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What is universal basic income – and does it make sense for India?

What is universal basic income – and does it make sense for India?

Image credit: REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui Over the last week, newspapers have reported that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government could lay the foundations for a universal basic income in India this year. As early as October 2016, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian confirmed that the idea of offering a regular payment from the state to all citizens regardless of their employment status would make its way to the Economic Survey, which is tabled in Parliament ahead of the Budget.

“You are really on the ball here,” Subramanian said when asked about a basic income in September at a conference in Odisha. […]

India is not ready for universal basic income

India is not ready for universal basic income

But is a UBI feasible? Is it affordable? For instance, if a guaranteed minimum income is provided universally, where would the vast majority of citizens access better nutrition, healthcare and educational facilities for their children? (HT) Ahead of the forthcoming budget on February 1, there is a buzz surrounding the feasibility of a universal basic income (UBI) in the Indian context. Simply put, a UBI is a sum of money provided by the State to all citizens to take care of the bare necessities of life. This measure is intended to provide a “safety net preventing any citizen from […]

‘An occupy moment’: Smiths Falls residents demand basic income pilot project

'An occupy moment': Smiths Falls residents demand basic income pilot project

Carol Anne Knapp, right, and Darlene Kantor interrupt a committee of the whole meeting to make their case for a guaranteed income pilot project in Smiths Falls, Ont. (Hillary Johnstone/CBC News) A proposed pilot project to bring guaranteed income to Smiths Falls, Ont., generated heated debate at a town hall meeting on Monday night, as two local residents stood up and demanded to be heard.

"This is an occupy moment, and we’re here to protest," Carol Anne Knapp told the room, which was filled with town councillors, residents and reporters for the committee of the whole meeting.

Resident Darlene Kantor also […]

Finland first in Europe to take basic income plunge

Finland first in Europe to take basic income plunge

Discussions between the supporters and opponents of the idea of Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) are fierce but Finland has bitten the bullet and implemented the concept across the country in a new landmark pilot project. EurActiv Germany reports .

They crept into our everyday lives a while ago; Artificial Intelligence, biogenetics and the Internet of Things are now regarded as daily conveniences. As its precursors did before it, the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0 will significantly change the world of work.

In fact, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest The Future of Jobs study predicts that by 2020 more […]

Local health unit advocates for basic guaranteed income in Smiths Falls

Local health unit advocates for basic guaranteed income in Smiths Falls

Local health unit makes case for basic income guarantee at Smiths Falls town council. Dr. Paula Stewart of the Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit presents alongside health unit manager, Elaine Murkin, about the potential public health and social benefits a basic income guarantee could have on Smiths Falls at council’s committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 9, 2017.

Smiths Falls Record News

In a heated debate about whether or not Smiths Falls should play host to the province’s basic income pilot, The Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit’s voice is clear — go for it.The health […]

Universal basic income: Is the world ready?

Universal basic income: Is the world ready?

Income map Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay unemployed citizens an unconditional monthly sum, in a social experiment that will be watched around the world. Under the two-year pilot scheme, which began on January 1, unemployed Finns will receive a guaranteed sum of €^560 (£475). A wide variety of basic income proposals are circulating today. They differ along many other dimensions, including in the amounts of the basic income, the source of funding, the nature and size of reductions in other transfers that might accompany it. Here is a look:

Why now?

Labour markets and […]

Poverty: ‘It’s a growing national conversation’

Poverty: ‘It’s a growing national conversation’

Scott Brison will be the main speaker at the public forum Let Them Eat Cake on Jan. 12. (STAFF) A dialogue on a guaranteed income and poverty, sponsored by the Annapolis Valley Regional Library, takes place Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Kentville Fire Hall.

“Let them eat cake” is a phrase usually attributed to Marie Antoinette and has been used for more than 250 years to demonstrate the gap between the rich and the poor. And for as long as the problems of poverty, food insecurity and the precarious future of work have been discussed, there have been […]

How Finland could see benefits from its basic income experiment

How Finland could see benefits from its basic income experiment

The country is trialling a monthly basic income of £487 with 2,000 citizens One of the greatest political challenges in the 21st century is coming up with a welfare system which is both effective and fair. Recipients and non-recipients of benefits payments are both quick to point out apparent deficiencies in the status quo – as well as problems with any potential alternatives. But some countries are clearly ready for change.

As of 1 January 2017, Finland became the first European country to implement a plan whereby unemployed citizens receive a basic monthly income. Created by the government agency responsible […]

If Robots and AI Steal Our Jobs, a Universal Basic Income Could Help

The Korea IT Times have released a transcript of article by Dr.Peter Diamandis as follows
The article is about analysis and response to robots and artificial intelligence that could be steal our jobs.

Some fear that robots and AI will steal our jobs.
They probably will (in the near-term, at least half of them). If that happens, what will we do for a living? How will we earn money? In this post I’ll be discussing one of the most important proposed solutions to job loss due to automation—the notion of “universal basic income” (sometimes called guaranteed minimum income). […]

Kela’s researchers voice concerns about media interest in basic income experiment

Kela's researchers voice concerns about media interest in basic income experiment

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) began its widely-discussed basic income experiment on 9 January, 2017. Excessive media interest may distort the results of the newly-launched basic income experiment, warns the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). “The interest is understandable, but in order not to distort the results the participants should not be approached simply because of the experiment. Also other media attention can undermine the integrity of the results from a research viewpoint,” Olli Kangas, the director of community relations at Kela, writes in a blog with researchers Tapio Räsänen, Miska Simanainen and Jouko Verho. They […]