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Thursday, December 4, 2025
TopicFreebies

Topic: Freebies

Rajinikanth to Dhanush, how Tamil stars have portrayed politics of ‘freebies’

In his 1993 film Valli, 'Superstar' Rajinikanth urged crowds to diss freebies and ask for employment.

Vote-buying encourages graft, hurts rule of law, finds study. And it’s getting worse in India

‘Vote-buying’ has increased significantly in India since 2010, according to the authors of the study, which is due to be published in the peer-reviewed journal World Development.

Not ‘freebies’ –Tamil Nadu has given India a market-friendly Dravidian welfare model

As the ‘freebie’ debate again reaches the Supreme Court, Indian states should get to decide how to best use their resources for welfare.

‘Freebies not bribes but shake root of fair polls’ — what SC said in 2013 order it plans to revisit

SC in 2013 held that promises of freebies in election manifestos are not bribery or corruption. CJI NV Ramana agrees to constitute a bench to re-examine the judgment.

Revadi jibe shows Modi govt letting its insecurities do the talking, not economics

Why exactly should the Prime Minister be worried about the welfare model of an opposition party that barely controls two state governments?

In the debate over freebies, India is forgetting it traded rule of law for welfare services

India's want for freebies comes from envy of European welfare countries. But the govt must fix the law first.

Curbs on poll speeches over ‘freebies’ won’t fix fiscal deficit, AAP tells SC

Restrictions on electoral speech would be unconstitutional & court-appointed expert panel on 'freebies' should focus on govts' budgetary allocations, AAP says in submission to SC.

‘Abused for welfare schemes’: How AAP is trying to fight BJP after Modi’s ‘revdi’ remark

On 16 July, Modi ‘cautioned’ people against freebies. AAP has since been trying to turn the tables saying that the BJP had a problem with its free education and healthcare schemes.

Electricity or schools? Roads or hospitals? Why it isn’t easy for Modi to fix ‘freebies’

So used are Indians to handouts that they will opt for doles instead of measures that can help in the future. But, the thumb rule is not to overspend beyond one's means.

On Camera

Sanchar Saathi app U-turn is a rare victory for middle-class Indians against Modi govt

The Sanchar Saathi app saga's message to the critics of Modi government is: protest loudly because it is possible to get this administration to reverse its policy.

India’s Russian oil imports are showing up in cryptic new places. The crude map stands redrawn

December oil imports from Russia may drop nearly 50%, but Indian buyers already shifting to non-designated Russian entities and opaque trading channels to keep Russian oil flowing.

India to commission new squadron of submarine-hunting Romeo choppers in Goa later this month

The helicopters produced by Lockheed Martin are known as ‘submarine hunters’. India ordered 24 of these aircraft in 2020 to replace the Sea King helicopters. 15 have been delivered till date.

Gaali cricket: Bavuma stands tall, India’s Test ego cut to size

The India-South Africa series-defining fact is the catastrophic decline of Indian red ball cricket where a visiting team can mock us with the 'grovel' word.