Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah launches Congress' 5th guarantee

SHIVAMOGGA: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Friday launched Yuva Nidhi, the Congress's fifth guarantee, at a well-attended function here and said his government has "walked the talk" on the promises the party made in the run-up to assembly elections in May last year.

He said the government decided to launch Yuva Nidhi, which promises a monthly stipend of 3,000 for graduates and 1,500 for diploma holders, as "unemployment is increasing by the day" in the country. "It was 5.5% in 2014-15 and now it has gone up to 10.5%. Youngsters are worried because they have no future," the CM said.

Siddaramaiah said the schemes, which will entail a staggering 58,000 crore outlay, were not aimed at political gain but inspired by the universal basic income (UBI) models implemented in some European countries.

While symbolically transferring the scheme's monthly assistance to unemployed graduates directly into bank accounts of 15 beneficiaries, the CM said: "Our goal is to support poor families, which are victims of unemployment and inflation. We can't achieve social justice with mere speeches. We need to design programmes to support the concept of bringing everyone into the mainstream for a more equitable society."

UBI is a recurring cash payment to a citizen regardless of their work status or other qualifiers such as income, age, etc.
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