Maha Bharat: Episode 17

What are Government Freebies?

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What is common to — A steel thali, a gift hamper, four kgs of rice, a mixer, a mobile phone, laptops, a sewing machine, a cow, a TV, electricity, water, a 2-BHK flat?

No, this is not a pandemic survival kit. These are actual freebies given by the government and political parties at different times. But why are these given away free? how does this work? That’s what we talk about in this episode.

Show Notes

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Full Transcript of Episode 17

A steel thali. A gift hamper. Four Kilograms of rice. A mixer. A mobile phone. Laptop. A sewing machine. A cow. A TV. Electricity, water. 1 lakh rupees if you get married. A 2-BHK flat. 

You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about … 

No, I’m not making a wishlist or a survival kit for the pandemic. It might shock you to find out that these are some of the free goodies that state and central governments have given out to the public in the past few years. 

In other words, these are a few examples of Government Freebies.

Balmiki Singh Prasad is a retired IAS officer and also the former governor of Sikkim. In his book, he describes this term ‘freebies’ in Hindi: “fokat ka maal ya muft ka uphar”. Now, this might be a crude way to describe freebies — but essentially, that is the gist of it. 

Any goods or services that the government offers to the citizens for free is a government freebie. This can include a scheme designed to benefit a section of the society. And like I told you, it can also include free goodies like a laptop, bicycle, mixers, etc distributed to people by the government. This culture is often called “Muftkhori” ya “Muft uphari” in Hindi.

A recent example might sound familiar to you: 

[We hear women react to free DTC Bus rides in Delhi]

This happened in October last year. Many women in Delhi were happy about this freebie, doled out by the Delhi government. Only a few weeks before this, Arvind Kejriwal had also announced that free electricity and water would continue for the residents of Delhi for the next 5 years. 

And if you thought that was generous, the most extreme freebie I have heard about was, K. Chandrashekar Rao, the party leader of the Telengana Rashtriya Samithi, who offered 1 lakh rupees to newly-wed brides, and 2-BHK flats to the low-income. 

So you see, government freebies can be anything from a free bus ride to a free house. 

Now you may ask — the government should pay for public services, anyway, right? That’s why we pay taxes to the government. Is it a freebie if the Government themselves give things to us? 

Yes – you’re right about that. 

Let’s try to understand this a little better. Let’s try and understand the difference between freebies and other schemes and subsidies the Government gives its citizens.

A major proportion of the Government’s revenue comes from direct and indirect taxes. For every rupee that the Central Government earns, 68 paise actually comes from taxes. The Government uses a share of this revenue to pay for interest on loans that it has taken. The rest is spent on a variety of things. For example, the defence and security of the country. 

Our tax money also pays for the salaries of government workers. And finally, on subsidies and various schemes for the public. 

These schemes include healthcare, education and social security. These schemes are fixed and a part of the government’s total expenditure is spent on them. So, our state will implement these schemes, but the money for it comes from the centre — which in turn comes from our own taxes. 

The government also pays for non-recurring expenses – matlab, projects that have to be paid for only once. Like building roads, schools, hospitals, railways, factories. So you see, you get these services for “free”, but the government pays for them with your taxes. 

What I just described to you now are services, which we pay for.

Next, the government also uses our tax revenue to pay for subsidies. 

Subsidies are essentially discounts on certain essential items for the public – like food, agriculture, education. We know that the government has heavily subsidized the LPG that we use in our gas cylinders at home. While other subsidy programs for education and agriculture are limited to rural areas, the LPG subsidy is for every single home in urban as well as rural parts of the country. Do you remember when Prime Minister Modi made this request? 

[We hear the voice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking citizens to give up their LPG subsidies.]

Yaha logic yeh hai, that if people who can afford gas give up their subsidies, it means that extra revenue can go toward welfare for the poor. 

The Union budget also has room for welfare schemes, like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, which aims to provide housing. Or,the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which gives affordable access to financial services such as bank accounts, credit, insurance and pensions to every single Indian irrespective of income.

So, what I’m trying to say is that welfare schemes, subsidies, or the construction of roads and bridges — these are “free” public services that are defined in the Union Budget and government programs. Also, these are carried for the public good — for the welfare of all the members of the society.  

Now, think about a TV or a bicycle given out to citizens. Free laptops for students. These benefit the people, sure, but they are private goods, not a part of any fixed welfare schemes or budgets. These are government freebies that political parties give out on their accord.

I hope the distinction is clear now!

The Freebie culture in Indian politics isn’t new. It began with political parties promising goodies in their elections, as early as in the ‘60s! In 1967, DMK leader C.N. Annadurai (अन्नादुरई) introduced a scheme which granted 4.5 kgs of rice at Re.1. DMK won the elections that year by a huge margin. 

But I’d like to take you a little further back in time to talk about the freebie culture. In 140 B.C – yaani, more than 2000 years ago! – Rome was ruled by an autocratic empire. This was after the fall of the Roman Republic, which was nearly a democratic government, where the leaders were elected by voting. But now, Rome was under an autocratic government and the people were starving, the cities were overcrowded, there was no sanitation. There were riots. The Roman people were angry at the government. 

So, during this time, the Roman government did two things: it made food like grain, bread, meat and oil free. Second, it organized free entertainment on the streets — parades, festivals, chariot races, animal fights. In fact, paying for public entertainment became a tool for politicians to win elections. It was a great distraction.

The public enjoyed free food and free entertainment. They were satisfied, and didn’t question the fact that the government hardly did anything for the development of the Roman cities. 

The poet Juvenal wrote about this and said, “Two things only the people desire — bread and circuses” – Since then, the term Bread and Circuses has been used as to refer to a kind of politics where the government gives out free goodies to keep the public distracted from the real situation and issues.

So, now we know that government freebies are different from welfare schemes or — the free government hospitals or schools. But I was still curious about one thing – if these freebies are not a part of these programs, then how are they legal?

The answer, I found, lies in the Constitution. In the very beginning, the constitution lists the Directive Principles of State Policy. Maybe you remember this from a civics chapter in school: The Direct Principles of State Policy are guidelines that set up the social (samajik) and economic (arthik)conditions for citizens to live a good life. The principles say that India is a Welfare State (लोक हितकारी राज्य). In simple words, this means that the Indian government must take steps to promote the economic and social welfare of its citizens. 

And what are government freebies, after all? Tools for the citizens’ welfare. This constitutional provision explains the widespread acceptance of government freebies. 

But let’s not forget one thing — while government freebies are not against the law, such steps taken by a Welfare State are often criticised. In fact, the idea of a Welfare State has earned a bad reputation. Critics ask that if the government has the complete responsibility to ensure the welfare of the citizens, then what will the citizens do? This will lead to high taxation and low productivity. Citizens are bound to be dependent on the government. Others are concerned that welfare schemes don’t actually solve the fundamental problems in the society. Think about it yourself: For a family living in India’s villages with no clean water, or education for the children, what problems are you solving when you give them a free TV?

Free electricity, free housing, free commute – I think we can all agree that in many cases, government freebies are beneficial to the citizens. But when there’s one thing that people feel about the freebies from Delhi government.

[We hear the voice of BJP member Poonam Prashar Jha questioning freebies from the Delhi Government]

Government Freebies and elections are often linked — in the sense, that political parties offer freebies in their manifestos and ruling parties often give them out right before elections. Maybe you’ve noticed this yourself, before elections. Let me give you some examples

In february 2020, leading up to the Delhi Assembly Elections, the BJP government released its manifesto, promising free bicycles, free electric scooters and Wheat at Rs. 2 per kg. 

At the same time, Congress released its manifesto for the Delhi Assembly Election:

[We hear a news clip about freebies in the Congress Manifesto]

See what I mean?

But this is not just my opinion. In 2019, a Delhi-based NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms conducted a survey across 543 parliamentary constituencies. This survey found that more than 40% voters consider distribution of cash, liquor and freebies an important factor behind voting for a particular candidate. 

Does the promise of government freebies work for political parties? Well, you could say so. In 2012, The Shiromani Akali Dal party in Punjab offered free laptops with data cards, free bicycles to girls, and Rs. 5000 to every family on the birth of a girl child. The Shiromani Akali Dal won the State elections that year. But, this is just one example. 

In fact, sometimes political parties make a competing offer — who can promise the best freebies! 

In the 2012 state Election in Uttar Pradesh,  BJP offered a free cow to every family below the poverty line in Uttar Pradesh. The next contendant, Congress, offered free electricity to voters who were from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes families. But, both the parties lost the elections that year to Samajwadi Party, which offered Free Laptops to students.

Sunne mein toh mazedaar hai, but we must really question why citizens vote for leaders based on a free laptop of a free cow. Yes, free goodies are great – but we assume that voters know enough to vote for a leader who performs better, right? 

Well, one reason behind this is, of course, the Bread and Circuses idea like we discussed earlier. But I found another very interesting point of view about this — 

Gurcharan Das, author of the book, “India Unbound”, wrote this in the Times of India. 

Nothing quite explains Indian politics as the fact that we embraced democracy before capitalism. The rest of the world did it the other way around.”

India became a full fledged democracy in 1950 when we adopted our constitution, but we opened our markets up only in 1991. 

In the marketplace, one has to produce before one consumes and earn a salary before one can buy a TV. In the same way, an election is supposed to enforce accountability in politics. A voter should vote on the basis of performance. 

Instead, our voters are voting for free TVs and cash. 

Gurucharan Das says, “Because democracy came before capitalism, Indian politicians have a tendency to distribute the pie before it is baked.” yaani, khana banne se pehle hi, use baantna shuru karte hain, hamare politicians. Aur hum voters ke liye, sirf vaade hi kaafi hote hain.

Tell me what comes to your mind when I say this: a political party offers a free laptop to a citizen, in exchange for a vote. The citizen votes for the party, the party comes to power. 

That’s right — what I am asking you to think about is, can government freebies be considered bribes? 

This is where it gets interesting.  

This matter has actually been debated in the Supreme Court. In 2013, Madras High Court Advocate S. Subramaniam Balaji filed a petition against the Election Commission in the Madras High Court. He said that freebies like mixer grinders, electric fans, gold etc. that were a part of party manifestos during the Tamil Nadu elections were ‘electoral offences’. Such practices are against constitutional provisions.

Advocate Balaji’s concerns were heard at the high court as well as the Supreme Court. But in 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the State of Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court said that Freebies are not corrupt practices. They do not violate the constitution — as they come under the Directive Principles of State Policy, like we discussed earlier. 

Haan — the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to strengthen their Model Code of Conduct, so that freebies are given out in a fair manner. 

Anything given for “Free” sounds great — correct or not, everyone must want freebies, right? 

Not always!

The citizens of Delhi have often been labelled as “muftkhor” – they enjoy free services. But some dilliwasis have a different opinion:

[We hear the voice of a Delhi resident opposing Government Freebies]

And even when freebies are doled out, have they really been effective?

[We hear the voice of a Delhi resident questioning the promise of safety in buses]

That was a citizen of Delhi complaining that while her travel might be free, it certainly doesn’t feel safer. 

Another dismal  example can be seen in Tamil Nadu.

[We hear a news clip about the freebies doled out in Tamil Nadu]

What is the point of giving freebies, when people don’t even have essential services?

The small town of Thalainayar, in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, is hit by devastating floods every year. And all the residents are moved to a school, where the families live together with inadequate food and water. The annual income of these families is less than Rs. 10,000. 

When Karthik Radhakrishnan, a graduate student researching rural India explored this town, he found that while the households do not have food or water, every family has a colour TV. This was an election freebie offered by politicians in the state. One resident, Laxmi,  said: “What’s the point of a TV? Can we eat it?” 

The other criticism of the “muftkhori” culture is that it increases government expenditures greatly. Let me give you a rough idea: From 2011 to 2016, the AIADMK and the DMK governments have given away  colour TVs, mixies, cash doles, gas stoves, free land, rice at Rs 2/kg or free cycles, sarees, dhotis – the list goes on. 

In 2016-17, the Tamil Nadu government’s social sector expenditure was Rs. 33,800 crore. In 2013, the Akhilesh Yadav government announced a free laptop scheme for students. Later, it was revealed that the UP government owed HP, the computer manufacturer, 900 crores for this!

Many economists agree that the concept of freebies is against the basic principles of Economics — because nothing can be free! Someone has to pay for a free item. In this case, it is the government, which pays for them from their revenue. But over the years, the fiscal deficit of the government has been increasing because of the expenditure on freebies. The fiscal deficit of state governments has increased from 1.93% in 2012 to 3.5% in 2017. 

Doston, so far we have listed quite a few demerits of Government Freebies. But, like any policy, there is another side to the freebie culture. 

Many critics have admitted that the Delhi government is a model example of government freebies that have benefited citizens without burning the hole in the State expenditure. Arvind Kejriwal has also defended the freebie culture himself:

[We hear the voice of a news anchor voicing Arvind Kejriwal’s views on Government Freebies]

The Chief Minister’s opinion is that the Delhi government has a healthy revenue surplus. This means that the Delhi government’s revenues from all sources is greater than its expenditure. 

The AAP government is using a certain amount of the surplus to give out freebies in the form of free and subsidized electricity, water, free bus and metro tickets for women. As long as these schemes do not strain the state expenses, why should it be considered a problem?

Ultimately, these schemes aim to achieve welfare through equity. 

In simple terms, equity refers to a state of equal opportunities and benefits for all sections of the society. This may sound like equality – but equity differs from equality in an important aspect. Equality ensures fairness in a society by giving all the citizens equal opportunities. 

Equity ensures fairness by providing different opportunities to different sections of the society – depending on their needs. So, governments give out freebies to those who need it – so as to ensure that they can be uplifted or their situation improves.

Government Freebies – we’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly of it. 

The truth is that the freebie culture is now deeply ingrained into Indian politics. We might debate about how good or bad it is, but I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s going to remain a part of our political culture for a long time. As voting citizens, our duty is to understand the freebie culture, and vote responsibly. That decision, of course, I will leave to you. 

That brings me to the end of this episode! I hope we were able to dig deeper into an important part of our politics together and understand it better. 

I’ll be back next week with a new episode of Maha Bharat! 

Credits

Narrated by – Dhruv Rathee
Producer – Gaurav Vaz
Written by – Gaurav Vaz and Anushka Mukherjee

Title Track Design – Abhijith Nath
Audio Production – Madhav Ayachit