The limits of political fruits of growth | Number Theory

Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin has announced a payment of ₹5,000 to 13.1 million women beneficiaries of the state’s cash transfer programme

Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin has announced a payment of ₹5,000 to 13.1 million women beneficiaries of the state’s cash transfer programme. Of this amount, ₹3,000 is an advance payment for the months of February, March and April, and ₹2,000 is a special payment. Stalin has also promised that the amount could increase after elections (read if his government comes back to power). While cash transfers before elections are now an established pre-election protocol in Indian states, the fact that a high income and industrialized Tamil Nadu needs it as much as a poor state like Bihar raises an interesting question. Why does better economic performance not help states avoid such freebies? Here are three charts which answer this question.

Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin has announced a payment of ₹5,000 to 13.1 million women beneficiaries of the state’s cash transfer programme

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