Consider the life of 62-year-old Laxmi from Khetwada village in Udaipur district. Her days resembled those of millions of Indian homemakers, working nonstop from dawn to night, yet barely having ₹20 in her pocket. She cooked, cleaned, tended the cattle, looked after children and the elderly, but her name never appeared in the family ledger under “income earners.” Her story includes skipping two rotis from her own plate when food was scarce, taking medicine only when the pain became unbearable, and constantly living with the fear that if her son’s crop failed, her expenses would be the first to be cut.

Now imagine another morning, when ₹5,000 is deposited directly into her account. No favours, no rebukes, no conditions. That day, for the first time, she walked to the market with her own purse, bought her diabetes medicines, paid her granddaughter’s school van fee, and kept aside ₹200 in a steel box “for emergencies that arrive unannounced.” Neighbours say she smiles more now; Laxmi says softly, “For the first time, it feels like the country has seen my work… has acknowledged me.”

Read in Hindi: भारतीय महिलाओं के लिए ‘यूनिवर्सल बेसिक सैलरी’ का यही है सही समय...

Why is a basic salary necessary? Because India’s reality demands it. The country has around 68–70 crore women, many of whom are engaged in domestic and care work, labour that is not counted in GDP. Yet, the 2025–26 Union Budget allocates ₹26,889 crore to the Ministry of Women & Child Development, and nearly ₹4.49 lakh crore to the Gender Budget, spread across more than 273 schemes. Despite this, the average Indian homemaker remains dependent on her husband or the household's earner for economic security. Her own independent, reliable income is still missing.

The idea of Universal Basic Salary seeks to correct this historic injustice through a simple, dignified and practical measure. India has about 55 crore adult women. Excluding pensioners and taxpayers, roughly 51–52 crore women remain eligible. If the initial rollout covers 40 crore women, the annual expenditure at ₹5,000 a month comes to around ₹2.4 lakh crore—less than one per cent of India’s projected GDP and a small fraction of the federal budget. What makes this more striking is that India already spends nearly ₹20–25 lakh crore annually on the social sector.

Consolidating a portion of the 200-plus women-related schemes and the ₹4.49 lakh crore gender budget into one clean, direct, transparent programme makes UBS not only viable but efficient.

What changes with ₹5,000 a month? For the first time, domestic labour gets institutional recognition, cooking, cleaning, caregiving, raising children and tending to the elderly will be acknowledged as ‘work’ deserving a dignified income. This monthly amount provides women with real economic freedom. A guaranteed annual income of ₹60,000 gives any woman the immediate ability to seek medical care, escape hunger or walk away from abusive situations.

Evidence from several state-run cash transfer programmes already shows this impact. Most importantly, direct DBT makes UBS one of the least corrupt and most transparent welfare systems possible.

The impact will go beyond households. The cash will flow straight into local rural and semi-urban markets, spent on milk, vegetables, pulses, medicines, school fees, clothes, and repairs. This generates an economic boost at the grassroots. Studies show that such social transfers have a multiplier of 2.5 to 3; every ₹1 injected into households can create ₹2–3 worth of new economic activity. Politically, too, the effect is profound, as women take direct cash support seriously, and this strengthens their electoral voice and bargaining power.

Implementing this programme is entirely feasible through a phased approach. Between 2026–28, India’s most backward districts and all rural women can be covered in Phase I. By 2029, Phase II can extend it nationwide with voluntary enrolment for men, setting the stage for a gradual move toward a full Universal Basic Income. A modest ‘Care Economy Cess’ of 0.5–1 per cent on luxury goods, large inheritances and high-value digital transactions, combined with restructured gender and social budgets, can easily fund this programme sustainably.

Ultimately, no nation can become ‘developed’ when half its population remains economically dependent on the other half. Universal Basic Salary for women is not just a welfare scheme, it is a declaration that being a homemaker is not a state of dependence, but a role deserving of dignity, recognition and economic rights. The time has come for every Indian woman to have her own income, her own bank balance and her own empowered voice. India must move beyond scattered subsidies towards a bold, clear and dignity-driven reform, and that reform begins right here.

In the aftermath of the recent electoral victory, all party strategists should now seriously ponder this basic salary proposal. Rupees ten thousand given to millions of women voters proved a game-changer.