Why in News?

Recently, the Rajasthan Government has introduced the Rajasthan Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill, 2023 for the purpose of supporting individuals and households of the state with an “additional income”.

Background

• The Bill was announced by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, in his budget speech earlier this year.
• The Bill is part of a bouquet of schemes and measures undertaken by his government to provide relief to citizens from inflation with an eye on polls later this year.

Legal Provisions

The Bill largely covers three broad areas which are:

• Right to Minimum Guaranteed Income
• Right to Guaranteed Employment
• Right to Guaranteed Social Security Pension

Right to Minimum Guaranteed Income

• It states that the State Government shall provide to eligible persons a minimum guaranteed income by providing employment in urban areas through the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme (IGUEGS) and in rural areas through Chief Minister Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (CMREGS).
• It will be providing pension to an eligible category of old age/specially abled/widow/single woman.

Right to Guaranteed Employment

• Every adult person residing in the rural areas of the state shall have a right to get guaranteed employment for doing permissible work of at least additional 25 days in a financial year on completion of maximum days of work as prescribed by the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act).
• They are also entitled to receive minimum wages weekly or in any case not later than a fortnight.
• In urban areas, every adult person of the State shall have a right to get guaranteed employment for doing permissible work of at least 125 days in a financial year and to receive minimum wages weekly or in any case not later than a fortnight.
• In case the Programme Officer fails to provide employment within 15 days from the receipt of the application in the prescribed manner, the applicant shall be entitled to receive unemployment allowance from the state government on a weekly basis and in any case not later than a fortnight.

Right to Guaranteed Social Security Pension

• The Right to Guaranteed Social Security Pension entitles every person falling in the category of old age/specially abled/widow/single woman, with prescribed eligibility, to a pension.
• An important component of the pension would be an automatic increase of 15 per cent annually on the base rate in two instalments i.e., 5 per cent in July and 10 per cent in January of each financial year, starting from the financial year 2024-2025.