social welfare schemes targeted at the poor.'
Universal basic income or social security? Economist Nitin Desai feels we need a blueprint for universal health care and pensions to help the vulnerable section.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been part of several landmark Supreme Court judgements such as scrapping the electoral bonds scheme and upholding abrogation of Article 370, will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday.
If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The scheme, which would give Rs 6,000 to small farmers in a year or Rs 500 a month, will add more money to the account of these cultivators than the money he/she saves every month on an average.
'For the first time one single party is getting 49% which is a record of its own.'
The new Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian believes that more than unemployment, it is the quality of employment which needs to be focused on. In an interview with Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana, Subramanian said that controlling inflation was the Modi government's biggest achievement.
There will be pressure on the fiscal situation, especially at a time when the monsoon can also disappoint. More populist expenditure is on cards if the mandate is a hung Parliament or a coalition government.
'The Congress is trying to reinvent itself -- the caste census demand, OBC emphasis, the anti-corporate thrust, especially on Adani etc -- all this is not standard Congress strategy.'
Naturally, the West Bengal chief minister is not leaving anything to chance, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
The centre pays only an insulting Rs 200 per pensioner each month at a tight-fisted 0.04 per cent of GDP, among the lowest in the world. Instead, as illustrated by Jean Drze, one option is for NYAY to provide individual rather than household entitlements to all pensioners of at least Rs 1200 per month.
Defending the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, the Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an "unprecedented" era of peace, progress and prosperity, with street violence, orchestrated by terrorists and secessionist networks, becoming "a thing of the past."
BJP is hiding behind a GDP number which is being challenged. People are not dazzled by it, but are asking 'where are the jobs?'
Against a turbulent and uncertain background, Budget 2017-18 hewed a steady, forward-looking course, says Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the government.
Governments make budgets to retain and consolidate their hold on power, not to please opponents or economists. They do so by trying to gratify as many as possible without causing harm to the others, says Shreekant Sambrani.
Progress on the steps taken by Governor Shaktikanta Das' predecessor Urjit Patel to restore financial system integrity will be a key thing to assess any damage to the institution, Subramanian said.
'The stimulus message was tagged on to what was meant to be an exhortation to self-reliance, glossing over the near impossibility of merging the immediate requirement of relief for a huge population and a questionable strategy for the future trajectory of a large economy aspiring to superstardom,' points out Shreekant Sambrani.
'There will be positive growth, but if you ask me whether we are going to have the original growth rate of 8%, the answer will be, no.'
As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 36.06 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts was at Rs 1,00,495.94 crore as on July 3.
The negative aspect about the Budget is that the capital expenditure has been marginally cut to achieve the fiscal deficit target assumptions, and the onus of sustaining investment demand till private capex revives continues to vest with the public sector enterprises, notes Jyotivardhan Jaipuria.
Experts say the party is undoing what it achieved through MNREGA by targeting beneficiaries
Overall, the Survey warned that unless shifts in the vision of development were articulated and embraced, the Indian economy would lose the chance to move to a high-growth trajectory.
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