At a time when India dreams of becoming a developed nation and has lofty ambitions as it celebrates its 100th year of independence in 2047, a new study has revealed that. The gap between rich and poor is now getting worseCompared to, british rule era.
The gap between rich and poor in India is now worse than it was during British rule.
Income inequality in India has skyrocketed due to the recent golden age of billionaires, a report has said. new research From the World Inequality Institute. The rate is now the highest in the world, more pronounced than in the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. The group of economists who co-authored the study (including the eminent French economist Thomas Piketty) argued that the current situation has caused: the gap between the rich and the poor In India, the income distribution in the country was more equal. British colonial rule.
271 Indian billionaires own assets worth around $1 trillion
According to the Hurun Institute's 2024 World Wealth List, released earlier this week, the current The total number of billionaires in India has peaked at 271; 94 new billionaires will be added in 2023 alone. Their combined assets amount to nearly $1 trillion, representing 7% of the world's total wealth, the highest number of newly wealthy people in any country outside the United States. Several of India's biggest names, including Sajjan Jindal, Gautam Adani, and Mukesh Ambani, are now mingling with some of the richest people on the planet, including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Also read: India's 21 richest billionaires have more wealth than 700 million Indians
The authors claim that “The billionaire rule of India's modern bourgeoisie is now even more unequal than the British rule of the colonialist powers.”
According to Barclays Research, India is currently hailed as an economy with a GDP growth rate of 8%, with some analysts predicting that India will overtake Germany and Japan to become the world's third largest economy. This statement is especially shocking given the fact that By 2027.
However, the World Inequality Lab study authors reached this conclusion by calculating the proportion of wealth and total income held by India's top 1% of earners. Wealth (or net worth) is the total amount of assets owned by an individual or group, whereas income is the sum of income, interest on savings, investments, and other sources of funds.
To present their findings, the authors compiled national income calculations, wealth tallies, tax tallies, wealthy lists, and surveys on wealth, consumption, and income, TIME said.
Economists examined the annual income tax schedules published by the Indian and British governments since 1922. They found that even during India's highest recorded period of inequality, the top 1% accounted for 20-21% of national income. It took place during the interwar colonial period from the 1930s to India's independence in 1947. Currently, 22.6% of the national income is owned by her 1% of people.
Trends in wealth inequality have also been monitored by economists since 1961, when the Indian government launched a large-scale household survey of assets, debts, and assets. Combining this study with data from the Forbes Billionaires Index, the authors found that 40.1% of India's total wealth is owned by the top 1% of earners.
Their combined net worth as a share of India's net national income “jumped from less than 1% in 1991 to a whopping 25% in 2022” over this period, the authors say. This is because the number of billionaires in India has increased from one in 1991 to one in 2022. 162 people in 2022.
Also read; List of 10 poorest countries in the world in terms of GDP
Income inequality has widened since the BJP came to power in 2014.
The report also Since the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party first came to power in 2014, there has been a particularly marked increase in inequality. According to the report, large-scale political and economic reforms over the past decade have “increased ties between large corporations and the government, creating an authoritarian government with centralized decision-making power.” They claim this could “foster disproportionate influence” on political institutions and society.
They also said that ordinary Indians, not just elites, could benefit from globalization if the government increased public spending on nutrition, health care and education. The authors further argue that a 2% “super tax” on the net worth of India's richest 167 households in 2022-2023 would generate revenue equivalent to 0.5% of the country's income, and that “such investments This will create valuable fiscal space to promote the development of ”
However, the authors warn that unless the government makes such investments, India could decline towards plutocracy.
The authors argue that economic data used in India to study inequality, even though India was once a model for postcolonial countries in maintaining the health of various critical institutions. It is pointed out that even the quality of the products has deteriorated recently. According to a report in TIME, The authors also argue that for whatever reason, income and wealth inequality in India needs to be closely monitored and addressed.
Also read: 15 wealthy people who decided not to leave inheritances to their children
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