The Political, Economical and Psychological Impact of Electoral Freebies in Indian Politics: A Critical Study

Abstract

India has a long history of supporting social welfare programmes that attempt to increase the economic security of the country's most vulnerable citizens. However, these social payments are usually labelled as "handouts" or "giveaways", often promised or delivered for political objectives, which is widely seen as manipulative and exclusively aimed to sway voters. In addition to discouraging initiative and entrepreneurship, the extensive distribution of different welfare resources places a financial strain on the public purse, particularly in terms of trade-offs with long-term development efforts. There is a lot of dispute about how significant a role these freebies play in Indian politics. Freebies are the offering of products or services by political parties to the people with the main aim of winning political support and votes, and are also known as populist welfare programmes or electoral incentives. Food, clothes, and shelter are only a few examples; other options include technological goods, help paying off agricultural loans, and free or low-cost housing. Those in favour of such handouts say they help reduce economic disparities and empower disadvantaged groups. However, detractors claim that they promote a culture of dependency, stunt economic progress, and undermine democratic norms and sound budgeting. This study examines these giveaways in Indian politics from several angles, looking at their good and bad repercussions. The study also provides a complete methodology for assessing the effect of these giveaways on India's state welfare programmes, while drawing attention to the major concerns in the current discussion over them.