Basic income could empower millions, but India may find cost too high

The UBI amount would be greater than all current welfare programs of the government

In a country where 21% of the population lives below the poverty line (of Rs 816 per capita per month in rural areas, and Rs 1,000 in urban areas), where the top 10% of the population own 53% of its wealth, with worsening inequality over the last two decades, a basic income could empower millions, even as the government said the programme might not be politically or economically feasible.

“A basic income’s emancipatory value is greater than