The announcement by Rahul Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress party, of a minimum income guarantee scheme called NYAY has rightly generated considerable debate.
NYAY aims to provide a direct cash transfer of about $1000 per year to 50 million of India's poorest families. At an average family size of five, this translates to 250 million people or 20 percent of India's population in what Rahul Gandhi calls a "final assault on poverty."