Minimum income guarantee scheme: All you need to know about Congress poll plank for LS elections

In a big poll promise that he described as a "groundbreaking" measure to end poverty, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Monday said 20 per cent families in poorest of the poor category will be given Rs 72,000 each annually as a minimum income.

NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that nearly 25 crore poor people in the country will get financial assistance of Rs 72,000 per annum if the party is voted to power under the ambitious minimum income guarantee scheme which the party has named "Nyay".

Gandhi said the Congress will provide Rs 72,000 per annum to 20 per cent of the poorest families in the country. The scheme will benefit 5 crore families and 25 crore individuals directly, according to Gandhi.

He said the scheme was "unprecedented in the world". "Nyay" (the minimum income scheme) will be the Congress' major poll promise ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and Gandhi termed it as "a final assault on poverty".

He said the "minimum income line" is Rs 12,000 per annum and the scheme will benefit individuals earning less than that.

"Congress guarantees that 20 per cent of the poorest families will be given Rs 72,000 crore every year. The amount will be transferred directly to the accounts of 20 per cent of the poorest families," Gandhi said.

Gandhi clarified that the scheme will supplement the income of the poor if it is less than Rs 12,000 per month.

"The minimum income line is Rs 12,000 per month. Whatever the difference -- say the income is Rs 6,000 -- we will top it up. Those who earn less than Rs 12,000, we will take their earnings to Rs 12,000," he said.



The Congress chief said the party has studied the fiscal implications of the scheme and has consulted renowned economists and experts before finalising it.

"This is a historic scheme which has not happened anywhere in the world. It is an extremely powerful, ground-breaking and well-thought through idea. We have consulted many economists on the scheme," he said.

"It will be a fiscally prudent scheme," he said, adding that if voted to power the Congress will identify such families who lived below the poverty mark.

Gandhi said the scheme is part of the party's plan to ensure minimum income guarantee to every person in the country.

Asked where the money will come from and whether it will affect the economy, he claimed there is enough money in India and the Congress guarantees that 20 per cent poorest families will be given Rs 72,000 per year.

Sources in the Congress said that party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was among the leaders who had suggested giving a Hindi name to the ambitious scheme to have better connect with the voters.

(With inputs from agencies)