India’s democratic evolution over the past four decades has been accompanied by a striking transformation in the nature of electoral competition and public spending priorities. What began as targeted welfare interventions aimed at poverty alleviation has gradually expanded into a highly competitive politics of direct benefits—popularly referred to in public discourse as “freebies.” From subsidised food schemes in the early decades after Independence to today’s widespread cash transfers, free electricity provisions, transport concessions, and direct income support programmes, the scale and visibility of redistributive politics has expanded significantly.

 This evolution raises a fundamental policy question: where should a rapidly developing democracy like India draw the line between legitimate social protection and fiscally unsustainable populism? More importantly, what are the long-term consequences of this shift for public finances, human capital formation, and the country’s aspiration of becoming a Viksit Bharat?

 The origins: welfare as political and social necessity

 Welfare in India has deep constitutional and developmental roots. The state’s commitment to reducing poverty, ensuring food security, and improving basic living standards shaped early policy frameworks. Over time, programmes such as the Public Distribution System (PDS), rural employment schemes, mid-day meals, and maternal health initiatives became central pillars of governance.

However, a more explicitly electoral form of welfare politics began gaining prominence from the late 1970s and 1980s onwards. A symbolic turning point is often associated with southern India’s pioneering food subsidy schemes, including highly subsidised rice distribution. These initiatives demonstrated a powerful political logic: when material benefits are directly visible and immediately felt, they generate strong electoral returns.

 What was once framed as social protection increasingly evolved into a competitive promise-making cycle, where electoral success depended on the ability to offer tangible, short-term benefits to identifiable voter groups.

 Expansion and normalisation of subsidy politics

Today, India’s welfare architecture spans a wide spectrum of interventions:

Free or heavily subsidised food grains under the National Food Security framework

Direct benefit transfers (DBT) into bank accounts

Free electricity for agriculture and select household segments in several states

Free public transport schemes for women in certain states

Cash transfers to farmers, women, unemployed youth, and informal workers

Loan waivers in agriculture during stress........

© Eurasia Review