India, March 19 -- Lawmakers need to deliberate on issues of investment and freebies as the country's growth hinges on capital expenditure, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Wednesday. He called for an urgent need for a national policy so that government investments in any form are used in a structured manner for the larger good.

"On placatory mechanisms, on appeasement, which is often known as freebies, this House needs to deliberate....Because the country grows only with capex being available. The electoral process is such that these have become electoral allurements and thereafter the governments that came in saddle found themselves very uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that they wanted to revisit their thoughts," he said....