In 1986–87 India spent over Rs 37 billion in food and fertiliser subsidies, which was over 1.7 per cent of GDP, and over Rs 59 billion on social sectors, especially health and education.2 3 Yet, very little of the money allocated under various schemes was reaching the intended beneficiaries. A few months later, Rajiv Gandhi toured Rajasthan. The story was not very different there, or in the other states he visited. Over 40 per cent of India’s population was living below the poverty line. The reality was grim. And Rajiv Gandhi put it succinctly: ‘Out of Rs 100 allocated to an antipoverty
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