On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar talked about how India’s growth depends on smart government spending. He said lawmakers need to focus on issues like investment and “freebies” (which are gifts or free services given to people) to make sure that money helps everyone in the country.
Dhankhar pointed out that many elections offer these freebies to win votes, which makes it hard for new governments to handle finances. He stressed the importance of creating a national policy so that all government investments serve a bigger purpose.
This discussion started when senior MP Ram Gopal Yadav mentioned that the money members of Parliament can spend in their areas, called the MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), is too low. He suggested increasing the funds from ₹5 crore to ₹20 crore to better help their communities. Yadav explained that inflation and taxes make it difficult to fund important projects.
Many lawmakers agreed with Yadav’s suggestion. Dhankhar noted that while there is a law for MPs and MLAs, there is no standard system for how much money they get to spend. He mentioned that in some states, MLAs have better pay and perks than MPs, which creates unfairness.
Dhankhar also talked about subsidies (money given by the government to help people). He said that direct subsidies to farmers are better, like the ones in developed countries. He compared this to the U.S. system, where farmers have higher incomes because of transparent support directly given to them.
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