Congress’ NYAY scheme would present a new model of social welfare which may help to boost economic growth, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told news agency PTI on Sunday. The scheme which aims to provide basic minimum income for poor is based on ‘prudent economics’ whose benefits may increase consumption across the country, leading to a faster pace of growth, he added.
The two-time Prime Minister, who is credited for scripting economic reforms in the 1990s, said only the people who have no compassion for the poor can oppose such a scheme. It’s absolutely fair to spend 1.5 per cent of the GDP for 20 per cent of the poor, he noted. Rejecting the claims that the middle class will be burdened with fresh taxes, he said that there is no such need to put pressure on the middle class to finance the scheme. Congress is totally committed towards maintaining fiscal balance, he also told PTI.
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Coming down heavily on the ‘disruptive’ economic policies by the Narendra Modi government, the renowned economist said that the decisions such as demonetisation by the government are the result of limited understanding of the economy. The government lacks clear economic vision or understanding about the dynamics of the economy, he added.
The government could have made the country grow much faster if they had used the extraordinary majority enjoyed by it to bring about the right set of economic reforms, he said. The government could have used the mandate to the right effect and eliminated poverty in the previous five years, he noted.
Even as Congress hardsells NYAY during the election season, the BJP claims it to be unfeasible. The saffron party also says that it may exert additional pressure on the country’s fiscal health.
In its 2019 election manifesto, Congress has promised a ‘Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme’ (MIGS) or Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY), to five crore poorest families of the country. The scheme covers 25 crore people and assures them a minimum income of Rs 6,000 per month or Rs 72,000 a year.
