Abstract
It is quite evident that political parties spend large amount of money during elections with the intent to get votes and win elections. For this, they make promises to the public to provide them free services like electricity, water, transportation, etc. However,offering and providing excessive subsidies not only pose risk to the financial stability of a state but also result in significant opportunity costs, which diverts the money from being used in providing freebies rather than being used for social welfare policies which is beneficial not only for the individuals but also for the country. This paper talks about the emergence of freebie culture in India. Further, this paper analyses the economic, political, and social implications of freebie culture in India. Despite the fact that freebies are frequently viewed as a means of redressing socioeconomic disparities and gaining the voters, the freebie culture has started to evoke debate on their long-term viability and governance influence. This paper contrasts welfare measures in industrialized and developing nations with the freebie culture of India and explains the risks associated with encouraging dependency, distorting market forces, and fuelling fiscal deficits. It also looks at other political implications of such actions: the erosion of democratic processes and the focus on short-term populism at the cost of long-term progress. It concludes with suggestions to alter the freebie culture of India by seeking focused, open welfare measures that promote self-reliance and sustainable growth. Therefore, this paper promotes a shift from handouts that are merely temporary to policies that empower people in ways that mark the fulfilment of India’s broader goals of social equity and economic development.
Keywords: freebies, welfare policies, fiscal responsibility, electoral politics, populism
- INTRODUCTION
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Freebies or revdiculture is one of the debatable topics in today’s political and economic conversation in India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its 2022 report has defined freebies as “a public welfare measure that is provided free of charge”.[1] It also states that freebies are different from the public welfare services such as healthcare and education which have long-term benefits to the masses. This tactic of offering free goods and services is frequently used by the political parties during the election campaigns to get votes and win the election. This includes promises of free cash transfers, smartphones, water, electricity, and other amenities. The supporters of the freebies contend that such policies benefit the underprivileged sections of the society and address the imbalances occurred in the socioeconomic landscape of the country. The critics, on the other hand, contend that its long-term effects on budgetary stability, governance, and developmental priorities are not sustainable. However, if we look at the sociopolitical environment of India, it can be observed that it is characterized by extreme economic disparities. Hence, the political parties in order to win votes of the poor frequently offer freebies by calling them as welfare initiatives and portraying themselves as the supporter of the poor people. However, since many states are facing problems because of fiscal deficits and growing debts, freebies raise serious concerns regarding the viability of state finances. The Election Commission and the Supreme Court of India has raised concerns about the effect of freebies on democratic procedures and moral governance.[2] The freebie culture not just affects the economy but it has a wider effect in the society. It encourages the dependency of people on free goods and services by the political parties, which could weaken the will of the people to look for sustainable solutions to inequality and poverty. Furthermore, this cycle of short-term appeasement of the people rather than long-term growth takes away the attention from the significant developments like infrastructure and policy reforms like education policies.
[1]Freebie: A Double-Edged Sword, Drishtiias, available at: https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/freebies-a-double-edged-sword (last visited January 23, 2025).
[2] Freebies in Electoral Democracy and Welfare State (2024), available at: https://www.scobserver.in/cases/freebies-in-electoral-democracy-and-welfare-state/ (last visited on January 23, 2025).