Freebie culture hurting economic growth, must end: L&T chairman A M Naik

Developing infrastructure should be the govt's top priority, says L&T chairman

Competition among political parties to offer freebies was depriving India’s infrastructure sector of government funding and hampering economic growth, L&T Group Chairman A M Naik said on Sunday in Anand, where his alma mater Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya honoured him as BVM Ratna.  

"If we look at large infrastructure projects under construction, most of them are either funded by Japan (Japan International Cooperation Agency or Jica) or World Bank. These projects should be ideally funded by governments. But state governments are diverting their funds to offer freebies like electricity and food. Developing infrastructure should be the governments’ top priority if we have