Sikkim will be the first state to roll out Universal Basic Income (UBI) and has started the process to introduce the unconditional direct cash transfer scheme. Sikkim‘s ruling party, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), has decided to include UBI in its manifesto ahead of the Assembly election in 2019 and aims to implement the scheme by 2022. The 2017 Economic Survey had flagged the UBI scheme a possible alternative to social welfare programmes targeted at reducing poverty.