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Global IT services firm <keyword id="6370971" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="accenture" source="Orion">Accenture</keyword> on Monday launched a generative <keyword id="11035466" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ai-studio" source="Orion">AI Studio</keyword> in India to accelerate the adoption of data and artificial intelligence (AI). With the studio, part of Accenture’s $3 billion investment in data and AI, the company's team and clients will co-create solutions with a modern data and AI foundation, LLM architecture, ecosystems partnerships, talent and responsible AI frameworks. “Clients understand the massive opportunity that generative AI can bring to optimise and reinvent their business, opening up new avenues for growth. “However, to harness the full potential of their AI investments, they need to be value-led in every business capability they choose to reinvent with generative AI. Our Bengaluru studio will help our clients around the globe prioritise capabilities across the entire value chain,” said <keyword id="16898323" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="senthil-ramani" source="Orion">Senthil Ramani</keyword>, Global Lead–Data &amp; AI, Accenture. According to a recent Accenture survey, 74 per cent of the C-suite executives plan to increase their AI-related spending in 2024, up from 50 per cent in the previous year, as companies move from proof of concept to customising foundation models with proprietary data. “Our clients across 19 industries now have the opportunity to understand, experiment, adopt and scale generative AI solutions to reinvent functions and business models to achieve new levels of performance,” said <keyword id="10732499" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="mahesh-zurale" source="Orion">Mahesh Zurale</keyword>, Global Lead – Advanced Technology Centers Global Network, Accenture. The studio will tap into the strategic investments made in Accenture’s Center for Advanced AI for clients and will draw upon Accenture’s more than 1,450 pending and issued patents in AI, and learnings from over 300 active generative AI projects. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/doms-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/106023986.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/doms-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/106023986.cms" target="_blank">DOMS IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/india-shelter-finance-ipo-how-to-check-allotment-status-and-gmp-value/articleshow/106078554.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/india-shelter-finance-ipo-how-to-check-allotment-status-and-gmp-value/articleshow/106078554.cms" target="_blank">India Shelter Finance IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/nifty-sensex-recover-to-trade-flat-after-opening-in-the-red/articleshow/106078519.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/nifty-sensex-recover-to-trade-flat-after-opening-in-the-red/articleshow/106078519.cms" target="_blank">Nifty, Sensex recover to trade flat after opening in the red</a>

Accenture unveils generative AI studio in India to boost data, AI adoption

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> used around 50 Dutch shell companies to help reduce its global tax burden, an <a href="https://www.groene.nl/artikel/een-goedkoop-ritje">Australian research group found</a>.</li><li>Despite earning $5.8 billion in global revenues in 2019, Uber claimed a $4.5 billion loss for tax purposes.</li><li>One researcher called Uber's alleged scheme "the Champions League of tax avoidance."</li></ul>Uber has been using a complex tax shelter involving around 50 Dutch shell companies to reduce its global tax bill, according to recent research from the Center for <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword> Corporate Tax Accountability and Research.In 2019, Uber claimed $4.5 billion in global operating losses (excluding the US and China) for tax purposes - in reality, it brought in $5.8 billion in operating revenue, according to CICTAR, an Australia-based research group.<a href="https://www.insider.com/uber-saved-6-billion-in-dutch-netherlands-tax-deduction-scheme-eu">Uber had previously disclosed details</a> about its Dutch tax haven in 2019, when it moved its intellectual property from Bermuda to the Netherlands, but CICTAR's research sheds more light on how the company has structured its network of shell companies."This is the Champions League of tax avoidance," CICTAR principal analyst Jason Ward told Dutch news magazine <a href="https://www.groene.nl/artikel/een-goedkoop-ritje">De Groene Amsterdammer</a>.Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.Uber transfered its intellectual property through a $16 billion "loan" from one of its subsidiaries in Singapore that in turn owns one of Uber's Dutch shell companies, a manuever that grants the company a $1 billion tax break every year for the next 20 years, the researchers found."Uber has supercharged their tax avoidance approach," Ward told Insider, using an intellectual property tax break "to prevent future tax bills, turning it into a much more useful, viable tax structure in the Netherlands."CICTAR also found several of Uber's Dutch subsidiaries hadn't submitted mandatory financial reports, and in India, Uber paid less than a third of the 6% tax the country imposes on multinational companies, according to the report."India is in desperate need of public revenue" to help it combat COVID-19, yet companies like Uber are able to avoid cointributing to that effort through tax avoidance schemes, Ward told Insider.In Australia, CICTAR found that Uber was underpaying its tax bill by $30.5 million (AUD$39 million), according to Groene Amsterdammer.Uber's sophisticated efforts to achieve little or no tax burden on multibillion-dollar global revenues highlights a long-standing challenge governments face in enforcing tax compliance among wealthy corporations and individuals across borders.In response, some lawmakers around the world, including the US <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-corporations-international-tax-havens-corporate-taxes-bofa-2021-4">President Joe Biden</a>, have lobbied for a global minimum tax and other measures to reduce tax avoidance, which the Tax Justice Network estimates costs governments <a href="https://www.taxjustice.net/reports/the-state-of-tax-justice-2020/">$427 billion annually</a>.

'Champions League of tax avoidance:' Uber used 50 Dutch shell companies to dodge taxes on nearly $6 billion in revenue, report says

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Anindito Mukherjee/ReutersArvind Subramanian speaks at the Global Business Summit in New Delhi, January 17, 2015.</div></div></div>Speaking to students at a recent event, the chief economic advisor to the Government of India <a href="http://basicincome.org/news/2016/09/india-government-economic-survey-address-ubi/">expressed support</a> for a radical system of wealth distribution known as universal basic income.Under the system, all citizens of a given society would receive a standard amount of money to ensure they could pay for essential items like food, clothing, and shelter.If everyone had enough money to survive and contribute to society, the thinking goes, governments could eliminate poverty altogether.Arvind Subramanian, speaking at an outreach event in the city of Bhubaneswar, fielded a student's question about basic income. The student wondered whether, given the growing popularity of basic income in Kenya, Switzerland, <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/finlands-plan-to-give-everyone-free-money-2015-11">Finland</a>, the Netherlands, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ontario-announces-basic-income-plan-2016-3">Canada</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-y-combinators-basic-income-project-2016-6">the US</a>, India might be next. The country has in fact <a href="http://isa-global-dialogue.net/indias-great-experiment-the-transformative-potential-of-basic-income-grants/">already seen small pilots</a> of the system lead to positive outcomes.Subramanian told the student that basic income will play a major role in the next Economic Survey, an annual document presented to parliament that outlines the country's financial health and makes suggestions for the future."People are dragged into poverty due to droughts, declining agriculture opportunities, disease, and so on," he said, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Universal-Basic-Income-key-to-tackle-poverty-Arvind-Subramanian/articleshow/54649881.cms?from=mdr">according to the Times of India</a>. "So the safety net provided by the government should be quite wide, and that is why this [basic income] has some merit."Subramanian said basic income will be one of the big topics he and the other ministers of finance address in the survey.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Amit Dave/Reuters</div></div></div>Despite being the second-most-populous country on Earth, India could likely implement a basic income policy relatively cheaply due to the low costs of living there. The median income in the country falls somewhere around $900 a year, compared to $52,000 in the US.Subramanian cautioned that the idea of basic income still lives mostly in the world of hypotheticals, however. "Both in terms of politics and economic[s] there is a whole range of very important things we have to look into, and are going to look at, very carefully," he said, <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/next-economic-survey-might-float-universal-basic-income-balloon/articleshow/54015451.cms">according to the Economic Times</a>.A massive 12-year basic income trial <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/givedirectly-gives-kenyans-basic-income-2016-4">is now underway in Kenya</a>, where thousands of people are receiving a set income of about $0.75 a day.As more data come in, India and other countries around the world will have more ammunition to conduct ambitious experiments of their own. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rickshaw-run-adventure-2000-miles-across-india-2016-5">A crazy adventure takes people more than 2,000 miles across India in a rickshaw</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="YxNWdwMzE6cp4z9uWHMuQ5EmjjXdyvwa" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

India's highest-ranking economist just announced his support for universal basic income

Rapidly increasing carbon dioxide emissions and growing concerns over depleting <keyword id="560717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fossil-fuel">fossil fuel</keyword> reserves have forced the mankind take a hard look at itself and the blatant greed humans had displayed over the past century. Now let us add India to that equation and see where we stand. It is the second most populous nation and has what the marketers like to call a ‘thick layer’ of fast-earning, middle-class consumers. 
 
It means our people are now moving up the income and the location ladders. Most of them are earning more than their predecessors and most of this new money is coming from location shift as people move from rural areas and smaller towns to big cities. There was a time when the Indian dream evolved around ‘Roti, kapda aur makaan’ (food, clothes and shelter). But with the markets opening up in the 90s, the rapid inflow of modern consumer goods took place and ‘owning a car’ became a part the modern Indian dream. However, a huge number of personal vehicles running on petrol or diesel would surely undermine India’s role in reducing carbon emission. Does it mean Indian consumers must give up on their dream? Or is it possible to tweak it a little and pave the way for eco friendly electric cars? 
 
Yes, India needs electric cars. But will they flourish here? According to Deepak Ahuja, chief financial officer of Tesla Motors, “India is a huge potential market where we need to be. I think sometime in 2015 seems to make sense to enter India, but it’s difficult to make an official announcement.” 
 But the reason why the global leader in <keyword id="46640" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="electric-car">electric car</keyword> manufacturing space cannot pin a specific date for launching in India is quite obvious – there are many gaping holes in infrastructure that need to be plugged before electric cars can become a wide reality in the country. 
 
Major challenges 
The most crucial challenge faced by the electric car industry in India lies in the way India produces electricity. Around 70% of the country’s electricity is generated from coal, which itself is a limited resource. This defeats the entire purpose of shifting power vehicles to electricity because at the end of the day, Indians will be still burning up natural resources and the reduced emission from electric cars will negated by the huge coal usage, required for additional power generation for charging stations. Unless India starts producing most of its electricity from renewable energy sources like solar or hydropower or from nuclear plants, the whole concept of electric cars would be moot. 
 
The next challenge for electric car owners in India is a serious lack of charging stations in the country and this includes the metros as well. Electric cars are expensive and when an Indian consumer sees that his expensive car cannot be used for a long trip as there are too few charging stations, he is less likely to say a good word about such cars. In contrast, this is where the CNG-enabled (compressed natural gas) vehicles steal the show in India. They are cheap, cleaner and most cities and towns in India have CNG stations for refilling. 
 
Government’s role 
On the bright side, the Indian government is actively working its way towards ensuring that 5-7 million electric cars should be running throughout the country by 2020. Keeping that in view, the Finance Ministry is set to offer subsidies worth Rs 14,000 crore to auto companies that are building electric cars. Mahindra Motors already produces the Reva, a small electric car, and runs a factory that produces 40,000 units annually. Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki are also set to benefit from this huge subsidy once they start producing electric cars in the country. Delhi government will also announce a subsidy for car owners who want to shift from fuel to electric by adding a special conversion kit. But the big question remains – when will India start producing most of its electricity from renewable sources? 
 
Electric car market in India As we mentioned earlier, Tesla does have plans to launch operations in India in the near future. It is most likely that the company will start with the Model S Sedan or the Model X SUV, which is already running in China. In the list of available options for electric cars in India, the key name is <keyword id="160726" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mahindra-Reva">Mahindra Reva</keyword> NXR. Soon-to-be-launched cars include the hatchback called Tata Megapixel (expected price – Rs 5-7 lakh) and the luxury hatchback Nissan LEAF (Rs 24-28 lakh). 
 
Pricing of these cars is going to be a crucial factor in India. Also, cars like the BMW i8, which are launched as CBUs (completely built units) and hence priced at Rs 1.35 crore, will be a distant dream for the middle class. Unless major car brands start building the electric variants within the country, the electric car industry cannot really take off. As car lovers and environmentalists, we can only keep our fingers crossed. 
Image: Thinkstock

Bureaucracy, Infrastructure May Hinder Electric Car Industry In India

NEW DELHI: As if the burden of incumbency wasn’t enough, <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword>'s task in the current <keyword id="6355187" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> polls seems to have been further complicated by what party managers claim is a severe funds crunch, which has put it at a further disadvantage vis-a-vis a resurgent BJP. 
 
A Congress heavyweight told this paper, “Between Congress and BJP, they are getting 90% of the money, we are getting just 10%.” Even if that sounds like a bit of an exaggeration, conversations with Congress candidates and their managers over the past week indicate that the ruling party has, for a change, been vastly outgunned by the BJP, and may actually be running on half-empty. 
 
“I have seen several Lok Sabha and assembly elections, but the financial deficit Congress is facing this time is unprecedented,” says a veteran Congress MP. 
 
Saffron is daubed all over – on billboards, bus stand shelters, kiosks and newspapers – forming the backdrop to the smiling visage of Narendra Modi. When you don’t see him, you hear him on the radio and on your phone. Indeed, rarely has the country seen such an election advertising blitz. 
 In comparison, the Congress appears in bits and patches. <keyword id="5268" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rahul-Gandhi">Rahul Gandhi</keyword>, with several aam admi and aurat in tow, stands defensively with his hands folded on billboards, which are few and far between. 
 
Party managers in states like Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Maharashtra say the money this time is well below normal. The big donors – industrialists and other sundry moneybags – appear to have divined which way the wind is blowing. And their money is flowing in that direction. 
 While Congress claims the gap is due to big business's proximity to Modi – there are stories of how at least two houses are backing him to the hilt – those familiar with the business of campaign finance say <keyword id="46431" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="India-Inc">India Inc</keyword> makes a cold-blooded assessment of the prospects of different contenders, more so in this era of coalitions and diverse polity when different parties are at the helm in different states and smaller parties enjoy disproportionate clout in decision-making. So the money is distributed after calculating who needs to be kept happy where. 
 
 
 
Congress’s own success in the UPA years bears testimony to this. The party, which won in 2004 ostensibly because of a backlash against BJP’s ‘India Shining’ pitch – shorthand for pro-business – and zealously pursued its aam aadmi plank, pulled in more funds than the BJP in the last decade. 
 
According to income tax returns filed by the two parties and analyzed by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Congress’ income in 2004-05, the year UPA-1 was formed, was Rs 222 crore against BJP’s Rs 104 crore. Ever since, the ruling party’s coffers have swelled and its total income in the eight years till 2011-12, the latest for which I-T returns are available, was Rs 2,338 crore. During the eight-year period, BJP received Rs 1,303 crore. The big two were followed by CPM with an income of Rs 520 crore and BSP with around Rs 500 crore. 
 
This story seems to have changed. Congress veterans in Uttar Pradesh say flow of funds from the party is down almost 30% this time. The party typically sends one-fourth of the amount by cheque to the candidate’s account. The rest comes in cash; this is mainly directed towards winnable seats. Said a sitting MP from Maharashtra: “The well-off candidates can make do without leaning on the party, but the others are badly hamstrung this time.” 
 
Leading business houses, and sectors that are flush with cash like real estate and mining, are this time almost fully behind the BJP. Half of the 48 Congress-NCP candidates in Maharashtra that TOI spoke to admitted as much. A top builder told this paper, “Most of us are very unhappy with the (Maharashtra) government. In the last three years, hardly any projects have been cleared.” 
 
The paucity of funds is apparent from the delay in their disbursal. In 2009, “official” financial assistance came immediately after the names of candidates were announced. This year, the party candidates in Western UP – which goes to the polls in the first three rounds – have had to wait till the last date of withdrawal before receiving any assistance. 
 
In the December assembly polls, sources said the central leadership gave Rs 60 lakh for most seats in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, while Delhi and Rajasthan had Congress governments which took care of the candidates. 
 
Partymen in Chhattisgarh say only two seats are likely to see “extra and special” financial help. There was fond hope that the party would give funds to individual seats at par with what was given in 2009, with a hike based on five years of inflation – Rs 1 crore per seat. Nothing has come yet. The anxiety stems from the fact that Congressmen are up against candidates being supported by three-time chief minister Raman Singh who is flush with funds and has the backing of industrialists. 
 Most leaders in resource-rich Punjab are said to be capable of self-financing yet party money matters in the fight against Akali Dal. A senior leader confessed “it will be like this” – which means that expectations of central <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> have to be lowered this time. 
 
The most curious case is the financial powerhouse of Maharashtra. Though Congress has been in government in Mumbai for 15 years, a party leader confessed, “Even we are feeling it.” The state has traditionally done without central funding, but this time candidates are having to canvas support personally and even ask resourceful colleagues for help. 
 
In the 2009 Lok Sabha and assembly polls, most Congress nominees had received a healthy financial boost from the party; some figures put it at Rs 50 lakh per candidate. Not this time. 
 
UP Congress leaders say Congress follows a standard system for fund distribution here. Constituencies are graded ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’, depending on the strength of a candidate and the seat’s winnability, ‘A’ being the strongest and ‘C’ the weakest. Funds are then allotted accordingly. 
 
Congressmen say the party has released up to Rs 50 lakh for seats like Ghaziabad and Saharanpur – both ‘A’ grade seats. Bigger electoral fights like Lucknow and Varanasi are expected to attract more funds – up to Rs 3-4 crore. 
 
In all this, Congress leaders say, the worst affected would be states like Tamil Nadu where the party has no hope this election after its failure to find a strong ally. Given the dismal state of affairs, TN candidates are not only low on the central leadership’s list of priorities, they unable to find sponsors even locally. 
 
In Karnataka, it’s different. Several Congress candidates have intensified their campaign minus any financial support from the party. But they aren’t complaining. “Gone are the days when we used to get an assured sum from the party. Now there is an unwritten rule in the party that candidates have to fight elections on their own. We are not sure whether it’s because of a funds crunch or any other reason,” says a party candidate, who is fighting his second successive Lok Sabha polls. 
 
(With inputs from Swati Mathur in Lucknow, Prafulla Marpakwar in Mumbai, Naheed Ataullah in Bangalore, Joseph John in Raipur and Jairaj Sivan in Chennai)

Congress Candidates Aren’t Getting Much Money From The Party

Megastar <keyword id="6357912" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amitabh-Bachchan" source="Orion">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword> on Monday announced his association with the Indian Street Premier League (<keyword id="2305536" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ispl" source="Orion">ISPL</keyword>) as the owner of team <keyword id="6358070" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="mumbai" source="Orion">Mumbai</keyword>. The ISPL is India's first tennis ball T10 cricket tournament that will be played inside a stadium, according to a press release. The inaugural edition is scheduled to be held from March 2 to March 9 in Mumbai. The tournament will feature 19 high-intensity matches, boasting a line-up of six teams - Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Srinagar. <keyword id="6354348" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bachchan" source="Orion">Bachchan</keyword> said being part of the league marks a new beginning for him. "A new day .. and a new enterprise .. For me an honour and a privilege to be with Mumbai as Team Owner, and to be privy to the surge of talent erupt , for a grand visionary future .." the 81-year-old actor wrote on his personal blog. He described the ISPL as an exciting and a noble concept. "An opportunity for them that exhibited their capacity on the streets, gullies and make shift home made pitches to play cricket , now to get selected for a team professionally and exhibit their talent in formal setups before the millions the world over !" he further said in his post. Recently, actors <keyword id="2823" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="akshay-kumar" source="Orion">Akshay Kumar</keyword> and Hrithik Roshan were announced as the team owners of Srinagar and Bengaluru, respectively. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/doms-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/106023986.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/doms-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/106023986.cms" target="_blank">DOMS IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/india-shelter-finance-ipo-how-to-check-allotment-status-and-gmp-value/articleshow/106078554.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/india-shelter-finance-ipo-how-to-check-allotment-status-and-gmp-value/articleshow/106078554.cms" target="_blank">India Shelter Finance IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/nifty-sensex-recover-to-trade-flat-after-opening-in-the-red/articleshow/106078519.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/nifty-sensex-recover-to-trade-flat-after-opening-in-the-red/articleshow/106078519.cms" target="_blank">Nifty, Sensex recover to trade flat after opening in the red</a>

Amitabh Bachchan becomes owner of Mumbai team in Indian Street Premier League

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Universal basic income is quickly evolving from a fantastical idea into economic reality.</li><li>Several countries are testing it and figures like Elon Musk and MrBeast have endorsed the concept.</li></ul>Universal basic income has made <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-works-red-state-blue-state-2023-10">giant strides</a> from its origins as a utopian vision toward becoming economic reality.Basic income trials have been conducted in countries as varied as Kenya, Finland, India, and Canada. Tesla's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>, YouTube star <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-youtube-cash-giveaway-universal-basic-income-ubi-givedirectly-philanthropy-2024-6">MrBeast</a>, and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich are among the high-profile champions of the concept.Yet the idea of handing out money with no strings attached strikes many people as alien, questionable, or even just plain wrong.Here's a closer look at UBI, its history, and its potential advantages and possible downsides.<h2 id="88e18507-5ec2-4678-9f7f-a7f00e3ebcb6">What is UBI?</h2>A universal basic income is generally defined as a recurring cash payment to all individuals in a population regardless of their wealth, with no restrictions on how the money is spent and no repayment expected.Experiments have been relatively small-scale, and many have targeted lower-income populations rather than everyone to keep costs down, garner political support, and maximize the payments' impact on poverty.<h2 id="2cab9877-5f1d-4124-9c0d-010624c56238">Where did the idea come from?</h2>People have proposed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-basic-income-2016-8">variations of UBI</a> since at least the 1500s, when Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives called for everyone to be given food even if they'd gambled away their money, as he believed nobody should die of hunger.American revolutionary Thomas Paine proposed a national fund in 1797 that would pay some money to citizens every year after they turned 21.Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. touted the concept in 1967. The civil rights leader hailed it as a tool to redress historical racial discrimination and temper widespread poverty and unemployment in the Black community.Legendary economist and free market champion Milton Friedman defended a similar idea: a negative income tax. He said it might help the poor without distorting the market, and lessen the government's role in determining who deserves support.The list of proponents has expanded in recent years to include <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-us-politicians-stand-on-universal-basic-income-2017-9">Sen. Bernie Sanders</a> of Vermont, technocrat <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-yangs-on-universal-basic-income-versus-higher-wages-2021-4">Andrew Yang</a>, OpenAI CEO <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-sam-altman-universal-basic-income-idea-compute-gpt-7-2024-5">Sam Altman</a>, and many other high-profile individuals.<div type="image" title="Sen. Bernie Sanders at the Capitol last month." height="1333" width="2000" msid="111489364" hostid="261" sizebytes="71634"></div><h2 id="3035fc2b-8926-468e-a03e-dbe3b64d5716">What's the point of UBI?</h2>Proponents of UBI say it reduces poverty, strengthens the social safety net, promotes health and happiness, and combats the stigma around welfare.Simply giving people money can help them to afford basics like groceries, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Covering the costs of daily life has <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/big-short-michael-burry-jpmorgan-consumer-inflation-rates-banking-crisis-2023-4">only grown harder</a> in recent years, as food, fuel, and rent inflation has jumped to 40-year highs, and credit card, car loan, and mortgage payments have ballooned due to surging interest rates.A guaranteed income can also give people the confidence, security, and freedom to know they won't starve or be evicted if they lose their jobs or quit. They might want to start a business, stay at home to raise their children, care for relatives, invest in training or education, or manage a sickness or disability.Regular cash payments may help to relieve the stress and worry of paying bills, saving for college or retirement, or losing access to means-tested support. Basic income recipients in a Finnish trial <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/finlands-basic-income-trial-people-happier-jobs-coronavirus-spain-2020-5">reported</a> higher life satisfaction, improved health, and lower levels of depression and loneliness.Making universal payments might also lessen the stigma around receiving government benefits, avoid some of the costs and mistakes of administering means-tested support, and provide a safety net for the wealthy if they run into financial trouble.As for Musk and other technologists, they <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-universal-basic-income-ubi-ai-automation-unemployment-quotes-2024-6">predict</a> that artificial intelligence will render millions of workers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-universal-basic-income-ubi-ai-inequality-2024-6">obsolete</a>, making it necessary to provide a basic income for those out of work to survive.<h2 id="40019cc1-7874-417b-9bf5-325bda2055d0">What do critics say?</h2>Critics say that UBI <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/finland-basic-income-experiment-reasons-for-failure-2019-12">erodes the incentive to work</a>, encouraging laziness and idleness. They also warn that recipients might waste the money on shopping, vacations, gambling, liquor, cigarettes, or drugs.Other skeptics question why wealthy people should receive money they don't need, and caution that paying it for it would require higher taxes or budget cuts.Dave Ramsey has criticized the concept as "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi-dave-ramsey-show-karl-marx-playbook-2024-7">straight out of the Karl Marx playbook</a>." The personal finance guru and radio host bemoaned that people build character by overcoming challenges instead of getting bailed out.It's quite possible that UBI saps work ethic. But it might also lead to higher wages, job satisfaction, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-carbon-taxes-global-gdp-sustainability-2024-6">productivity</a>, as people could afford to be more picky about employment and hold out for better pay.<h2 id="17003560-2c7a-4c26-8c48-53681f74a829">How do supporters respond?</h2>Regarding <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-people-spend-universal-basic-income-ubi-food-housing-transportation-2024-4">how the money is spent</a>, UBI fans say that's not a serious concern."The evidence from trials is that participants tend to spend most of the money received on the basic needs of everyday life," Jack Kellam, the head of operations at Autonomy, told Business Insider.Moreover, an <a target="_blank" href="https://guaranteedincome.us/">analysis</a> of 30 pilot programs in the US involving nearly 8,300 participants found more than half the cash grants went toward food and groceries, transportation, housing, utilities, healthcare, and education.<div type="image" title="mrbeast" height="5600" width="4480" msid="111489362" hostid="261" sizebytes="3465620"></div>Other experts say people's spending shouldn't be scrutinized. Douglas MacKay, an associate professor of public policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, told BI that trying to control spending is "paternalistic" and fails to treat recipients with dignity — as adults and equals who are "fully capable of governing their own lives."Moreover, there's strong evidence that poorer people don't use drugs, alcohol, or tobacco at higher rates than wealthy people, and drug addiction is often triggered by mental illnesses like depression."To the extent that UBI relieves people from misery, we should expect it would decrease 'vice' spending," Karl Widerquist, a philosophy professor at Georgetown University-Qatar and the author of several books about UBI, told BI.As for the rich getting richer and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basic-income-gbi-ubi-low-income-americans-afford-housing-food-2024-5">question of funding</a>, Kellam said that most UBI advocates envision it alongside a more progressive tax system."Many of the wealthiest individuals would be 'net' losers in the system: though they receive payments, because they would be taxed more, they would overall be less well off," he told BI.<h2 id="7a7d8ed3-15a2-4d5e-80bb-fb75eb3b8e19">An open question</h2>Universal basic income remains a largely theoretical idea that could have significant — and unpredictable — impacts on wealth inequality, human welfare, labor markets, and entire economies.But tests and trials at different scales and across myriad countries and contexts are putting the concept through its paces, and promise to reveal whether it's an effective way to combat poverty, fight stigmas, deal with AI, and help people live healthier, happier, and more stable lives.

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