The economic drop during covid has led to an unexpected and robust efforts of global competition to cope up with financial backlogs post-covid. Governments are struggling to maintain even positive growth of the countries. Nonetheless countries like India have managed their finance well and able to maintain a positive growth but the problem looms ahead in the forms of political decisions.
The free-fall of Sri Lankan economy has left a crucial lesson for Indian politics, igniting the debate over political freebies and its long-term repercussions on the national economy.
What really are Freebies?
Freebies can be better understood as promises by political parties like free water, free energy, free public transportation, and the pardoning loans etc. in order to secure political dominance in upcoming elections. Needless to say, freebies have become an integral tool to win elections.
As recently our Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out the “revdi culture” in and its crippling effect on national economy. He referred AAP leader and CM of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal who is regularly offering freebies like free electricity and transportation and using it to win elections.
Freebies vs Welfare Schemes
In more recent terms, the provisional provision for free water and electricity are no longer sufficient as election gifts, and this trend has acquired more prominence in recent years as political parties try to out beat the rival party at any cost.
Broadly saying freebies are political announcements focused on winning elections on the public expenses, whereas welfare schemes are service of citizens out of their own money(Public Expenses) generally focused on welfare of society or a class of society.
Freebies comprise a variety of material or services distribution or subsidies that government or political parties’ pre-election announcements which in turn takes the nature of promotion of their names among voters.
Welfare schemes on the other hand are pre-pondered and well-planned upliftment schemes such as the schemes under DPSPs, MGNREGA, Mid-Day Meal Schemes and so on.