Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Far from what is needed to realize its ambitious vision, the Survey proposes a cash transfer with a dubious ability to compensate beneficiaries for the transition costs of moving to a new system, and one that would be financed by an indiscriminate culling of existing welfare schemes.
While there is much uncertainty about its final form, it is clear that the quest for universal basic income involves navigating the tricky waters of weak state capacity and the urgency of improving India’s existing welfare architecture.
Several commentators have remarked that Universal Basic Income functions as a Rorschach test for the welfare state, given that it draws its support from a diverse ideological coalition that sees it as mediating their own preferred versions of an ideal society.
The idea of a universal basic income (UBI)—periodic and unconditional cash payments to all citizens—has gained renewed attention amid growing concerns about technological unemployment in advanced economies.
The government’s flagship financial inclusion drive, the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, is one of the grandest policy initiatives of its kind by virtue of sheer scale.
As the universal basic income discussion evolves, it is imperative that policymakers deliberate upon the research on cash transfers, the administrative muscle required to disburse benefits across the land, and the contextual factors driving the revealed preferences of the poor.
Just as building more schools does not improve literacy rates, opening accounts does not empower citizens to make digital financial transactions.
While total jobs lost to automation are hard to quantify, it is clear that the elements for a complete transformation of the job market are fully in place.
A new body of work shows the relationship between bureaucrats and politicians in India is riddled with perverse incentives and unintended consequences. But, it also points to possible actions for reform.
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the essential bureaucratic organ of the Indian state, but it is badly out of sync with today’s demands.