Category: Welfare schemes

The growing trend of offering freebies in elections raises significant concerns about financial sustainability, governance and its impact on voters’ mindset A major factor contributing to the success of the respective political party in the just concluded elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand was freebies – an acronym for “something given free of charge” – particularly those targeted at women. In Maharashtra, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance launched the Ladki Bahin cash benefit scheme that offered Rs 1,500 a month to every woman with a family income of less than Rs 2,50,000 annually, in the age bracket of 21 to 65 years. The amount was subsequently increased to Rs 2,500 per month. In Jharkhand, under Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojna (MMSY) Hemant Soren’s...

Modi Government unveils unified pension scheme to bridge old and new, aiming to satisfy Central and State employees On August 24, 2024, the Union government announced the new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for central government employees. In fact, what looked like a well-orchestrated action plan, on the following day the BJP-led government in Maharashtra approved the implementation of the Scheme for its employees. Madhya Pradesh government is likely to implement the UPS soon.    The above announcements are in response to the earlier decisions of  Opposition-ruled States, including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh (before the November 2023 elections), Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Punjab to revert to the old pension system (OPS) which it felt tilted the electoral pendulum towards those parties, particularly in...

Despite a Supreme Court ruling highlighting the impact of freebies on election fairness, political parties continue to leverage public funds for electoral gain In the Maharashtra Budget for 2024-25 presented by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the BJP-led MahaYuti has announced financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month for eligible women between 21 to 60 years of age, a stipend up to Rs.10,000 per month for youth in industrial and non-industrial sectors, electricity bill waiver for farmers etc. Unambiguously, these are freebies – an acronym for something given by the State free of charge – aimed at garnering votes during the State assembly elections later this year. In a July 2013 order in S Subramaniam Balaji vs Government of Tamil...

The Govt is doing a good job of supplying food, fuel and fertiliser at subsidised cost but the largesse recipients are unlikely to make space for other deserving people An overarching policy instrument Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses in relentless pursuit of a welfare State is his unflinching commitment to ensuring adequate supply of three essential items, namely fertilisers, food and fuel, to the target beneficiaries/consumers at ‘throwaway’ price or even for free. In fact, he tells them about his intentions in this regard well in advance. Look at these facts: Urea is a widely used fertiliser that supplies primary nutrient nitrogen or ‘N’ and constitutes nearly half of India’s total fertiliser consumption. To make it affordable to farmers, the...

A lot of pilfering from fertiliser subsidies is happening due to policy flaws. This can be curbed if only the subsidy is given under Direct Benefit Transfer On January 22, 2019, addressing NRIs and Indian-origin people at the inauguration of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled what Rajiv Gandhi had Stated “Of the funds the Central Government sends, only 15 per cent of that reaches the people. If one rupee is sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reaches the villages, 85 paise disappear. Even as the country’s middle class kept giving tax honestly, this “loot” of 85 per cent also continued”. Modi added “I also want to tell you today’s truth...

The Centre should go for a complete overhaul of its food subsidy programme. It should exclude from the beneficiaries’ list those who are better off Seen in the backdrop of 250 million persons coming out of poverty during the last nine-and-a-half years of incumbent government (as per a recent report released by Niti Aayog), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced flak from the opposition parties for his decision to continue with supply of free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme for five years (it was announced by Modi during a poll rally in Chhattisgarh late last year). They question the logic of supplying free food even to those who have crossed the poverty line. Modi...

As election pledges of freebies escalate, Modi Government issues a warning to States at the third National Conference of Chief Secretaries In the third National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in Delhi on 28th and 29th December 2023 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the central government cautioned the states against giving freebies, and goaded them to increase capital expenditure by rationalizing welfare schemes with emphasis on eliminating inefficient subsidies. The Centre’s concern over freebies – an acronym for “something given free of charge” – has heightened because of a volley of these promised by almost all political parties in five state elections held in November 2023. It apprehends that the freebies would drain state coffers, lead...

The new mechanism would regulate the release of funds to the states and track their use, thereby preventing idling The Union government executes a plethora of welfare programs aimed at providing basic and necessary amenities and upliftment of the most disadvantaged members of society. It does so mainly through “Central Schemes” (CS) which are fully funded and implemented by it. A total of 740 CS schemes are currently under implementation. During FY2022-23, the CS spending was Rs 1208,000 crore In addition, there are “Centrally Sponsored Schemes” (CSS) designed to supplement the efforts of the states in achieving various socioeconomic goals and implementing national priorities. These are funded by the central government and the states in varying proportions viz. 90:10, 60:40,...