With such promises to keep

A debate is simmering in Karnataka: About the performance of the "Congress guarantees" that brought the party to power in the state in May last year.

- ADITI PHADNIS

Even as the Congress-led Karnataka government struggles to contain the fallout of a proposed law, now withdrawn, to allocate jobs in the private sector for locals (Kannadigas), another debate is simmering in the background: About the performance of the "Congress guarantees" that brought the party to power in the state in May last year.

These schemes were meant to be a template for the Congress's offering for other states of India and they arose out of internal discussion in the party around the data from the Consumer Pyramid Households Survey (CPHS), conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy and other sources. The data provides significant insights into consumption inequality. "The debate on equity versus growth is well known. Growth was expected to create a trickle-down effect and improve the lives of low-income families.

But growth also tended to perpetuate inequality. What if we could put money in the hands of low-income groups via subsidies and income-topping, which would then consume and their consumption would push the economy to grow," said a former bureaucrat who had participated in the discussion.

This discussion led to the proposal, for instance, that travel mobility for women would not only improve their joining the labour force but also contribute to consumption by adding to family income. A transport subsidy for women was thought to be the answer. Accordingly, the Congress devised the scheme of free travel for women in public-transport buses (Shakti), which turned out to be hugely popular and contributed to paying rich dividends to the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Ninety-two per cent of state transport (the scheme does not apply to deluxe or air conditioned buses) is covered by the scheme.