The lone parliamentarian from Sikkim, P D Rai, on Sunday has said that chief minister Pawan Chamling’s promise to introduce a unique Universal Basic Income (UBI) if voted back to power was a proactive measure and a ‘leap of faith’.
According to Rai, under UBI, every baby born in the State will start getting an income since birth.
Rai said the idea behind UBI was to give people of the State a chance to make better choices in life.
A small State with an area of just 7,096 sq km, Sikkim has a population of a little over 610,000 and a per capita income of Rs 88,000-plus.
Rai admitted that there was a huge consultative process ahead of the scheme’s implementation.
Referring to the NDA government’s interim Budget on February 1 giving sops to farmers and Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s promise to guarantee minimum income to the poor, Rai said that these were more reactive in nature because of the agrarian crisis in the country.
He said that once people will know that a fixed income is coming to their bank account every month, they will be in a position to make better choices in life.