Modi's Free Rations Extension: Welfare or Freebie Politics?

Food rights activists and economists said on Sunday that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has not carried out the long-overdue population census, at least 10 crore Indians who need food assistance will be excluded from the five-year extension of the free rations scheme for the poor, which he announced.

Additionally, they disregarded Modi's attempt to characterize his election-year action as "welfare" politics in contrast to the "freebie" politics of the opposition parties, which he had previously mocked as "rewdi culture."

Modi had said on Saturday that the scheme, which was about to expire at the end of this year and gave 80 crore recipients free 5 kilogram rations each month, would be extended for a further five years.

The declaration was made less than two weeks after the Prime Minister, speaking on October 23 at an event in the Satna region of Madhya Pradesh, which is headed for elections, once again criticized freebie politics as "rewdi culture."

According to media quotes, he said that taxpayers were content when their taxes funded charity programs for the underprivileged, like the free rations system, but dissatisfied when the funds were given out as freebies.

The free rations programme, according to economist and former head of the A.N. Sinha Institute in Patna, Sunil Ray, was just as much a case of freebie politics as the ones Modi had derided as "rewdi culture."

In contrast to legitimate welfare programs like free healthcare and education and the rural employment guarantee program MGNREGA, he said that free rations, such as free cell phones or bicycles, had little to do with long-term development aims.

Absent ten crore

IIT Delhi economics professor Reetika Khera described how the government's refusal to carry out a population census was denying the free rations program to at least 10 crore people.

According to her, BPL cards were no longer a need for eligibility after the UPA administration passed and put into effect the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, which gave significantly subsidized food grains to the poor.

Rather, the Act stated that 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban populations would get the benefit, with local authorities selecting the families who would benefit.

The number of beneficiaries came at 80 crore based on the Act's characteristics and the 2011 census, which estimated India's population at 121 crore.

According to Khera, there should be more than 90 crore beneficiaries since India's population is now expected to be above 140 crore. But, the extra 10 crore worthy individuals would have to forgo the benefits as a result of the Modi government's inability to carry out the census, which is scheduled for 2021.

Although the government first mentioned Covid, there has been no news on whether or not the census would be carried out, even after the epidemic has gone.

"Nearly 10 crore people who should be covered by the PDS haven't received (ration) cards," the statement reads. The coverage ought to have taken into consideration the fact that the population has grown since 2011, according to Khera.

"We now have a scenario where some PDS-eligible family members get their 5 kg of grains each month, but their newborns, newlywed daughters-in-law, etc., have not had their names added.”

Two plans

Under the public distribution system (PDS), the NFSA gave 5 kilograms of food grain per person each month at a cost of Rs 3 for 1 kg of rice, Rs 2 for 1 kg of wheat, and Rs 1 for 1 kg of any other cereal.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), introduced by the Modi administration during the Covid shutdown in 2020, provided an extra 5kg of grain free to the beneficiaries of the NFSA.

On January 1st of this year, the PMGKAY was stopped, but the NFSA started giving out free 5 kg of food grain. The NFSA was supposed to end this year and go back to giving subsidized rations, but Modi's declaration on Saturday means it will carry on for five more years as a free food grains program.

Ray, a critic of the "freebie culture," said that Modi's free rations plan is essentially a freebie since it just offers people short-term comfort rather than fostering self-reliance.

Such sops, according to him, demonstrate a government's incapacity to provide "real development."

"Any government that provides free bicycles, cell phones, or meals is giving out free stuff. These are temporary advantages provided by the government since it cannot guarantee actual growth by giving people work and income prospects," the official said.

"The freebie culture introduces a parasitic economy and maintains people's reliance on the government."

According to Ray, the fact that 80 crore individuals are the beneficiaries of a parasitic economy has a negative impact on the economy of the country.

He said that since the MGNREGA helps the majority of the poor shield themselves from financial hardship and makes a significant contribution to raising the human development index, it qualifies as a welfare-enhancing program.

"The goal of grouping welfare programs and giveaways under one umbrella is to conceal the true goal of the ruling party, which is to sway voters to support it," Ray said.

Payor or non-payor

The organizer of the Right To Food Campaign in Odisha, Sameet Panda, questioned Modi's statement on taxpayer dissatisfaction with freebies.

He said that because everyone paid indirect taxes like sales tax and entertainment tax, everyone was a taxpayer. Therefore, it is incorrect to imply that those in poverty are just the recipients of taxes paid by others.

The constitutionality of political parties offering freebies in their election manifestos without considering the potential effects on the economy as a whole is the subject of a current Supreme Court lawsuit.

"Freebies" and "welfarism" are two phrases that are being used indiscriminately. If an opposition party offers it, the BJP considers it a rewdi, according to Panda.

He said that because of the extreme economic disparity in India, where workers in the unorganised sector, especially independent contractors, get pitiful wages, free or subsidized food are required.

According to the Economic Survey for 2022–2023, real pay growth was negative when accounting for inflation.