The economist notes that the word ‘freebies’ indicates the class position of its users.
New Delhi:
Economist Jayati Ghosh argues that ‘basic needs’ such as nutrition, health care, housing and education, which the government should provide to the people, are not something free, and asserted. assume that the poor have more rights to receive their basic needs.
Ms Ghosh notes that the word ‘freebies’ denotes the caste position of its users.
“India has one of the highest rates of multidimensional poverty in the world and has done a poor job in ensuring that all its people receive adequate food and nutrition. , healthcare, housing, access to education, etc.
She told PTI: “In most other countries, universal access to goods and services of reasonable quality that constitute a ‘fundamental need’ is considered a responsibility of the state, not a ‘free gifts'”.
Ms. Ghosh commented that if the political process causes political parties to meet such needs, this should not be seen as a free gift, in fact, the poor in India must pay a portion of the income. tax income is higher than that of the rich due to the dominance of indirect taxes in tax collection.
The prominent economist asserts: “Therefore, they do not have the right to receive their basic needs.
In recent days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been faced with competitive populism expanding ‘rewaris’ (free gifts) which not only wastes taxpayers’ money, but is also an economic disaster that could lead to an economic disaster. could hinder India’s attempt to become Atmanirbhar (self-reliance).
His comments were seen aimed at parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which are preparing for parliamentary elections in states like Punjab and more recently Gujarat promising free electricity and water supply, among them other parties.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court recommended the creation of a dedicated body to examine “unreasonable gifts of liberty” offered to voters in elections.
The Center has told the Supreme Court that “freebie culture” has been elevated to “art” to fight elections and will lead to “disaster” if some political parties understand that this is the only way to introduce public welfare measures.
Regarding India’s current macroeconomic situation, Ms. Ghosh said India is one of the more vulnerable economies in the BRICS and G20, because mass demand remains slow and employment rate decline in the country, poverty and food insecurity may increase.
“The RBI has spent a significant amount of money trying to appreciate the rupee, but further devaluation is likely to add to inflationary pressures in a low growth scenario,” she said. Fake output may please some policymakers, but economic law will work in all cases.
When some politicians compare the current economic situation of Sri Lanka to that of India, she noted that India will not face a Sri Lankan-style crisis because of our foreign debt, especially especially government debt, not as high as Sri Lanka.
“And we still have relatively large foreign exchange reserves. But some major economic difficulties are inevitable in the near future,” the economist noted.
Sri Lanka is grappling with a severe economic crisis and India is at the forefront of extending economic support to the island nation.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
