Time-tested tool to win elections, Modi lets India's subsidy bill surge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allowed his subsidy bill to balloon in the lead up to crucial elections, at the risk of breaching his budget deficit goals.

Although Modi has a reputation for reducing India’s huge subsidy expenditure, data shows he’s missed the chance to rein it in. And as he prepares for state and national elections, subsidy reforms -- a sensitive issue among much of India’s vast electorate -- will be even more difficult in Asia’s No. 3 economy.

India’s food subsidies in the financial year starting April 1 have almost doubled from five years ago, the decline in