The Extreme Inequality in India, what's the real story?

The World Inequality Report states that the top one percent of the population in India accounts for a fifth of the total national income in 2021, while the bottom half accounts for just 13.1 percent. The report has claimed that India stands apart in terms of income and wealth inequality.

The Extreme Inequality in India

The report warns that the world's total income is set to decline in 2020, with nearly half of that falling in rich countries, while the rest is in low-income and newly emerging countries. According to the report, this decline has been recorded in South and Southeast Asia and especially in India.

The report said, "When India is removed from the analysis, it is found that the income of the bottom half of the world has increased in 2020".

On the situation in India, the report said, "The top ten percent have 57 percent of the income. The top one percent accounts for one percent of the country's total income. And the bottom 50 percent's share has dropped to 13 percent."

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According to this report, the middle class of India is comparatively poorer. They have an average of seven lakh 23 thousand 930 rupees i.e. about 29.5 percent of the total income of the country. At the same time, the average income of the richest one percent is Rs 3 crore 24 lakh 49 thousand 360. The average income of the upper ten percent people is Rs 63 lakh 54 thousand 70.

10% hold 57% of national income

In 2021, the average income of the adult population of India was Rs 2 lakh four thousand 200. The average income of the lower half was estimated at Rs 53 thousand 610. The annual income of the average Indian family was Rs 9 lakh. 83 thousand 10, while more than half of the houses in the lower strata have almost negligible assets (Rs 66 thousand 280).

“While the top 10 percent and top 1 percent account for 57 percent and 22 percent respectively of the total national income, the bottom 50 percent share has fallen to 13 percent. India stands as a poor and very unequal country with a thriving elite,” the report said.

According to the report, India's middle class is relatively poor, with an average wealth of only Rs 7,23,930 or 29.5 percent of the total national income, while the top 10 percent and 1 percent have 65 percent (Rs 63,54,070) and 33 percent. (Rs 3,24,49,360), respectively.

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The report states that the average annual national income of the Indian adult population is Rs 2,04,200 in 2021. The bottom 50 percent earned Rs 53,610, while the top 10 percent earned 20 times more (Rs 11,66,520). The average household wealth in India is Rs 9,83,010, with the bottom 50 percent having almost nothing, 6 percent of the total Rs 66,280 having an average property.

According to the Inequality Report, worldwide inequality today has reached the same level it used to be in the early 20th century when imperialism was at its height. The report says that half of the world's poorest population has almost nothing. The share of this class in the total income of the world is only two percent, while ten percent of the world's rich people have 76 percent of the wealth.

women work income

The Middle East and North Africa are ranked at the top of inequality, while Europe has the lowest inequality. The richest ten percent of Europe accounted for 36 percent of the income, while the richest ten percent of East Asia had 43 percent. In South America, the figure is 55 percent.

The report says that people are getting rich but countries are getting poorer. According to it, “Public sector assets have become near zero and negative in rich countries. That is, all money has gone into private hands. This trend has increased during the Covid crisis as governments have borrowed up to 10-20 percent.”

The report said that based on gender, the share of women in total work income (labour income) was around 30 percent in 1990 and is now less than 35 percent. (The Extreme Inequality in India)

The report also noted that inequalities within countries are now greater than those observed between countries. Also, the gap between the median income of the top 10 percent and the bottom 50 percent of individuals within countries has nearly doubled. "This sharp increase in within-country inequalities means that the world remains particularly unequal today, despite the economic hold and strong growth in emerging countries," the report said.

Since the mid-1980s, deregulation, and liberalization policies have caused the greatest increase in income and wealth inequality in the world, it said. "While the top 1 percent have benefited substantially from economic reforms, growth among low- and middle-income groups has been relatively slow and poverty remains," it says.

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