The Indian state of Sikkim plans to guarantee every one of its residents a basic salary under a scheme that its proponents say will dramatically raise living standards in the Himalayan region.

The Sikkim Democratic Front-led government in the northeastern state declared its intention to implement a Universal Basic Income (UBI) programme in its manifesto ahead of regional elections in 2019 and aims to implement it by 2022.

If the proposal goes according to plan, the small state of some 611,000 will be the first to implement UBI in India. It will also represent the world's largest ever experiment with the economic concept, which has high-profile champions including Richard Branson, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Beloved of socialist idealists and derided by arch-capitalists, Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a system for providing all citizens of with a given sum of money, regardless of their income, resources or employment status.

The most common argument in favour of Sikkim’s proposed UBI is that it would foster social justice and redress any historical privilege, as it is supposed to displace all other welfare schemes and subsidies. Wastage from inefficient government projects targeting the poor would also cease.

Critics of the scheme argue that the initiative will money to those who do not need it, and that it may reduce the incentive to work or search for jobs.