By Somya Singh
As the name itself suggesting Freebies are something that is given free or provided without any charge i.e., Free of cost. Basically, the concept of freebies has always related with the politics, it is mostly distributed by the politicians or the government to the people of the country or ironically the voters of the countries. It gives the plethora of provision of free electricity, free water, free public transportation, waiver of pending utility bills and farm loans and the distribution of free gadgets like laptops, phones, cycles etc.
Oftentimes, free goods are confused with public goods that provide economic and social benefits such as public distribution, work responsibility, support for community education and health, and economic growth and development, but in fact it is completely different from the concept of public property.
The reason behind the popularity of the concept of the freebies is the human psychology which states that the humans are more inclined towards the things which are free of cost and they generally ignore the quality and the other valuable and important aspects.
Generally, the intention or the purpose behind the distribution of the freebies is to secure large amount of vote from the people and to gain certain advantages andfavours and to stimulate large amount of support and to obtain unquestionable political driven influences.
The phrase "freebies" has become divisive in India's political lexicon. Political parties compete with one another to provide more giveaways, like laptops and cell phones, to win over voters. It has moral, if not economic, implications. The moral component of it is that political parties are essentially buying votes by offering incentives wrapped in freebies. Put another way, the amount of money a party offers determines how much support it receives in elections.
ORIGIN
In general, Tamil Nadu politics—more specifically, the south—is the source of freebie culture in contemporary India. Between 1954 and 1963, the late Kumaraswami Kamaraj, who served as the Chief Minister of the former Madras state, implemented welfare programs for school children, including free meals and schooling.
The freebie culture can be traced back in 1967 when in Tamil Nadu the DMK party promised to provide the people with the 4.5 kg of rice of only Rs1 if their party won the election. Later on this strategy becomes accepted nationwide. Again in 2006 the DMK party announced its scheme of distributing the colour television sets if their party won the election. In addition, the party provided free gas stoves, two acres of land for the landless, rice subsidies, cash handouts, and help with pregnancy expenses for those in need.. Similarly in 2011, AIADMK also announced the free gifts in order to mobilize the votes and this legacy was continued by the AamAadmi Party in 2015 when they are offering certain amount of free water and electricity to the voters and continues till date. [1]
NEED OF FREEBIES IN INDIAN ELECTION
To begin with, economic growth of any country depends upon hishealthy, skilled, efficient and educated population. By providing free education, free health care, providing food to those who cannot afford it in a very low or in subsidised rate through public distribution system, employment guarantee to the unemployed people, in turn will increase the productive capacity of the workforce and enhance health and education of the population which is necessary part of any growth strategy.
In addition to this, it also contributes in boosting the industries by increasing the sales and revenue of the particular industry. States like Tamil Nadu and Bihar are known for giving women sewing machines, saris and cycles which not only increase the sales of clothing industries but also strengthen the women empowerment make the population or the workforce more productive economically as well as socially.
Furthermore, countries like India, which is such a diverse nation in terms of culture, tradition and also such a huge populated country did not capable to maintain certain level of growth and development. The people in this situation made expectations from the contesting candidates to improve their circumstances and fulfil their demands. Mostly, because of the shortage of factors of production, raw materials and resources, the country is not able to provide that level of standard of living to its people and in order to cop up with this type of situation the freebies culture or the promises of free of cost things were meant to meet the expectations of the population.
Lastly, sometimes these types of freebies became need or demand of the people residing in the under or less developed countries. As it was discussed earlier that population is necessary for the economic growth of the country but if the population of the country is large and the country has not sufficient level of the development and resources to maintain it then it became the burden not only on the country but also on the economy which leads to widespread poverty. Then in this situation, the concept of freebies becomes essential to uplift the population through different measures like subsidies.[2]
ADVANTAGES OF FREEBIES
Public Outreach and Engagement: By showcasing the government's responsiveness and accountability to the people, government giveaways can boost public confidence and contentment. Freebies can also foster communication and feedback between the public and the government, strengthening democracy and transparency.
In Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, freebies including laptops, bicycles, and cash transfers were found to have a favorable effect on voter turnout, political awareness, and government satisfaction (Center for Policy Research).
Economic Growth: Freebies, particularly in less developed areas, can boost economic growth by raising the workforce's productive potential. For instance, free gifts like sewing machines, bicycles, or laptops can improve the abilities, mobility, and financial prospects of the underprivileged and those living in rural areas.
Social Welfare: They can give the underprivileged and disenfranchised members of society access to essential services including food, health care, education, and energy. Freebies like textbooks, uniforms, or health insurance, for instance, can enhance the quality of life, health, and literacy of the underprivileged and vulnerable populations.
According to a World Bank research, in 2011–12, food subsidies provided by the Public Distribution System (PDS) helped lower India's poverty rate by 7%.
Freebies like health insurance under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) decreased out-of-pocket costs and catastrophic health shocks for households below the poverty line, according to an NSSO poll.
Economic Equality: By more fairly allocating resources and wealth, freebies can help to lower poverty and economic disparity. Freebies, for instance, like cash transfers or loan waivers, can empower low-income or indebted households by granting them access to resources, credit, or income support.
According to an analysis conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, loan waivers helped struggling farmers become more creditworthy and less indebted.[3]
WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES OF THE FREEBIES?
As every coin has two sides, similarly goes with the freebies as well. It has also the negative sides which have dark and atrocious shades.
To begin with, financial stability is always necessary for the growth of the country but by providing these freebies to such a large population creates the instability in the financial structure especially with the country like India where there is not enough for the population to sustain because of lack of the revenue and in that condition the money or the resources were used inefficiently and for little political gain, the country will suffer from the condition of instability and widespread Poverty.
According to the Financial Audit and Management (FRBM) rules, states cannot borrow money above their limits and any difference must be approved by the ministry and company bank account. That is, when there is a change in their preferences to spend government money.
In addition to this, election is the process through which people elect their representative for the good governance and smooth functioning and orderly running of the country but providing freebies will destroy such well structured functioning as people will more inclined towards and choose those who provides the free of cost thing irrespective of their efficiency, caliber, knowledge, capability opposing the concept of free and fair election. This will be similar to giving bribes to the electorates.
Furthermore, the human psychology says that when the things are provided free, people use it in an excessive quantity leads to the wastage of the resources which hinders the sustainable growth and also puts strain on the renewable resources and raw materials.
Lastly, Freebies put the strain on the resources of the government as whatever things provided by them to lure the public and to gain the unfair advantages are from the public funds which were for the welfare and the growth of the country and its ineffective use make the scarcity of such resources. Another problem associated with this is waiving off the loans in the form of freebies disturbs the credit culture.[4]
POINT OF VIEW OF INDIAN JUDICIARY
The Supreme Court of India have decided to revise the S SubramaniamBalaji versus Tamil Nadu 2013 judgement which held that election manifesto or the promises regarding freebies cannot constitute of corrupt practice under the poll law.The Supreme Court decided to reconsider this because these freebies were given to the voters out of the funds which is allocated to them for the welfare of the particular states and because of these irrational freebies the state government cannot provide basic amenities and moves towards the imminent bankruptcy. That’s why this matter is put forward before the three-judge bench for the reason of transparency and to held that whether any judicial order can stop the culture of irrational freebies.
FREEBIES& INDIAN LAWS
Most of the time the concept of freebies is mistaken with the welfare of the society. If we talk about India, government provides many welfare schemes like Indira RasoiYojna, Grameen Bank, Pradhan Mantri Jan dhanawasyojna, SadakYojna and many more and also provide poor population subsidies and food grains at a very low price. The welfare schemes were implemented because to create an impact on the country economically, socially as well as politically. In recent times these welfare schemes were termed as freebies.[5]
Directive Principles of State Policy are some goals which are enshrined in the constitution for the state to achieve the welfare goals. Article 38(1) Declare that the state will seek to promote the health of the people to the best possible extent through security and protection so that social justice, fairness, social, economic and political will to enter all institutions in the life of the state.(2) The state should make special efforts to reduce income inequality and try to eliminate the inequality of conditions, places and opportunities not only between individuals but also between groups of people living in different regions or performing different occupations.
The Representation of People’s Act, 1951 states that bribery of the voter by providing any gratification for casting his vote or refraining from doing so would be corrupt practice. However, if he promised to let all states elect a government to power, that wouldn't be fair according to our current election evidence in this country.
Giving everything free of cost doesn’t constitute under the concept of welfare. Promise of uninterrupted electricity for 24*7 can be cover under the welfare schemes but provision of free electricity is by no way in sync with constitutional and welfare objectives.
So we can say that, its welfare and social justice in the constitution and not freebies. One should understand the difference between the two and make the rational, logical and reasonable choice accordingly.
NUMERICAL FIGURE
Based on precise figures and approximations, we can determine that the amount spent on promotional gifts varies per state, ranging from 0.1% to 2.7% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). In states with high levels of debt, like Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, the amount of freebies given out exceeds two percent of his gross state product.
Most notably, the 2021 OXFAM report includes some really alarming statistics that highlight the stark economic inequality that exists between the rich and the poor. This indicates that while 84% of domestic household incomes decreased in 2021, there were 142 Indian billionaires, up from 102 at the beginning of the year. Therefore, it became imperative to close the gap between these two groups, which can only be done by providing these impoverished individuals with particular treatment.
The marginalized sections gave up their lands for various public development works and became landless dwellers which forced them to live a very poor and shabby life. Many economists argued that the cost of the freebies offered represented a fraction of what the poor would lose. This is a fact even recognized by the World Bank in the 1980s.[6]
CONCLUSION
Only giving the arguments in favour and against of something is not enough but suggesting the measures in order to correct the flaws is also required. There are numerous steps that can be taken to rectify the culture of freebies and can bring more fairness in the election practices. To begin with more powers should be concentrated by the Election commission so that they could deregister any political parties if they indulge in any unfair practices to lure the voters. In addition to it, the government can utilise the money which is spent on these freebies towards the creation of jobs and in developing the infrastructure. Furthermore, decreasing the black money can also prove beneficial as the black money encourages the government to tilt towards the freebies to lure voters. The comptroller and Auditor General of India has a duty to examine expenditures.Finally, we need a change in public attitudes about giveaway culture. This can only be achieved by demonstrating proper and ethical education at all levels, which can be achieved through the implementation of the new Education Policy 2020.
The crux of the matter is to allocate more powers to the Election commission so that it can regulate the unfair practices of the political parties and ensure the free and fair elections. To sum up, India was facing this culture of freebies since independence and no strict actions have been taken place the outcome of which is unsustainable, inefficient and irrational practices. Therefore the quantum of money for the freebies should be reduced and must allocate towards the upliftment of the weaker sections and for the development of the society. But until this is achieved, we will not be able to completely stop relying on acceptable giveaways such as health and education.
The author of this article is Somya Singh, a third-year BALLB student at Jaipur National University.
[2] https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/revdi-culture-debate-why-we-need-freebies-in-india-8135143/
[4] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/explained-what-are-freebies-and-how-they-may-burden-state-finances/articleshow/93306455.cms
[6] https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/its-complicated-the-freebie-debate-explained/article65787138.ece
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