India's Inequality

Since 1990, India’s GDP per capita has increased almost six times – but the upper classes have been the main beneficiaries.

capitalism and corporations that exploit employees at the lower rungs to maximise salaries and dividends for executives and shareholde

According to the Credit Suisse Research Institute, the top 1% of India’s population owns nearly 60% of its wealth, trailing Russia, where the top 1% owns 74%.

The richest 10% of Indians currently own 80% of the country’s wealth. At the other end, the poorer half jostles for a mere 4.1% of national wealth.

Although in terms of non-income indicators of well-being like life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality, sanitation, mean years of schooling, and female literacy India fared better than neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan, around 360 million Indians – or 28% of the population — are still living in conditions of severe poverty.

Increasing wealth concentration is also reflected in income growth. Between 1988 and 2011, the incomes of the poorest 10% of Indians rose by $29, at an increase of 1% per year. In the same period, the income of the richest 10% increased by almost $615, at the rate of 25% per year.

The super-rich can avoid taxes by using innovative schemes to shelter their wealth and manipulate the political system without repercussions.

This impedes the government’s ability to raise revenues and thereby limits social spending on health, education, and employment.  Currently, 3% of GDP goes towards education and only 1.3% towards health.  

Capitalism and corporations that exploit employees at the lower rungs to maximise salaries and dividends for executives and shareholders.