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VOL. 5, ISSUE 1 (2023)
Welfare policy in the era of neoliberalism: A comparative analysis of the Indian welfare model before and after 1990
Authors
Prem Bahadur Manjhi
Abstract
The study aims to examine and analyse welfare
programs from the period of independence and subsequent adoption of neoliberal
policies in India. The evolution of welfare policy in India reflects broader
global economic changes, particularly the emergence of neoliberalism in the
1990s. This study does a comparative analysis of the Indian welfare model
before and after 1990, highlighting the substantial changes induced by economic
liberalisation. Before 1990, India's welfare system was primarily based on a state-centric
socialist model, prioritising universal access to essential services such as
food, healthcare, and employment. Welfare was seen as a basic right of
citizenship, shown by early flagship programs such as the Public Distribution
System and rural employment projects (Dreze and Sen 2002: 70) [15].
Post-1990, the
implementation of neoliberal economic policies—characterized by privatisation,
fiscal austerity, and market deregulation (Harvey 2005: 5) [29]—reconfigured welfare assistance into a system
of targeted, conditional benefits. Initiatives such as the Targeted Public
Distribution System (TPDS) and Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) exemplify this
paradigm shift. The persistent existence of crucial rights-based legislations
like MGNREGA (2005) and NFSA (2013) illustrates a hybrid welfare model that
harmonises neoliberal imperatives with social rights (Chatterjee 2004: 55) [10]. This study argues
that neoliberal reforms have fragmented the welfare system, leading to novel
exclusions while maintaining selective inclusions for politically powerful
factions. The data highlights a notable paradox: While India's economy rapidly
grew after liberalisation, the breadth of social services contracted and became
more conditional, disproportionately affecting marginalised populations (Jha
2018: 122) [30]. This study is very important because it
gives an organised way to compare Indian aid in two different times. It
concludes that India's current welfare system is neither a complete decline of
the state nor a complete takeover by neoliberalism. Instead, it is a
complicated, contested space where old vows to social justice live alongside
new market logics in an uncomfortable way. It is still very important for
democracy to think about benefits in terms of more than just economy and real
fairness. This study also talks about and examines the years from 2014 to 2023,
after the NDA government took office.
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Pages:108-119
How to cite this article:
Prem Bahadur Manjhi "Welfare policy in the era of neoliberalism: A comparative analysis of the Indian welfare model before and after 1990". International Journal of Sociology and Political Science, Vol 5, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 108-119
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