Dec 11, 2024 13:57 IST First published on: Dec 11, 2024 at 13:53 IST Share In recent elections in several states, direct cash transfers (particularly to women) are reported to have played an important role. Earlier, on the eve of the national election of 2019, a programme of cash transfers to farmers (PM-KISAN) was introduced that was also reported to have been influential. As I have been an advocate for cash transfers in the form of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for nearly two decades, I am often asked if these transfer programmes to women and farmers are in line with my advocacy of UBI. Strictly speaking, these transfers are quite different from UBI for the obvious reason that they are not universal: They are either for special groups of poor women or special classes of farmers (small or marginal farmers, and subject to restrictions relating to earning pensions or paying income tax). I had advocated a UBI for the total population, not as part of any poverty reduction programme, but as part of every …