income was paid monthly at the rate of $4.40 for an adult and $2.20 for a child. After May, the value of the basic income was increased by 50%.67 In the villages studied, the impact on living conditions was enormous. Many people used part of the money to improve their housing, for example by repairing the roof. The increase in assets in the tribal village grew from 35.5% to 83%. Mobile phone ownership increased from 9% to 61% and of scooters and motorcycles from 3% to 30%.68 These are assets that can fundamentally change the ability to get jobs, create a job, or access information in general. Another benefit was securing sufficient food intake. The tribal village underwent the main change in eating habits, where the consumption of lentils and legumes, vegetables, eggs and meat increased significantly. At the end of the project, the proportion of children with normal weight increased by as much as 20%. In addition, people in the villages surveyed increased their education spending. In addition, basic income has helped to prevent adolescents from dropping out of secondary schools, which has improved school attendance overall.69 Because the basic income was provided to individuals and not to whole households, it gave many women their own money. Thanks to this benefit, their position in society has changed. About 60% of women said that basic income allowed them to have a greater influence on household expenditure.70 67
Ibid., p. 2. Qazi, M., India’s Case for Universal Basic Income. The Leaflet. Constitution First (https://www.theleaflet.in/indias‑case‑for‑universal ‑basic‑income/, retrieved: 4 May 2021). 69 Neelakantan, A., India needs a Universal basic income scheme. The New Indian Express (https://www.newindianexpress.com/ magazine/voices/2021/feb/14/india‑needs‑a-universal‑basic‑income ‑scheme-2262796.html, retrieved: 4 May 2020). 70 Schjoedt, R., India’s Basic Income Experiment, op. cit., pp. 2–5. 68
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The unconditional basic income project in India has proved its worth. Over the course of a few years, more basic income projects will be launched there, for example in 2022, basic income will be introduced in Sikkim State, one of the smallest states in India.
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Iran: a replacement for subsidies Iran launched an unconditional basic income project in 2011 in the form of cash transfers. The immediate reason for the introduction of a national basic income in Iran was a significant reduction in gas and bread subsidies by the then president at the end of 2010. For the last 40 years in Iran, there have been subsidies that have saved people money on bread, heating and fuel. However, in 2011, the programme was turned into a cash transfer project because the government believed that energy subsidies benefited richer individuals more than poor ones. Another reason for the abolition of the original subsidies was an effort to improve the environment, as energy subsidies supported higher fuel consumption.71 Iran’s experience with unconditional basic income is paradoxical. The concept is practically unknown in the country and is almost completely absent from public discourse. Nevertheless, as of December 2010, all Iranians resident in the country are entitled to a monthly cash transfer of RL 455,000 (about USD 45) per person. These unconditional transfers are officially known as „cash subsidies“ because they replace the aforementioned price subsidies.72 The government has launched a monthly financial benefit to individual family accounts of 29% of average monthly household income and 6.5% of GDP. This is about $1.50 per person per day.73 However, the change from the 40-year‑old measures also 71
Weller, C., Iran tried its own basic income scheme – and people didn’t give up working. Business Insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/iran‑basic‑income‑results-2017-5, retrieved: 16 December 2020). 72 Tabatabai, H., Iran: A Bumpy Road toward Basic Income. Basic Income Guarantee and Politics, 2012, pp. 285–300. 73 Geier, C., Universal basic income in Iran. Borgen Project (https:// borgenproject.org/universal‑basic‑income‑in‑iran/, retrieved: 20
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