Publication

This paper examines the financing concerns surrounding the Indian Government’s 2013 National Food Security Bill. The author argues that the fiscal impact of the Bill will depend on the Government’s ability to cut petroleum subsidies and pass higher prices on to consumers at a time close to state elections. He concludes that common perception regards the Bill as a populist step for winning votes and that only time will tell whether this feeling is correct or a result of a lack of faith in the desire of politicians to think beyond electoral gains.