India's Political Parties Offer Subsidized Mobile Phones for Votes

India, the world’s largest democracy, will go to polls next year as it struggles to remedy a faltering economy and rising social unrest. What better time for the country’s 1,400-plus registered political parties to ply its 725 million eligible voters with freebies and cheap essentials, rather than real solutions? Here are some examples of what’s on offer:

Mobile Phones

In a bid to return to power for its third straight term, India’s Congress Party, which has led the country’s coalition government since 2004, is wooing voters with mobile phones. The government is launching a 50 billion rupee ($798 million) project to offer subsidized mobile phones to 25 million people in rural regions. Telecom Commission, the top decision-making body within the telecommunications department, has given the go-ahead for the project that will offer mobile phones for just 300 rupees, according to the Economic Times. Read more...