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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The Ghost of Null & Void : Section 66A IT Act

In 2015, the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, as unconstitutional. That decision, Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, was praised by domestic and foreign media alike.

Vihara-study-hall-blog-on - 66A IT act

Last week We updated an article on Surveillance state. To continue in the domain of Information Technology , Today We are going to take a look on continued menace of Unauthorised Section of IT Act, 2000. Tuesday (ie.07/01/19), Supreme Court issued notice to state regarding this issue. It also asserted that the concerned officials will be arrested if its order scrapping the provision has been violated. Section 66A had been dubbed as "draconian act" for it allowed the arrest of several innocent persons. It invited a public outcry for its scrapping.

This had led to the Supreme Court striking it down as unconstitutional in March, 2015. The court had ruled that the provision violated freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India and that it did not fall under the reasonable restrictions enunciated under Article 19 (2). Right from the police station, to trial courts, and all the way to High Courts, one finds that Section 66-A is still in use despite it being denied a place on the statute book.

The Internet Freedom Foundation had then released a paper in October last year, claiming that Section 66A continued to be used across India, despite the judgement.

It was authored by Abhinav & gupta. They described Section 66A a "legal zombie", asserting that it haunts to Indian criminal process, despite more than three years having passed since the judgment.

Weakest Branch?

Inspite of striking of this section, Government ( Police Dept) is continued to book case against public. Judiciary considered to be the third pillar of our democracy. Yet most of the orders of Courts in india aren't being followed by the State itself. We can take example of mob lynching and sabarimala verdict also. This was one of the reasons why Alexander Hamilton famously labelled the judiciary as “the least dangerous branch”.

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#66AITACT #SUPREMECOURTOFINDIA #INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYACT #SHREYASINGHALCASE #SABARIMALA #MOBVIOLENE #VERDICT #UPSC #CURRENRAFFAIRS #GENERALSTUDIES #PAPER2 #PRELIMS2019 #IBPS #SSC #RRRB #TNPSC

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