The state of Sikkim in India is ready to launch an experiment that is the biggest of it’s kind yet. The experiment is one that will offer a basic income to all of it’s 610,000 citizens through cash payments.
The main purpose of the experiment is to aim to restructure the already existing welfare schemes, such as unemployment benefits. In low income countries such as India, the goal is address the issue of economic security not only for the poorest of the poor.
Both Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have endorsed the ida of basic income as a solution to change the situation of the economy, especially as more and more labor becomes automated. Actual experiments however have been highly limited, and the largest country to execute such a trial is India.
It has not yet been made clear how much each person will be given, and the launch date is set for only 2022, however politicians in India are hopeful that the experiment will prove to be successful.