Second of a three-part podcast on India’s quest for universal basic income (UBI). It covers the pilots that have been run so far and, importantly, asks what they tell about the potential of such schemes in India and perhaps in other developing countries.

The expert is Sarath Davala, chair of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), and co-founder for India Network for Basic Income. He served as the research director for the Madhya Pradesh basic income pilot.
This part goes beyond individual pilots to bigger, underlying questions on the future of UBI. It discusses:

• Scale-up. What is the potential in India and how is a critical mass of trials being run sub-nationally, testing the models and pushing the debate upwards?
• Lessons. What are the lessons on UBI India offers to the world and, particularly, to developing countries?
• Crisis. How has COVID-19 made UBI an emergency tool, and what does this say about its use in humanitarian, development, and crisis contexts?

on this subject: UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab