Book Excerpt: Freebies or Rights by Reetika Khera

An exclusive excerpt from Freebies or Rights by Reetika Khera (Speaking Tiger, 2026).

The Freebies Rhetoric

The book is about government interventions for improving people’s wellbeing. The period it covers is broadly the past two decades (2004-2024), during which the welfare programmes outlined above gained some coherence through legal and budgetary support. In India there is a tendency of seeing—and of depicting—such policies as a ‘burden’ on the government. Interestingly, this is not unique to India. It echoes debates elsewhere in the world as well.

Writing about it in the context of the United Kingdom, Titmuss believed that government intervention in the area of welfare or social security plays a constructive role, and it would be wrong to view it as a burden (Titmuss 1968).

He enumerated several reasons for it: First, it should, in his view, be seen as a partial compensation to redress the direct (e.g., accidents and injuries) and indirect losses (e.g., pollution or slum rehabilitation) from a capitalist system. Further, such interventions can compensate for the disadvantage for which the individual themselves are not responsible (e.g., a child born in a deprived family), who should get a fair chance in life. Second, social security can play a protective role, sheltering people from infectious disease or mental illness. Third, we must view such government interventions (especially in the areas of education and health) as a personal and social investment. Fourth, they can be considered as contributing directly to personal wellbeing. Fifth, it can also be seen as a defense against a backlash emerging from the ills of a capitalist system (e.g. inequality). In a nutshell, such policies are best seen as human rights and as remedying existing inequalities.

Contrary to this view, in a political speech in 2024, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi labelled some electoral promises and state programmes as ‘revdi’, a loose translation of ‘freebies’. This statement fuelled the already widely held view that programmes of redistribution (broadly defined) are wasteful. Of course, the freebies rhetoric predates Modi and the current NDA government. It is so loud in India that at several points of time, individuals have approached courts to intervene in the matter. In fact, however, delineating the scope of legitimate government intervention is ultimately a political debate. Equally importantly, there are sound economic principles that can help us determine where and how much government intervention is desirable for efficiency and equity.

Rights-Based Development: The UPA Decade (2004-2014)

In the decade of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments (2004-2014) and preceding it, there was robust economic growth. In the 2004 General Election, many believed that people voted against the ‘India Shining’ propaganda of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The decade was marked by small but concrete steps towards building a rights-based welfare system in India. Many laws related to basic rights of the people were enacted: the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, Recognition of Forest Rights Act in 2006, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act in 2009, a National Food Security Act (NFSA) in 2013, etc.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act passed in 2005 has contributed to gradually creating a culture of transparency and accountability in government. The hope was that the RTI would alter the balance of power between people on the one hand, and authorities and people’s representatives on the other. As a rural activist in Badwani (Madhya Pradesh) said, ‘Earlier we used to chase the panchayat secretary, now he runs after us.’ There has been grudging and partial acceptance of this over time.

In spite of the legal protections that the UPA governments enacted, they were unable to stand up for its vision entirely. The very government that enacted the laws ended up undermining them. For instance, the NREGA that guarantees 100 days of work in a year to adults of rural households at the minimum wage recognised an important right of people. It was credited for the UPA being voted back to power in the 2009 General Election. Yet, NREGA began to get hostile treatment during UPA-2 (2009-2014): budgets did not keep up with demand, persondays of work generated stagnated (except during COVID-19, 2020-2022), and delays in wage payments increased and wage rates stagnated in real terms. While serious issues like delays in wage payment were ignored, technocratic measures such as linking payments with Aadhaar, the use of electronic muster rolls began to be emphasised. An alternative framework of social security, including widespread use of biometric technology, of business correspondents, food fortification, etc., began to be pushed.

Excerpted with permissions from the author and the publishers of Freebies or Rights by Reetika Khera (Speaking Tiger, 2026)

About the Book

‘Social policy is too important to be left to experts. It must also draw on informed views of concerned citizens. Freebies or Rights fills many gaps in the public’s access to critical knowledge and ideas, sets the facts straight and clears the fog. It will sharpen your mind and soften your heart.’—Jean Drèze

This book asks a simple but urgent question: when the state provides food, healthcare, education, pensions, or employment support, are these ‘freebies’—or are they rights that make a dignified life possible?

Drawing on over two decades of field research across rural India, economist Reetika Khera examines how social policies actually shape everyday life. From Anganwadis and school meals to the Public Distribution System, maternity benefits, pensions, public healthcare, and the MGNREGA, the book traces India’s evolving welfare architecture from ‘cradle to grave’.

Blending rigorous research with vivid stories from villages, classrooms, government offices, and field surveys, the book moves beyond political rhetoric to ask deeper questions about inequality, citizenship, and the role of the state. Do welfare programmes create dependency, or do they expand freedom and opportunity? Why are social protections, considered essentials in many countries, often dismissed as handouts in India?

Written for students, concerned citizens, policymakers, and sceptics alike, this accessible yet deeply informed book is both an introduction to social policy in India and a compelling argument for viewing social protection not as charity, but as a foundation for dignity, justice, and democratic life.

About the Author

Reetika Khera is a professor of economics at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and works on social policy. Previously, she has edited two books, Battle for Employment Guarantee and Dissent on Aadhaar in English; and is the author of Revdi Ya Haq: Samajik Suraksha Par Ek Nazariya (2025).