- January 28, 2019
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Daily News
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- Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced Monday that his party would ensure “minimum income guarantee” for every poor person in the country if it is voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
- Asserting that he gets done what he says, Gandhi added the minimum income guarantee would be implemented across the country.
- The BJP-led Union government wrote off INR3.5tr worth of loans of 15 big industrialist but “did not waive the loans of the country’s farmers”, he alleged.
- The BJP dismissed Gandhi’s promise of a basic income. “Where will the money come from? He’s promising the moon to fool the people,” said Gopal Krishna Agarwal, a party spokesman specialising on economic issues.
- He said the government had looked at the issue of a basic income in 2014 but concluded that eliminating all subsidies would provide only enough funds to pay INR6,000 per family per month, not enough to feed them.
- Modi’s administration is weighing measures of its own to woo farmers, small business owners and those who are less well-off, expected to be unveiled in its final budget before the election.
- A government economic adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Gandhi’s promise showed the “competitive populism” among politicians, which raises concern that whoever wins, India may breach goals to rein in its fiscal deficit.
- Providing the poor with a universal basic income is an idea that is gaining attention in wealthier countries such as Finland and France. India has had rapid economic growth but is still home to one in three of the world’s extreme poor, with millions more at risk of becoming poor from an emergency medical payment or bad harvest.
External Link: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-election/indian-opposition-leader-gandhi-promises-minimum-income-for-the-poor-idUKKCN1PM19R
28-Jan-2019
