Job creation is the only antidote to cure poverty disease, alms or freebies are only increasing the economic burden on nation.

Every other day, listening about any news related to freebies brings ample of stress and strain, because even a common man understand how badly ecomomy impacts with such freebies schemes. Easy come easy go, a very profound saying says it all, distributing funds through freebies rarely reaches to the needy one. And if reaches then also, it affects their mentality in a way that stumbles them to work and deprive of any specific work and skills turning youth to useless creatures. Sympathies never ever earns better results than empathy. 

Concerns from big and intellectuals about the freebies 

@ Not freebies but job creation with innovation to erase poverty: Infosys founder Narayana Murthy

@ Freebies are never ‘free’ and when political parties offer such schemes, they must be required to make the financing and trade-offs clear to voters, RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Member Ashima Goyal said, adding this would reduce the temptation towards “competitive populism”

 @ People have to decide if they want freebies or better roads, good drainage system and improved water supply, said economist and 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya.

@ Supreme Court judge, Justice B.R. Gavai, asked whether untrammelled freebies lull the poor into a parasitic existence, depriving them of any initiative to find work, join the mainstream, and contribute to national development.

Our nation should be compassionate capitalism, that states the capitalism in mind but socialism at heart. "In a country like India which has embraced socialism for a long time, therefore country can follow compassionate capitalism. It sees employees as humans. In a country like India, where socialism existed for a long time, there will be skepticism towards capitalism.  

When a large chunk of this revenue is allocated to freebies, it increases government expenditure and fiscal deficits. In the financial year 2024, India's fiscal deficit stood at 6.71% of the GDP, whereas the FRBM Act recommends reducing it to 3%. Of course it was not all out of freebies, but it does make an impact.

State budgets further highlight this trend. In Delhi, out of a total budget of Rs 71,086 crore, Rs 4,215 crore (5.9% of the state's GDP) was spent on direct freebies. Punjab, with a budget of Rs 6.98 lakh crore, allocated Rs 20,000 crore for free electricity, leading to overuse and wastage. Madhya Pradesh set aside Rs 18,984 crore (1.25% of its budget) for freebies, while Maharashtra, despite having a massive budget of Rs 42,67,771 crore, allocated Rs 46,000 crore (1.08%). Karnataka's allocation stood at Rs 60,000 crore, forming 2.1% of its GDP. Such figures indicate that while some states spend conservatively, others allocate a significant portion to free schemes, raising concerns about sustainability.

Disadvantages of Freebies

While freebies offer short-term relief, their long-term implications can be problematic.

Dependency Syndrome – Excessive reliance on government handouts can reduce motivation to work and pay taxes.

Fiscal Burden – Freebies strain state budgets, increasing deficits and leading to higher public debt.

Resource Misallocation – Funds diverted to freebies could otherwise be invested in infrastructure and industry.

Quality Compromise – Free products may lack innovation and competitiveness compared to market alternatives.

Environmental Impact – Free utilities like electricity and water encourage wastage, adding to resource depletion.