There’s a wide perception that welfare policies helped the Aam Aadmi Party win the Delhi elections — be it spending on education and health, or water and electricity. And yet the party faces the broad allegation of having doled out freebies. Is the word in itself an elitist construct? How do we differentiate between welfare measures and sops?

Discussing the issue are Lekha Chakraborty (Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and Research Associate , Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, New York) and Reetika Khera (Developmental economist and Associate Professor at The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad).

Read the article: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/what-distinguishes-welfare-measures-from-freebies/article30873368.ece