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‘Garibi hatao’

IF wishes were horses and promises magic wands, poverty would have been eradicated a long time ago.

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IF wishes were horses and promises magic wands, poverty would have been eradicated a long time ago. Political leaders have pledged to remove poverty, raised many a slogan, including the famous ‘Garibi hatao’ one, but poverty still remains, although few would dispute the fact that the poor of today are relatively better off than the wretched of yesteryear. Come elections, poverty eradication receives voluble attention of vote-seekers, and like a flash of lightning, gives hope of dispelling the darkness that hangs over on the lives of the poor, only to vanish as quickly, leaving behind little of lasting value. 

Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY), a minimum income scheme for the poor, is alluring. He offers to bridge the difference between what a poor family earns and Rs 12,000 per month, beyond which a person is not considered poor. That 20 per cent in India are below the poverty line is a shameful statistic. Although progress has been made since Independence, efforts to address this have fallen short of expectations. Jobs are hard to come by and for the most part, the woes of the poor fail to attract attention, let alone find redress. The Congress has a long history of promising much and not delivering as much. Yet, it progressed from Indira Gandhi’s Garibi Hatao sloganeering to the MGNREGA, which is still the premium job guarantee programme in the country. The gain was substantial, even though allegations of corruption and leakages abound. 

Economists are struggling to understand how NYAY would be funded. A significant challenge would also be one of identifying the beneficiaries objectively. For it to be economically viable, the logical thing would be to roll in other subsidies given to the poor into this scheme and make it comprehensive. Logic and politics, however, have seldom been good bedfellows, and the country is already reeling from the burden imposed by other subsidies. Even as it remains to be seen how Rahul Gandhi would be able to work out the economics of this plan, his announcement is a game changer which can shape the political narrative at this crucial point.

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