Freebies

"You don't solve the problem of poverty by freebies, no country has managed to do that. Poverty will vanish when you create more jobs with your innovation," Murthy said.

SC has come down against freebies, but how much burden are they adding?

A Moneycontrol analysis found that the new Delhi BJP government would need another Rs 13,000 crore to fund its welfare programmes, including the cash guarantee scheme for women

BJP government in Delhi will need to find another Rs 13,000 crore to fund its welfare promises

The amount will be in addition to the Rs 11,000 crore that the outgoing AAP government spends on electricity and other subsidies, which the BJP has promised to continue. The city's subsidy bill will rise to nearly 30% of its budget

Davos 2025: States' freebies affecting India’s growth and development, says Axis CEO and MD Amitabh Chaudhry

According to him, for the GDP growth to come back, state governments play an important role in getting the urban development and the capex cycle going

2024 general elections saw 1.8 crore more female voters, thanks to women-centric schemes: SBI Research

Based on the data released by the Election Commission of India, the SBI research report concluded that total electors increased from 83.4 crore in 2014 to 97.8 crore in 2024, with female electors catching up with their male counterpart. Currently, for every 100 male electors there are 95 female voters

Delhi Elections 2025: Popular power subsidy outlay increased 150 percent in 10 years

Since Delhi’s contest is going to be a triangular one, both BJP and Congress have gone beyond what AAP is offering and have upped their power subsidy promises.

Of guarantees & hikes: Karnataka govt walks a tightrope amid calls to limit benefits

With the Congress-led state government scrambling for funds for its guaranteed schemes, the BJP claims that people have been burdened with hikes and development has been hit.

India’s debt high, but sustainable, NCAER Director General Poonam Gupta says

Debt levels of states are expected to increase further, but will remain sustainable.

Reforms, freebies and governments: Who benefits, who funds?

It is arguable that a better strategy of boosting private investments even using a direct tax route may have been to provide specific tax breaks for investments as has been done a number of times in the past.

Promise of financial help by political party in manifesto not corrupt practice by candidate: SC

The order passed by a bench of justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan found this contention to be 'too far fetched' as they rejected a plea challenging the election of a Congress candidate in Karanataka's Chamrajpet in 2023 assembly elections.

Govt needs to bring out 'White Paper' on freebies by political parties: Ex RBI chief D Subbarao

He also said the public should be made more aware of the cost and benefits of these freebies and that it is the responsibility of the government to educate the population on this.

Odisha's VK Pandian says a welfare state must spend on health, education, food security

According to Pandian, for a state to move to "the next level", public institutions and the public's access to them has to be reinforced.

General election 2024: With MCC in place, income support plans, new trade pacts to be on hold

While big decisions are expected to be on hold, governments can seek prior permission from the ECI to implement certain policy measures while the Model Code of Conduct is in place.

Busy 2024 for SC: From challenges to money bill to Google’s petition against CCI penalty

The SC has already listed many seven-judge and nine-judge bench cases it is likely to hear till the third week of March 2024

Freebie culture: Political parties may not believe in fiscal discipline, but governments do: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

The veteran economist said that history shows that while political parties may make fiscally risky promises to win elections, they become more disciplined in government.

Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2023: People chose the welfarism that comes with the Modi guarantee

According to BJP National Spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal, what worked in their favour was voters differentiating between “Modi guarantee and false promises”

BJP does not need to give up on fiscal prudence to win elections: Spokesperson Amit Malviya

Amitabh Dubey, in charge of research and monitoring for Congress’ communication department, on the other hand, said that the grand old party is just responding to the situation since there is a need for welfare measures, given the gap in demand-side steps from the ruling government

Live | Vote Guarantees vs Economic Growth: Economist Surjit Bhalla advocates for growth-centric policies over freebies

How 2023 state elections can set the stage for general elections in 2024 and prod parties to offer more guarantees for votes. As economist and former India ED at IMF, Surjit Bhalla explains that freebies don’t lead to better human development indicators. Growth does. And that states should be allowed to raise funds from capital markets to fund their freebies.

Freebies vs Welfare - The cost of guarantees? | The new India election saga | Moneycontrol

Does promising freebies amount to bribing voters? Are all freebies wasteful? Who decides whether a party is using funds for a ‘public purpose’. The big debate. Freebies Vs Welfare. The new India election saga. Tune in with Moneycontrol's Shweta Punj in conversation with Amitabh Dubey, Research & Monitoring, Aicc Media and Rajat Sethi, Public Policy Analyst, Former Advisor To CM Manipur

SC to hear pleas against electoral freebies on November 29

On November 22, senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who appeared for the petitioner commenced the arguments and told the court that it would first determine what would constitute a freebie and what would constitute a social welfare scheme

SC commences hearing of pleas against electoral freebies, AAP says plea 'ideologically tailored'

The top court was hearing a PIL, which opposes the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections and seeks the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze their election symbols and cancel their registration

Election Commission should ask parties to estimate cost of freebies: MPC's Ashima Goyal

According to Goyal, political parties should also be asked to declare how their election promises will be financed – which taxes will rise or what expenditure be cut

Risks to India fading away automatically; God is Indian it seems, says Nilesh Shah

Even though some of India’s problems are getting resolved on its own, investors should not become complacent, Shah said.

MC Interview: Not just tax incentives, India needs to clinch FTAs to lure investments, says NITI Aayog member Virmani

Weighing in on the debate over 'freebies', the NITI Aayog member said that the overall focus should be on capital expenditure that benefits everybody rather than a non-merit subsidy, which benefits only a few.

You can’t just call giving bicycles to school-going girls a freebie: JP Morgan’s Aziz

Several experts and institutions including the Reserve Bank of India have consistently highlighted the need to distinguish freebies from public or merit goods, which bring larger economic benefits.