A universal basic income?

Md. Fakrul Islam Chowdhury writes for DOT : 
Universal basic income (UBI) is program, where all citizens (or permanent residents) of a country, or any other region, regardless of their income, resources or employment status, may receive a regular sum of money from a source such as the government. Universal Basic Income is also called a basic income guarantee or basic living stipend (BLS)/ The UBI attempts to prevent or reduce poverty and increase equality among citizens.
In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. played a vital role in organizing the Poor People’s Campaign.The campaign argued thatevery poor American family should be provided with a middle-class salary by the federal government of USA through an anti-poverty program. As the income inequality is  on a rapid rise and technology isincreasingly continue to take away jobs, the idea of establishing a universal basic income has been more popular than ever.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg are among those who have endorsed and promoted, in some form or other, the introduction of UBI.
Implementing such a radical economic policy would certainly have its challenges and also may trigger uncalled for consequences. However, in terms of providing a fair and equal chance to everyone, the need for having such a program cannot be understated.
Can a country like Bangladesh afford such an ambitious endeavor?
Why not?
We have been undertaking mega projects like Padma Bridge and also providing some sort of safety net programs to more than 15 million people in Bangladesh under the visionary and humane leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
We are also giving shelters to over one million Rohingya Refugees.
Providing a UBI to the poor would go a long way in reducing the inequality among the various classes/ sections of the citizens, and also in eliminating poverty. UBI would provide the underprivileged a sense of justice and the whole nation would be united under a common goal—that is , providing the opportunity to a better standard of living for all citizens comparable to that of developed world in the fastest possible time.
Annie Lowrey, in her new book, shows, in Kenya, one such form of UBI has been a success, —villagers using their money—about $22 a month, sent directly to their phones—to invest in capital such as goats, home improvement, and just generally surviving.
India faces a different problem: The rapidly developing country operates a sizable safety net, but it’s plagued by inefficiency and fraud.About half of the system’s grains are apparently stolen.
A computerized system requires people to show up at the same store each time they want subsidized food, making it difficult for them to migrate from place to place throughout the year (a common practice among Indian farmers).
Bangladesh, as I have already mentioned, has a much better and effective set of safety net systems in place for its various underprivileged groups compared to Kenya, India or any other developing countries.
We have introduced programs where cash are sent straight to individuals’ phones. It seems way more effective in eliminating the middle men and corruptions.
What we need to do now, is to widen the safety net to incorporate a UBI program targeting to benefit not only the poorest but all our citizens regardless of the religion, gender or income status.
It would revitalize our economy by giving agency and entitlement to the citizens and build their capabilities to contribute more in the development of our country.
The writer is the Consulting Editor, Amader Notun Shomoy