Oxfam International, a confederation of 20 independent charitable organizations that focuses on the alleviation of global poverty, has released a report that reveals the following facts about India’s rising wealth disparity:
The Indian billionaire’s fortunes surged by Rs. 2,200 crore in 2018.
Between 2018 and 2022, India can potentially produce 70 new millionaires per day.
Top 1% Indians got richer by 39% while the wealth for the bottom 50% of the Indian population increased by just 3%.
India’s top 10% population holds 77.4% of the total national wealth. The contrast is even sharper as the top 1% Indians hold 51.53% of the national wealth.
The bottom 60% of the population owns merely 4.8% of this wealth.
Top 9 billionaires hold the same wealth as the bottom 50% of the Indian population.
Let’s have a look at the 9 richest people (not families or houses) in India –
1. Mukesh Ambani
2. Azim Premji
Also Read: Watch: Self-Made Billionaires Of India
6. Dilip Shanghvi
This trend is seen not only in India but also through out the world. Globally, billionaires’ fortunes rose by 12 % in 2018, whereas the poorest half of the world’s population’s wealth decline by 11%.
Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said that concentration of wealth in such a manner is “morally outrageous” and that if such a trend continues, it could lead to a “complete collapse of the social and democratic structure” of India.
Income disparity like this is a characteristic feature of a capitalist country and was less profound when India was overtly a socialist economy.
Where should we trace back to blame this stark difference in wealth- in capitalism vs socialism debate, economic growth vs development debate or should be pit it on the government?
Image Credits: Google Images
Source: NDTV, Scroll.in, Business Insider
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