Thoughts on Universal Basic Income

Consider the government has decided to give money to every citizen in its country every month unconditionally. By unconditionally I mean you don’t have to do anything at all! Sounds like a fantasy right? Well not really. The idea of universal basic income has been floating around for decades and there are several places where this idea is being currently tested.

Let me explain why this idea is worth considering.

First, let’s agree on some common things. The reason majority of the people go to work is because they need money to pay their monthly bill. So with Universal Basic Income in place, those who are truly passionate about something can follow them without having to do a mundane job.

Well one might argue that most of the population will stop working if they are given free money. Let me ask you something, will you stop working if I give you Rs.5000 every month? Of course not. Universal basic income ensures that every citizen has enough money to meet his basic needs but not lead a luxurious life. So even with universal basic income in place, I am sure 99% of the people will still go to their job.

Then one might wonder why bother giving money to everyone if 99% of the people end up going to their same old work. The whole universal basic income concept is all about empowering the remaining 1%. It was always that one person who made a revolutionary discovery and not the majority of the population.

But for that 1% to unleash their true potential they should have enough free time and the only way to ensure they get free time is through Universal Basic Income. Moreover, this will also reduce the female infanticide, farmer suicide and most of the social evils drastically.

Next question is how will the government pay for all of this? Switzerland has already voted on Universal Basic income (Although the people rejected the proposal ). But with most jobs getting replaced by machines, Universal Basic Income will be viewed seriously in a couple of decades rather than a Utopian fantasy.

This is what will happen if Universal Basic Income is implemented in Rocky’s world.

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Urban acute water crisis: Who will provide water security ? Chennai's water wars #UPSC #GS1 #Mains

Water scarcity is fast becoming urban India’s number one woe, with government’s own data revealing that residents in 22 out of 32 major cities have to deal with daily shortages.

Drought-hit Chennai has 1.3% of water in its reservoirs, one of the lowest in 70 yrs

This is the fifth lowest quantity of water recorded in the last 74 years.

Chennai is battling one of its worst water crisis in nearly 75 years. As the returning monsoon missed this part of the earth in November-December 2018, causing severe drought-like conditions, increasing water use and misuse by the coastal metropolis has raised questions on water sustainability and the city's resilience.

Chennai is battling sever water crisis with daily water supply of 550 mn l/day against a required 1,200 mn l/d

Water Crisis: PM writes personal letter to village pradhans on saving rainwater

The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) started rationing in January this year due to severe water shortage. This resulted in bringing down the total daily supply to 550 million litres per day (mld). The demand for water in Chennai is about 1,200 million litres per day (mld).

During best of times, CMWSSB supplies about 830 mld. Media reports claimed that by June, the city will not get any water from its three principal sources — Red Hills lake, Poondi reservoir and Cholavaram lake.

From May 15, CMWSSB stopped drawing water from the Red Hills lake, which supplies 90-120 mld for the city. Local residents are having a tough time in the absence of adequate water supply.

Real estate developers have stopped construction work in major parts of the city due to water crisis. Hotels have cut down the number of working hours and said they will not provide thali (meals) as it uses up more water. For a 100 seat restaurant, 12,000 litres of water is used up every day, said M. Ravi, president of the Chennai Hotel Owners’ Association.

Residents from prime localities like Triplicane, Alwarpet and Mylapore have started shifting homes in search of water.

Rainwater harvesting pioneer and Chennai’s ‘rain man’ Shekhar Raghavan blamed the present scarcity on the failure of monsoon last year. The northeast monsoon has been deficient by nearly 50 per cent.

In this backdrop, it is important to note that Chennai has been a pioneer in rain water harvesting. As early as 2001, the building rules were changed making rain water harvesting structures compulsory. Ever since, for any new building to get plan approval it has to have a rainwater harvesting structure.

The dispute over sharing water from the Cauvery river between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has further added to the distress. “Water has been a sensitive issue and nobody wants to share water with the other state. Demand keeps increasing all the time and source is dwindling. A state needs to become self-sufficient and not depend on others,” added Raghavan.

Reference: TOI, DTE, IH, TNM

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Is the Universal Basic Income a good idea for Country like India?

Sikkim recently declared to include the Universal Basic Income scheme in its manifesto ahead of the Assembly election in 2019 and aims to implement it by 2022. If everything goes according to the plan, it will be the first state to implement UBI in India.

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What is Universal Basic Income

A basic income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement. Considered a viable way to reform social security to address the shortcomings that the current system is rife with – targeting and delivery – the main motive behind UBI is to address the behavioural, design, and implementation downsides in the currently used systems of unemployment and social security benefits.

Why the UBI is a good idea?

Several countries have conducted pilot studies to explore the feasibility of making basic income a social security mainstay. Most notably, the Finnish government implemented a 24-month pilot in January 2017. In his article on UBI and initial observations from the pilot, the Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty discusses how UBI’s potential rests on it being unconditional. By guaranteeing some income periodically, it liberates the recipients to pursue work they find meaningful, which in turns results in better economic outcomes.

Canada and Netherlands have also launched UBI pilots in early 2017, both as a social security measure and as an alternative to developmental aid. These examples are from the developed world. What about the developing world like india?

Can basic income work in India?

The Economic Survey of India 2016-17 discussed UBI as a viable alternative to a plethora of state subsidies targeting poverty alleviation. According to the ESI, if we considered a basic income transfer of INR1000 per month (approximately $15/month), we would have 20 million beneficiaries. Even a basic income of $4 per individual per month can reduce India’s poverty level by 16%, from its current level of 22%. The cost to do this would be 2% of GDP, the same amount we currently spend in total on food, fuel, and fertiliser subsidies. In early 2017 when the then Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, included a substantial chapter [2] on UBI in his annual Economic Survey (2016-17) which was presented to the Indian Parliament.

Economists feel the basic income should be fixed at a level that is just above the poverty line in a country. In India, various panels, including the Rangarajan committee, have fixed this level at between Rs 32 and Rs 47.

Universal basic income: a 500-year-old idea with a new kick : Click here

"Germany: The first basic income experiment in Germany will start in 2019"

An 18-month basic income trial was conducted in Madhya Pradesh in 2010. Every man, woman, and child across 8 villages received a monthly cash transfer, while another village was used as a control group. The money was paid individually, initially as cash, and after three months was debited into their bank or cooperative accounts, without any conditions.

For a detailed post on how UBI will affect Indian citizens, read this post : Thoughts on Universal Basic Income

UBI potentially solves the pressing issues faced by social security in India. By virtue of being universal, it eliminates any risk of leakage. By leveraging the JanDhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) trinity, UBI can ensure efficient delivery. More importantly, UBI is targeted individually, making it a social security measure that could reach even the most marginalised sections of the population.

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