The Congress might have not have been able to impress the voters in 2019 parliamentary polls with its NYAY ( Minimum Income Gurantee – Nyuntam Aay Yojana) but the basic premise of the scheme has been adopted by different parties while implementing women- centric schemes in various states.

Recalling NYAY

To recall, in the runup to the LS polls of 2019, Congress then led had floated the idea of NYAY which promised a minimum basic income to the people of the country. The scheme was laughed off, joked and then after Congress lost the election, forgotten by the voters. However, thereafter many states saw similar schemes or rather transfer of cash especially to women which more or less looked like the partial implementation of NYAY. But such schemes, now dubbed as Revdi’s have become a part and parcel of almost every political party.

Examples of cash transfer schemes

A recent example is the BJP’s poll promise of giving Rs 2100 per month to women in Jharkhand under Gogo Didi Yojana has once again started the debate on the culture of doling out cash to the sections of society. This poll promise has become a center of political storm with JMM taking its grievances to the election commission.

Before BJP’s announcement, JMM government had itself started a scheme called Mukhyamantri Maiyya Samman Yojana under which it was giving Rs 1000 per month to elgibile women.

Jharkhand is not the only state where BJP has offered cash benefit to the people, in Maharashtra, before the elections in August this year, Mahayuti government of which BJP is an important partner, offered Rs 1500 to eligible women under Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana . It is worth recalling that PM Modi had previously, in 2022, had slammed the revdi politics and had termed it dangerous.

Congress party has also embraced several such schemes in many states. In southern state Telangana, It’s government has started Maha Lakshmi Scheme under which Rs 2500 will be given to women. Party had promised Rs 1500 per monthly to women in Himachal Pradesh too.

In Karnataka, last year, Congress government launched Gruha Lakshmi scheme under which Rs 2000 per month is being given to women head of the family.

But the BJP & Congress are not the only ones, other parties too have had their shares of revdi culture.

In 2024-25 budget, Delhi government of AAP also promised Rs 1000 per month to eligible women under Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana.

What do political experts say ?

Political experts opine that the idea of doling out cash to the people especially women come from the fact that it is felt that transfer of cash through DBT will help the families to lift themselves from poverty and will make them financially empowered. This was exactly the idea of Rahul Gandhi when he had floated the idea of the scheme. This scheme was called as an assault on poverty. Infact financial experts like French economist Thomas Pickety, Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee and others have been a supporter of the concept of minimum basic income calling it a shield of the poor people.

Revdi culture here to stay ?

While the scheme automatically got rejected after Congress lost but these schemes which are now doling out cash in the name of financial empowerment are doing pretty much the same thing. Moreover, one thing is for sure, revdi culture has become deeply entrenched in our socio-political ecology and this is practice is here to stay at least for coming few years.