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FinMin debating bad bank, basic income proposals: Jaitley


Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said the ministry is debating two innovative suggestions made by the latest Economic Survey— Universal Basic Income (UBI) and creation of bad bank —to deal with the unacceptable levels of bad loans.He, however, said the idea of UBI does not seem to beafeasible policy option at this
point of time given the “political limitations”.

While inaugurating the oneweek teachers´ workshop at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, the Finance Minister also emphasised policy makers to continuously upgrade their knowledge on different subjects.

“I think it´s equally meant for policy makers because they should also be acquainted with the facts for informed policy making,” he noted.On innovative ideas of the Survey, he said it remainsachallenge on how to allocate subsidies inatargeted manner.

“This year also it (survey) initiated a very important idea as to how do we subsidise… substitute the entire set of subsidies...we want to replace it by a Universal Basic Income (to a defined section of poor) and that UBI expedites their pulling out of the present state of poverty that they live in.” The Survey, prepared by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, also strongly pushed for a bad bank in which all non-performing assets of the banks are vested so that the rest of the banking system could carry on with its own activities, he said.

Business Standard New Delhi, 12th june 2017

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