Freebies in electoral politics have sparked debate over their impact on governance in India. Differentiate between freebies and welfare measures, and examine their impact on governance.

(1) Covert Bribery of voters (2) misutilization of public funds (3) non sustainability of resources. (4) Dependency culture being made. (5) Reduces willingness to work and hard work. (6) Principal-Agent crisis (7) Breach of trust of taxpayers and encourages tax evasion (8) Hampers long term sustainable growth.

Differentiating Freebie vs. welfare !

I. Intent & Timing Ex: washing machine during Elections is freebie.

II. Capacity vs Dependency Ex: giving cycles to school going girls in village is welfare

III. Financial sustainability ↳ critical for long term

IV. Distortion of market Ex: Investment in rural Agri is preferable to msp.

V. Procedural sanction ↳ welfare measures must be announced only if core expenses of govt and public are covered.

Balancing and shifting Freebies → Long term welfare

(1) Long run focus: Provide durable assets for capacity (Ex: laptops to students)

(2) skill development of individuals to give agency & capability (Amartya Sen)

(3) create avenues for employment esp. females ↳ Prioritize SHG; mobility, safety over just cash transfers

(4) Equity approach : subsidies should equally benefit large and small beneficiaries Ex: MSP benefits more to large.

(5) Environmental sustainability Ex: Diesel subsidy for pumps should be transferred to DBT.

(6) Focus on vulnerable section integration into mainstream. Ex: ALIMCO's Aid for Divyangs.

(7) Focus on building community level initiatives