Minimum income guarantee: A game changer?

No way Congress' 'next big idea' will work without raising taxes

Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s announcement about minimum income guarantee (MIG) is the first big idea introduced in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But Rahul Gandhi’s speeches in Raipur and Kochi were woefully short on any substance to back this big idea up. All we know is that the Congress is committing itself to some kind of income transfer to benefit the poor, should they fall below a minimum level.

For all its limitations, the announcement about MIG has already achieved something: It indicates the direction this election is likely to take. The Congress has already all but committed