Congress party president Rahul Gandhi on Monday formally put the idea of the universal basic income on the political agenda after he promised to implement it if the party was voted to power in the forthcoming general election.

“We have taken a decision to ensure that every poor person in India after 2019 will be provided with a minimum income guarantee. This means that the bank account of every poor person will have a minimum income to be given by the government. No one will go hungry and no one will be poor in the country," Gandhi said while addressing a farmers’ rally in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.