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New Delhi: Providing a cash allowance rather than cheap food or guaranteed jobs would nearly eradicate poverty, but at a cost of 4 to 5 per cent of gross domestic product, a government report said on Tuesday.

Universal basic income (UBI) , a radical idea that is gaining attention in countries such as Finland and France, proposes giving every citizen an income to cover their basic needs.

Several economists advocate cash transfers in India, Asia’s third-largest economy, where despite rapid economic growth, one in three of the world’s extreme poor reside. An emergency medical payment or bad harvest risks a […]

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After Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, all eyes are on France for another populist upset, with Marine Le Pen rising in the polls ahead of the country’s upcoming presidential election. The growing popularity of the leader of the far-right, anti-immigration, anti-EU National Front party is in keeping with of politics recently.

Equally noteworthy is the existential crisis that confronts the out-of-favor left. In France, as elsewhere, the response has been to shift to the other extreme end of the political spectrum. France’s socialists have lurched as far left as they can go, naming Benoît Hamon as their candidate […]

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New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2016-17 presented in Parliament on Tuesday projected the economy to grow in the range of 6.75% to 7.25% in the next fiscal year 2017-18 in the post-demonetisation year.

The statistics department has projected the economy to grow at 7.1% in 2016-17 without taking into account the impact of demonetization while the International Monetary Fund has pared down its growth projection for India to 6.6% in 2016-17 and 7.2% in 2017-18.

The survey prepared by Chief Economic Adviser in the finance ministry Arvind Subramanian said the adverse impact of demonetisation on GDP growth will be transitional. “Once […]

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The Survey advocated the concept of UBI, positing it as an alternative to various social welfare schemes currently running in the country. The survey analysed the costs and benefits of such a scheme and said that it is a “conceptually appealing idea” but with a number of implementation challenges.

The Survey said that UBI should be based on the principles of universality, unconditionality and agency.

It concluded that a more efficient way to help the poor would be to provide them with resources directly through UBI as opposed to allocating resources to various Centre- and state-run schemes where misallocation is a […]

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By Press Information Bureau (PIB)

The Economic Survey projects the GDP growth in 2017-18 to be between 6.75 per cent to 7.5 per cent post-demonetisation. For the current fiscal, the growth is projected to fall to 7.1 per cent from 7.6 per cent last fiscal.

Good fiscal performance by States should be incentivised to keep the overall fiscal performance on track The Survey has highlighted the need for fiscal prudence both by the Centre as well as the States in order to maintain overall fiscal health of the economy.It elaborates that as the fiscal challenges mount for the states […]

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According to the Economic Survey, the indirect taxes grew at 26.9% during April-November 2016. And while the government spent a lot on the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, the overall revenue was robust. (AP) Economic Survey 2017: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today tabled the Modi government’s Economic Survey for 2016-2017. And while along expected lines the survey talks about economic growth, and macro level indicators and paints a picture for trends in growth, you would wonder why all the jargon should interest you as the common man. Here we decode some interesting aspects of India’s report card […]

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A labourer sits on sacks of food grains while waiting for customers at a wholesale market in Ahmedabad, December 14, 2016. | Reuters NEW DELHI: Positioning Universal Basic Income as an alternative to various social welfare schemes in a bid to reduce poverty, the Economic Survey today said UBI is a "powerful idea" whose time has come for serious discussion.

"The UBI is a powerful idea whose time even if not ripe for implementation is ripe for serious discussion," said the Economic Survey for 2016-17, which was tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Stating that the Mahatma would have […]

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Other headlines: President said citizens showed resilience during demonetisation, and US’ acting Attorney General was fired for defying Trump’s immigration ban.

Image credit: YouTube A look at the headlines right now:

> Economic Survey places GDP growth at 6.75%-7.5% in 2017-18: Tabled a day ahead of the Budget, the report highlighted controlled inflation and the impact of demonetisation on the economy. Citizens showed remarkable resilience during demonetisation drive, says President Pranab Mukherjee: Addressing a Joint Session of Parliament, Pranab Mukherjee highlighted initiatives taken by the government for the welfare of the poor. Donald Trump fires acting Attorney General Sally […]

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The Economic Survey 2016-17 tabled in Parliament today by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has finally made it clear where it stands on the concept of Universal Basic Income. Advocating the concept as an alternative to the various social welfare schemes in an effort to reduce poverty, the survey has listed out the benefits and costs of the UBI scheme.

The survey points out that while it is a conceptually appealing idea, there are several implementation challenges. One big risk it points out is of the scheme becoming an add-on rather than a replacement of current anti-poverty and social […]

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Even as the Niti Aayog has said that India does not have the necessary financial resources for the project, the government’s Economic Survey 2016-17 presented on Tuesday advocated a Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme as an alternative poverty reduction mechanism in place of various ongoing social welfare programmes.

The Economic Survey, authored by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and tabled in Parliament on the first day of the budget session on Tuesday, pitched for a scheme to transfer a reasonable basic income to Indians below the poverty line based on a survey on misallocation of resources which showed that districts […]

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