Employment guarantee more desirable than income guarantee: Economist Amit Basole

ETV BHARAT spoke to Amit Basole, Associate Professor of Economics and Head, at Azim Premji University on the world’s largest minimum income guarantee scheme, NYAY promised by the Congress President Rahul Gandhi if voted to power.

Bengaluru: On 25 March, Congress President Rahul Gandhi promised to implement the world’s largest minimum income guarantee scheme, NYAY, if voted to power in the upcoming general elections to the Lok Sabha.

The ‘NYAY’ seeks to transfer Rs 72,000 per annum to the 20% poorest in the country. Rahul Gandhi’s announcement of the scheme has set a chain of reactions from the economists and the politicians alike. While economists have rejected the efficacy of the scheme, some economists are vouching for the initiative.

To clear the air around the major poll promise by the Congress, ETV BHARAT spoke to Amit Basole, Associate Professor of Economics and Head, Centre for Sustainable Employment at Azim Premji University in Bengaluru.

Besides the issues involved in the implementation of the proposed scheme, Amit discussed possible alternatives like ‘Employment Guarantee Scheme’.