Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Sop or welfare debate: On freebies

Sop or welfare debate: On freebies

Steps to limit freebies or to discourage populism (लोकलुभावनवाद) should come through (के द्वारा आएं) Parliament

A general concern over ‘freebies’ pushing the economy to ruin (बर्बाद, बिगाड़ना) or unviable (अव्यवहारिक, अलाभकारी, अक्षम्य) pre-election promises adversely (प्रतिकूल रूप से, बुरी तरह से) affecting informed (सूचित किया, जानकार) decision-making by voters seems reasonable. However, few will disagree that what constitutes (गठित करना, शामिल करना, बनाना) ‘freebies’ and what are legitimate welfare (कल्याण, सामाजिक सुरक्षा) measures (उपाय, मापना प्रक्रिया) to protect the vulnerable (relating to a weak/neglected person who is in need of special care/support) sections are essentially political questions for which a court of law (कानून की अदालत) may have no answer. In this backdrop (पृष्ठभूमि, स्थिति, परिदृश्य), the Supreme Court’s decision to form a body of stakeholders (हितधारक) to examine the issue raises the question whether the legislature (विधान मंडल, परिषद, विधानसभा) can be bypassed (circumvent, avoid, dodge, escape, sidestep) on such a far-reaching (दूरगामी, व्यापक, कट्टरपंथी) exercise (व्यायाम, गतिविधि). The Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramana, heading a Bench hearing a petition filed in public interest against the distribution or promise of ‘freebies’ ahead of elections, has made it clear that the Court is not going to issue guidelines, but only ensure that suggestions are taken from stakeholders such as the NITI Aayog (The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs. (Think tank is a panel of experts who provide advice and ideas on political, social or economic issues)), Finance Commission (It is a Constitutionally mandated body that is at the centre of fiscal federalism. Set up under Article 280 of the Constitution of India, its core responsibility is to evaluate the state of finances of the Union and State Governments, recommend the sharing of taxes between them, lay down the principles determining the distribution of these taxes among States. The first Finance Commission was set up in 1951 and there have been fifteen so far), Law Commission (After independence in 1947, there had been demand in Parliament and outside for establishing a Central Law Commission to recommend revision and updating of extant laws. The first Law Commission after independence was set up in the year 1955. Subsequent Commissions were constituted from time to time. Usually each Commission is constituted for a term of three years. The Law Commissions have been able to make important contribution towards the progressive development and codification of the laws in the country. To continue the work of legal reforms, Twenty-second Law Commission of India has been constituted on 21st February, 2020 for a period of three years), RBI and political parties. All these institutions, he has said, can submit a report to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Government. A suggestion that Parliament could discuss this issue was met with scepticism (misgiving, doubt/qualm, distrust, suspicion) by the Bench, which felt that no party would want a debate on this, as all of them support such sops. The Bench also disfavoured (disapprove, dislike; be against, object to) the ECI preparing a ‘model manifesto ((policy) statement, declaration, pronouncement)’ as it would be an empty (meaningless, valueless, worthless, useless, pointless) formality. The Court’s concern over populist (relating to the politicians who claim that they are representing the common/ordinary people) measures seems to resonate (resound, reverberate; evoke some feelings/emotions) with the Government too, as the Solicitor-General (the second-highest rank for a law officer of the government) submitted that these distorted (misrepresent, change, alter, falsify, misinterpret) the voter’s informed decision-making; and that unregulated (unrestricted, unchecked, uncontrollable) populism may lead to (result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to) an economic disaster.

The Supreme Court, in S. Subramaniam Balaji vs Government of Tamil Nadu (2013) addressed (tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out) these questions and took the position that these concerned law and policy. Further, it upheld the distribution of television sets or consumer goods (products that are bought by the customer) on the ground (in a situation/place where things are happening really/practically) that schemes targeted at women, farmers and the poorer sections were in furtherance (promotion, advancement, development, furthering/forwarding) of Directive Principles; and as long as (provided that) public funds were spent based on appropriations (acquisition, acquiring, obtaining, gaining, securing, procuring, procurement) cleared by the legislature, they could neither be declared illegal, nor the promise of such items be termed a ‘corrupt practice’. It had, however, directed the ECI to frame (plan, devise, orchestrate, engineer, coordinate) guidelines to regulate (control, oversee, govern, monitor something (by using rules and regulations)) the content of manifestos. The ECI subsequently included in its Model Code of Conduct (a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for conduct of political parties and candidates during elections) a stipulation (clause, condition, specification, requirement) that parties should avoid promises “that vitiate (destroy, impair, spoil, ruin) the purity (morality, goodness, righteousness) of the election process or exert (apply, use, utilize, deploy (a force/influence/control)) undue (excessive, extreme, immoderate) influence (power, authority, sway, leverage, weight) on the voters”. It added that only promises which were possible to be fulfilled should be made and that manifestos should contain the rationale (motive, reason, motivation, ground) for a promised welfare measure and indicate the means of funding it. Any further step, such as distinguishing (differentiate, separate, set apart, make distinctive, make different) welfare measures from populist sops and pre-election inducements (incentive, attraction, encouragement, temptation), or adding to the obligations (responsibility, liability, duty, burden) of fiscal responsibility (the act of creating, optimizing and maintaining a balanced budget) and fiscal prudence (cautiousness, carefulness, judgement on fiscal decisions like borrowing, and spending, and managing the fiscal targets) ought to (must, should) come from the legislature. That politicians invariably back (support, endorse, sanction, approve of, favour, advocate, promote, uphold, champion) ‘freebies’ should be no reason to bypass Parliament.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.welfare (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कल्याण, सामाजिक सुरक्षा
English Meaning - social security, government/state benefit, public assistance.

2.populism (noun)

Hindi Meaning - लोकलुभावनवाद
English Meaning - policies that supposedly represent the opinions of ordinary people (Courtesy: VOA Learning English).

3.come through (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - के द्वारा आएं
English Meaning - (of an official order) be processed & notified.

4.ruin (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बर्बाद, बिगाड़ना
English Meaning - spoil, mar, destroy, impair.

5.unviable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अव्यवहारिक, अलाभकारी, अक्षम्य
English Meaning - not feasible; unfeasible, undoable, impracticable.

6.adversely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिकूल रूप से, बुरी तरह से
English Meaning - unfavourably, disadvantageously, badly.

7.informed (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सूचित किया, जानकार
English Meaning - knowledgeable.

8.constitute (verb)

Hindi Meaning - गठित करना, शामिल करना, बनाना
English Meaning - comprise, make up, represent, amount to.

9.measure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उपाय, मापना प्रक्रिया
English Meaning - action, step, procedure.

10.court of law (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - कानून की अदालत
English Meaning - a place where trials and legal cases are judged/decided by a judge; court; law court, legal court..

11.backdrop (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पृष्ठभूमि, स्थिति, परिदृश्य
English Meaning - situation, scenario, context.

12.stakeholder (noun)

Hindi Meaning - हितधारक
English Meaning - a person with an interest in something.

13.legislature (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विधान मंडल, परिषद, विधानसभा
English Meaning - law-making body or governing body; parliament, congress, council, assembly.

14.far-reaching (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - दूरगामी, व्यापक, कट्टरपंथी
English Meaning - extensive, profound, radical, comprehensive, sweeping, all-embracing.

15.exercise (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यायाम, गतिविधि
English Meaning - activity.

16.sop (noun)

English Meaning - a conciliatory gift/bribe (given to someone to appease/calm down from making complaints or feeling angry/unhappy).

17.freebie (noun)

English Meaning - a thing that is provided without charge; giveaway, handout.

18.vulnerable (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to a weak/neglected person who is in need of special care/support.

19.body (noun)

English Meaning - association, organization, group, bloc.

20.bypass (verb)

English Meaning - circumvent, avoid, dodge, escape, sidestep.

21.bench (noun)

English Meaning - a court of law with a number of judges.

22.make clear (phrase)

English Meaning - explain, clarify, elucidate.

23.NITI Aayog (noun)

English Meaning - The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs. (Think tank is a panel of experts who provide advice and ideas on political, social or economic issues).

24.Finance Commission (FC) (noun)

English Meaning - It is a Constitutionally mandated body that is at the centre of fiscal federalism. Set up under Article 280 of the Constitution of India, its core responsibility is to evaluate the state of finances of the Union and State Governments, recommend the sharing of taxes between them, lay down the principles determining the distribution of these taxes among States. The first Finance Commission was set up in 1951 and there have been fifteen so far.

25.Law Commission (noun)

English Meaning - After independence in 1947, there had been demand in Parliament and outside for establishing a Central Law Commission to recommend revision and updating of extant laws. The first Law Commission after independence was set up in the year 1955. Subsequent Commissions were constituted from time to time. Usually each Commission is constituted for a term of three years. The Law Commissions have been able to make important contribution towards the progressive development and codification of the laws in the country. To continue the work of legal reforms, Twenty-second Law Commission of India has been constituted on 21st February, 2020 for a period of three years.

26.scepticism (noun)

English Meaning - misgiving, doubt/qualm, distrust, suspicion.

27.disfavour (noun)

English Meaning - disapprove, dislike; be against, object to.

28.manifesto (noun)

English Meaning - (policy) statement, declaration, pronouncement.

29.empty (adjective)

English Meaning - meaningless, valueless, worthless, useless, pointless.

30.populist (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the politicians who claim that they are representing the common/ordinary people.

31.resonate (verb)

English Meaning - resound, reverberate; evoke some feelings/emotions.

32.Solicitor-General (noun)

English Meaning - the second-highest rank for a law officer of the government.

33.distort (verb)

English Meaning - misrepresent, change, alter, falsify, misinterpret.

34.unregulated (adjective)

English Meaning - unrestricted, unchecked, uncontrollable.

35.lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to.

36.address (verb)

English Meaning - tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out.

37.uphold (verb)

English Meaning - confirm, endorse/approve, vindicate/validate.

38.consumer goods (noun)

English Meaning - products that are bought by the customer.

39.on the ground (phrase)

English Meaning - in a situation/place where things are happening really/practically.

40.ground (noun)

English Meaning - reason, cause, basis, rationale, argument, premise, factor, pretext, motive.

41.furtherance (noun)

English Meaning - promotion, advancement, development, furthering/forwarding.

42.Directive Principles (noun)

English Meaning - Part IV of the Constitution of India (Article 36–51) contains the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). These principles aim at ensuring socioeconomic justice to the people and establishing India as a Welfare State.

43.as long as (phrase)

English Meaning - provided that.

44.appropriation (noun)

English Meaning - acquisition, acquiring, obtaining, gaining, securing, procuring, procurement.

45.frame (verb)

English Meaning - plan, devise, orchestrate, engineer, coordinate.

46.regulate (verb)

English Meaning - control, oversee, govern, monitor something (by using rules and regulations).

47.subsequently (adverb)

English Meaning - afterwards, later on, in due course.

48.Model Code of Conduct (MCC) (noun)

English Meaning - a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for conduct of political parties and candidates during elections.

49.stipulation (noun)

English Meaning - clause, condition, specification, requirement.

50.vitiate (verb)

English Meaning - destroy, impair, spoil, ruin.

51.purity (noun)

English Meaning - morality, goodness, righteousness.

52.exert (verb)

English Meaning - apply, use, utilize, deploy (a force/influence/control)

53.undue (adjective)

English Meaning - excessive, extreme, immoderate.

54.influence (noun)

English Meaning - power, authority, sway, leverage, weight.

55.rationale (noun)

English Meaning - motive, reason, motivation, ground.

56.means (noun)

English Meaning - way, method, mode.

57.distinguish (verb)

English Meaning - differentiate, separate, set apart, make distinctive, make different.

58.inducement (noun)

English Meaning - incentive, attraction, encouragement, temptation.

59.obligation (noun)

English Meaning - responsibility, liability, duty, burden.

60.fiscal responsibility (noun)

English Meaning - the act of creating, optimizing and maintaining a balanced budget.

61.fiscal prudence (noun)

English Meaning - cautiousness, carefulness, judgement on fiscal decisions like borrowing, and spending, and managing the fiscal targets.

62.ought to (modal verb)

English Meaning - must, should.

63.invariably (adverb)

English Meaning - always, each time, at all times.

64.back (verb)

English Meaning - support, endorse, sanction, approve of, favour, advocate, promote, uphold, champion.