Why are India’s poorest people being left behind?
1 year, 10 months ago

Why are India’s poorest people being left behind?

Al Jazeera  

On Tuesday, February 7 at 19:30 GMT: India’s BJP-led government says its final budget before a general election in 2024 will spur economic growth, but opposition politicians are among critics who say it fails to address ever-deepening income and wealth inequality highlighted by anti-poverty groups. But it does not include the re-introduction of a wealth tax on the rich that campaigners say would dramatically improve the lives of poor people in the world’s fifth-largest economy. Oxfam India recently called for action to shrink the huge gap between India’s richest and poorest people, as it points to a major rise in the number of Indian billionaires between 2020 and 2022. In this episode of The Stream, we are joined by: Akshay Tarfe, @akshaytarfe Media Specialist, Oxfam India oxfamindia.org Jyotsna Jha, @CbpsBlr Director, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies cbps.in Ajit Jha, @AjitJha82 Professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development isid.org.in

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History of this topic

‘India must impose more taxes on super-rich’: Economist Thomas Piketty as top 1% hold over 40% of nation’s wealth
1 week, 2 days ago

‘India must impose more taxes on super-rich’: Economist Thomas Piketty as top 1% hold over 40% of nation’s wealth

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI - India should do more to tax its super-rich given its high levels of inequality, French economist and author Thomas Piketty said on Friday. "India should be active in taxing the rich," Piketty said at an event organised by Delhi-based think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries and the Delhi School of Economics. He said India …

Rahul Gandhi slams BJP: Taxing the poor, waiving billionaires' massive debts
2 weeks, 2 days ago

Rahul Gandhi slams BJP: Taxing the poor, waiving billionaires' massive debts

India Today  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said while the Narendra Modi government is hiking the rates of the income tax and other taxes for the common man, it is giving concessions to billionaires, and claimed that it is set to introduce another slab of the GST to burden people. Gandhi said the Congress will continue to oppose this "injustice" of …

Number of millionaires leaving India will reduce in 2024: Report
6 months ago

Number of millionaires leaving India will reduce in 2024: Report

Hindustan Times  

India will lose fewer millionaires to migration in 2024, compared with the previous two years, according to The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024. Representational Around 4,300 millionaires are likely to exit the country in 2024 compared with 5,100 in the previous year, according to the report. The UAE is likely to be the largest beneficiary, gaining 6,800 millionaires in …

Inheritance tax: An economic blunder
7 months, 1 week ago

Inheritance tax: An economic blunder

New Indian Express  

This has also been protested by small businesses and farmer’s unions, such as the National Farmers Union, that has been advocating for the simplification of the estate tax. Impact on Entrepreneurship and Wealth Acquisition in India The concept of inheritance tax would be suicidal for a country like India, as there is already certain amount of discontent amongst the honest …

Should India take from the rich, give the poor? A new election flashpoint
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Should India take from the rich, give the poor? A new election flashpoint

Al Jazeera  

As India enters the second half of its giant election, wealth distribution has emerged as a central campaign faultline — and a battering ram for PM Modi to target the opposition. In an April 24 television interview, Sam Pitroda, an adviser to the Nehru-Gandhi family and head of the overseas wing of the Congress party, added another twist to the …

Make the poor richer without making the rich poorer
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Make the poor richer without making the rich poorer

The Hindu  

Since the Congress party released its election manifesto on April 5, the word ‘redistribution’ has dominated the election discourse. Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleges that the Congress’ manifesto promises to ‘redistribute’ wealth by taking away people’s gold, mangalsutras, imposing new taxes and giving it to poor minorities. ‘Fix the system’ The idea of a wealth tax to extract from the …

Economic redistribution: Who’s afraid of progressive taxes?
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Economic redistribution: Who’s afraid of progressive taxes?

Live Mint  

India’s political debate on inheritance tax and wealth tax has led to fears of tax terrorism, with the incumbent National Democratic Alliance using the issue to attack the principal opposition party, Congress. On the other hand, tax data from the World Inequality Database suggests that both income and wealth inequality in India are at their highest levels ever since records …

Inheritance Tax, Wealth Redistribution Will Push India Away From Growth Path
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Inheritance Tax, Wealth Redistribution Will Push India Away From Growth Path

News 18  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paused in the midst of his hectic campaigning to give a comprehensive TV interview to News18. In another interview given to a national daily, Prime Minister Modi called the idea of redistribution of wealth “a clear example of Maoist thinking and ideology” and a “sinister plan” which was “a recipe for disaster”. Prime Minister Modi also …

Poverty and inequality debate resurfaces in election season
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Poverty and inequality debate resurfaces in election season

Hindustan Times  

As Indians heads to the poll this season, a new chapter is being written in a very old debate about poverty and inequality in India. This debate has been stirred up by the release of new data from a government- The economist Maitreesh Ghatak spoke about the resurgent debate over poverty and inequality on last week’s episode of Grand Tamasha, …

Mint Primer | Redistribution: Can it benefit India’s poor?
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Mint Primer | Redistribution: Can it benefit India’s poor?

Live Mint  

Theoretically, redistribution of wealth is a good way to bring down economic inequality. Bharatiya Janata Party has portrayed this idea as an attempt by the Congress Party to grab people’s wealth and redistribute it, especially to minorities. According to a study published by The World Inequality Lab, richest 1% of Indians now own as much as 40% of the country’s …

‘Wealth Redistribution’: Rahul’s Congress Stuck in a Time Warp, Treading the Disastrous Mao Path - News18
7 months, 3 weeks ago

‘Wealth Redistribution’: Rahul’s Congress Stuck in a Time Warp, Treading the Disastrous Mao Path - News18

News 18  

The tragedy of the Congress is that the more Bharat changes with time, the more it remains stuck in a time warp. So, as the Congress currently finds itself on the back foot on the issue of ‘wealth redistribution’, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it an election issue, the party could have done well to recall the …

Towards a less poor and more equal country
8 months ago

Towards a less poor and more equal country

The Hindu  

In March, World Inequality Lab, a global research centre focused on inequality and public policies, published a working paper titled, ‘Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj’. It states that “the ‘Billionaire Raj’ headed by India’s modern bourgeoisie is now more unequal than the British Raj headed by the colonialist forces.” Inequality undermines both …

Patralekha Chatterjee | Why isn’t rising inequality turning into a poll issue?
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Patralekha Chatterjee | Why isn’t rising inequality turning into a poll issue?

Deccan Chronicle  

The view from the penthouse and the pavement is staggeringly different. By 2022-23, the top one per cent income and wealth shares are at their highest historical levels; India’s top one per cent income share is among the very highest in the world, higher than even South Africa, Brazil, and the United States, notes the paper, titled “Income and Wealth …

Inequality rising since 2000s, top one per cent in India holds 40 per cent wealth: study
9 months ago

Inequality rising since 2000s, top one per cent in India holds 40 per cent wealth: study

The Hindu  

Published : Mar 23, 2024 13:17 IST - 5 MINS READ Inequality in India has skyrocketed since the early 2000s, with the income and wealth share of the top one per cent of the population rising to 22.6 per cent and 40.1 per cent, respectively, in 2022-23, according to a working paper. The paper authored by Thomas Piketty, Lucas Chancel, …

Inequality report renews question on growth model
9 months ago

Inequality report renews question on growth model

New Indian Express  

India’s income and wealth inequality has touched historic peaks, making it one of the world’s most unequal countries, according to the World Inequality Lab’s new working paper. Authored by renowned economists including Nobel laureate Thomas Piketty, the report estimates the richest citizens, or the top 1 percent, own 40.1 percent of the country’s wealth and 22.6 percent of the total …

Inequality worsening in India with share of top 1% in total income at new high, says new paper co-authored by Piketty
9 months ago

Inequality worsening in India with share of top 1% in total income at new high, says new paper co-authored by Piketty

Hindustan Times  

The share of the top 1% of Indians in total income and wealth is expected to have reached its highest ever level in 2022-23, according to a working paper published by the World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics. The working paper by four economics researchers – Nitin Kumar Bharti, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, and Anmol Somanchi – …

A cap on capitalism: Is it time for India to debate one?
9 months ago

A cap on capitalism: Is it time for India to debate one?

Live Mint  

Growing income disparity in an economy like India, with over 800 million people deemed in need of free food from the government, does not augur well for its developmental ambitions. An income cap could possibly curb excessive wealth accumulation among the ultra-rich and address extreme income disparity. Any drastic measure like the 2016 demonetization to cap income or wealth could …

Terms of Trade | Will HCES findings change politics in India?
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Terms of Trade | Will HCES findings change politics in India?

Hindustan Times  

When the government publishes the data for the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, India will see a big debate on consumption levels, inequality and poverty. From the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the National Food Security Act under the United Progressive Alliance era to the Narendra Modi government significantly expanding the scope of asset transfer programmes such as …

What should India do to become a wealthy nation by 2047?
10 months, 3 weeks ago

What should India do to become a wealthy nation by 2047?

The Hindu  

In the first session of The Hindu Lit Fest 2024, N. Ravi, Chairman of Kasturi and Sons Limited; Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; Sanjay Kaul, development policy analyst and former IAS officer; and T.N. Along with inclusive growth, you also need the development of …

India among top countries with high income, wealth inequality: UNDP report
1 year, 1 month ago

India among top countries with high income, wealth inequality: UNDP report

Live Mint  

India has emerged among top countries with high income and wealth inequality but the share of the population living in multidimensional poverty fell from 25 to 15 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the UNDP said in a new report. Despite these successes, poverty remains persistently concentrated in states that are home to 45 per cent of the country's population …

PM Modi says 13.5 crore Indians rose above poverty line in last 5 years
1 year, 4 months ago

PM Modi says 13.5 crore Indians rose above poverty line in last 5 years

Live Mint  

New Delhi: A staggering 13.50 crore Indians have risen above the poverty line in the past five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday quoting a recent NITI Aayog report. Speaking at the Madhya Pradesh Rozgar Mela, the prime minister said, “When decisions are made with positive thinking, right intention, and full integrity, the whole environment gets filled with …

Why are the rich leaving India?
1 year, 6 months ago

Why are the rich leaving India?

Live Mint  

India is expected to lose 6,500 high net-worth individuals, worth $1 million or more this year, according to Henley and Partners, an advisory firm on investment-linked visas. Last year, India lost 7,500 HNWIs, the 3rd highest after China and war-wrecked Russia. The report said “these outflows are not particularly concerning as India produces far more new millionaires than it loses …

Quick edit: Exit of the rich
1 year, 6 months ago

Quick edit: Exit of the rich

Live Mint  

The latest estimates of the number of rich Indians leaving the country don’t have much for India to cheer about. According to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023, as many as 6,500 high net-worth individuals are expected to leave India this year. Though down from 7,500 in 2022, this would still be the world’s second highest, after China, which …

Income tax cuts, factory perks: What to watch for in Budget 2023
1 year, 10 months ago

Income tax cuts, factory perks: What to watch for in Budget 2023

Live Mint  

India’s budget on Wednesday will test the government’s resolve to stay fiscally prudent as expectations of lower taxes, wider social security net and further boost to production gather steam before national elections. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may tweak income-tax slabs to provide relief to the nation’s vast middle class and increase spend on the poor through programs such as rural …

Budget 2023: Tax Cuts To Factory Incentives. Here's What To Watch For In Modi Govt's Final Full-Year Budget
1 year, 10 months ago

Budget 2023: Tax Cuts To Factory Incentives. Here's What To Watch For In Modi Govt's Final Full-Year Budget

ABP News  

The Union Budget, which will be tabled on Wednesday, will test the government’s resolve to stay fiscally prudent as expectations of lower taxes, wider social security net, and further boost to production gain steam before general elections in 2024. According to Bloomberg, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may tweak income-tax slabs to provide relief to the nation’s vast middle class and …

The wealth tax India should learn to use
1 year, 11 months ago

The wealth tax India should learn to use

Hindustan Times  

In recent years, there has been one constant in the run-up to the Union Budget: The demand for a wealth tax in India. Since changes in wealth are harder to track compared to changes in income, tax authorities often struggle to detect evasion in wealth taxes. Across East Asia, governments have been able to capture rising land prices through a …

India’s richest 1 per cent own more than 40 per cent of total wealth: Oxfam
1 year, 11 months ago

India’s richest 1 per cent own more than 40 per cent of total wealth: Oxfam

The Hindu  

Published : Jan 16, 2023 15:59 IST The richest one per cent in India now own more than 40 per cent of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 per cent of wealth, a new study showed on January 16. Releasing the India supplement of its annual inequality report on the first …

Taxing India’s Richest By 5% Can Bring ‘All Children Back To School’: Oxfam
1 year, 11 months ago

Taxing India’s Richest By 5% Can Bring ‘All Children Back To School’: Oxfam

News 18  

If Indian billionaires are taxed ‘once’ at 2 per cent on their entire wealth, the government can receive funding support for their nutrition program for ‘the next three years’. With 102 in 2020 to 166 in 2022, the combined wealth of India’s 100 richest has touched USD 660 billion and can fund the entire Union Budget for more than 18 …

India\'s richest 1% own more than 40% of total wealth: Oxfam
1 year, 11 months ago

India\'s richest 1% own more than 40% of total wealth: Oxfam

Deccan Chronicle  

Davos: The richest one per cent in India now own more than 40 per cent of the country's total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 per cent of wealth, a new study showed on Monday. Releasing the India supplement of its annual inequality report on the first day of the World Economic Forum Annual …

India's richest 1 per cent own more than 40 per cent of total wealth: Oxfam
1 year, 11 months ago

India's richest 1 per cent own more than 40 per cent of total wealth: Oxfam

Firstpost  

Davos: The richest one per cent in India now own more than 40 per cent of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 per cent of wealth, a new study showed on Monday. Releasing the India supplement of its annual inequality report on the first day of the World Economic Forum Annual …

India's richest 1% own more than 40% of total wealth: Oxfam
1 year, 11 months ago

India's richest 1% own more than 40% of total wealth: Oxfam

The Hindu  

The richest 1% in India now own more than 40% of the country's total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3% of wealth, a new study showed on Monday. Releasing the India supplement of its annual inequality report on the first day of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, rights group Oxfam International …

Opposition pounces on Hosabale’s comments on wealth inequality to attack government
2 years, 2 months ago

Opposition pounces on Hosabale’s comments on wealth inequality to attack government

The Hindu  

Latching onto RSS national general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement on the state of Indian economy, the Opposition parties attacked the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, blaming it for the increasing wealth gap in the country. Mr. Hosabale while speaking at a webinar organised by the RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch on Sunday had said, “Even when India has managed …

It\'s time BJP wakes up to people\'s woes, says Kumaraswamy
2 years, 2 months ago

It\'s time BJP wakes up to people\'s woes, says Kumaraswamy

Deccan Chronicle  

BENGALURU: Endorsing the views expressed by organising secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Dattareya Hosabale that economic inequality, poverty and unemployment are dangerous for the country, Janata Dal Secular leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday said economic inequality in the country is a black dot when the country is celebrating its Amrit Mahotsav of country’s Independence. “People’s frustration …

India is a rich country with poor population facing issues like starvation, unemployment: Gadkari
2 years, 2 months ago

India is a rich country with poor population facing issues like starvation, unemployment: Gadkari

The Hindu  

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said even as India has emerged as the world's fifth largest economy and although the country is rich, its population is poor, facing issues like starvation, unemployment, casteism, untouchability and inflation. Our country is rich, but the population is poor facing starvation, unemployment, poverty, inflation, casteism, untouchability and other factors that are not good …

India is a rich country with poor population facing issues like starvation: Gadkari
2 years, 2 months ago

India is a rich country with poor population facing issues like starvation: Gadkari

Deccan Chronicle  

NAGPUR: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said even as India has emerged as the world's fifth largest economy and although the country is rich, its population is poor, facing issues like starvation, unemployment, casteism, untouchability and inflation. Our country is rich, but the population is poor facing starvation, unemployment, poverty, inflation, casteism, untouchability and other factors that are not …

Number Theory: How rich are India’s richest – and how poor are the rest?
2 years, 9 months ago

Number Theory: How rich are India’s richest – and how poor are the rest?

Hindustan Times  

The scourge of wealth inequality is a global phenomenon. In a recently released working paper “The sky and the stratosphere: concentrated wealth in India during the lost decade”, we studied the changes in the household wealth distribution between 2012 and 2018. Official data suggests that the Gini coefficient of per adult household wealth in India fell from 0.718 in 2012 …

Budget 2022: India may boost spending with near-record debt
2 years, 10 months ago

Budget 2022: India may boost spending with near-record debt

Live Mint  

India, which is set to regain the world’s fastest-growing major economy title, will likely prioritize growth over fiscal consolidation by boosting spending, according to economists surveyed ahead of Tuesday’s presentation of the nation’s federal budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will probably increase the budget by about 14% year-on-year to 39.6 trillion rupees in the fiscal year beginning April, according to …

Most Indians want tax on the rich, top firms
2 years, 10 months ago

Most Indians want tax on the rich, top firms

Deccan Chronicle  

Chennai: More than 80 per cent of Indians support a tax on the rich and corporations who earned record profits during the pandemic, a nationwide survey conducted ahead of the Budget by Fight Inequality Alliance India said. The study had said that an annual wealth tax in India would raise $78.3 billion a year with a 2 per cent tax …

What should the government do to address deepening inequality?
2 years, 10 months ago

What should the government do to address deepening inequality?

Business Standard  

As the Budget season comes around, we’re again hearing a lot about India’s inequality problem. In the latest round of the ICE 360 Survey 2022, conducted by the People Research on India’s Consumer Economy, it was found that the annual income of the poorest 20% of Indian households -- which was constantly rising since 1995-- plunged 53% in the pandemic …

Number of Indian billionaires rose to 142 in 2021
2 years, 11 months ago

Number of Indian billionaires rose to 142 in 2021

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: The number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142, while 84 per cent of households in the country suffered a decline in their income in 2021, which was also a year marked by tremendous loss of life and livelihoods, according to non profit Oxfam India's latest report published on Monday. It indicates that the collective wealth of …

The cold truth about India’s income inequality
2 years, 11 months ago

The cold truth about India’s income inequality

The Hindu  

The latest edition of the World Inequality Report has confirmed that the world continues to sprint down the path of inequality. “Global multimillionaires have captured a disproportionate share of global wealth growth over the past several decades: the top 1% took 38% of all additional wealth accumulated since the mid-1990s, whereas the bottom 50% captured just 2% of it.” India’s …

Asset ownership data a stark reminder of inequality
3 years, 3 months ago

Asset ownership data a stark reminder of inequality

New Indian Express  

A National Sample Survey report on ownership of assets has revealed that about 10% of Indians own over 50% of the total assets, with the skew greater in urban areas. This government survey falls more or less in line with reports prepared by NGOs and other agencies, which have stressed that while poverty is declining and growth opportunities have increased, …

Billionaires Like Ambani Got Richer Amid COVID, Poor Poorer: Oxfam
3 years, 10 months ago

Billionaires Like Ambani Got Richer Amid COVID, Poor Poorer: Oxfam

The Quint  

The report said: "Worldwide, billionaires' wealth increased by a staggering $3.9 trillion between 18 March and 31 December, 2020. at the same time it is estimated that the total number of people living in poverty could have increased by between 200 million and 500 million.” Oxfam also reportedly said that the increase in the wealth, since the coronavirus crisis began, …

Wealth Earned by 100 Richest Indians During Pandemic Can Give 13.8 crore Poorest Rs 94,000 Each: Report
3 years, 10 months ago

Wealth Earned by 100 Richest Indians During Pandemic Can Give 13.8 crore Poorest Rs 94,000 Each: Report

News 18  

India’s 100 top billionaires have seen their fortunes increase by Rs 12,97,822 crore since March last year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and this amount is enough to give 13.8 crore poorest Indians a cheque for Rs 94,045 each. ”India’s 100 billionaires have seen their fortunes increase by Rs 12,97,822 crores since March last year which is enough …

Wealth amassed by 100 richest Indians during pandemic can give 13.8 cr poorest Rs 94k each: Oxfam
3 years, 10 months ago

Wealth amassed by 100 richest Indians during pandemic can give 13.8 cr poorest Rs 94k each: Oxfam

India TV News  

India's 100 top billionaires have seen their fortunes increase by Rs 12,97,822 crore since March last year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and this amount is enough to give 13.8 crore poorest Indians a cheque for Rs 94,045 each. "India's 100 billionaires have seen their fortunes increase by Rs 12,97,822 crores since March last year which is enough …

Indian billionaires increased their wealth by 35% during the lockdown, says Oxfam report
3 years, 10 months ago

Indian billionaires increased their wealth by 35% during the lockdown, says Oxfam report

The Hindu  

Indian billionaires increased their wealth by 35% during the lockdown to ₹ 3 trillion, ranking India after U.S., China, Germany, Russia and France. Out of these, the rise in fortunes for the top 100 billionaires since the lockdown in March is enough to give every one of the 138 million poorest Indian people a cheque for ₹94,045 each, according to …

Tax the Super Rich in India to Raise Resources to Fight Covid-19, Says Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz
4 years, 2 months ago

Tax the Super Rich in India to Raise Resources to Fight Covid-19, Says Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz

News 18  

Kolkata: American economist and Nobel laureate Joseph E Stigliz on Monday advocated taxing the superrich class in India to raise resources for fighting theCOVID-19 pandemic, if the government fails to pool in the required funds. "Funds should be targeted at high-impact areas rather than low-impact ones, and if you can't get resources, raise taxes as you have a lot of …

Explained: How a raging pandemic is widening India's wealth gap
4 years, 3 months ago

Explained: How a raging pandemic is widening India's wealth gap

India Today  

Ever since India gained Independence, the country has traversed a wave of ups and downs to finally become a global powerhouse over the last five years. In India, the wealth gap has been rising sharply during the ongoing pandemic as previous levels of income inequality were already high in the country. A January 2020 study by rights group Oxfam India …

India's Richest 1% Seeks to Maintain Wealth Share, While Millions Struggle to Climb Out of Poverty
6 years, 11 months ago

India's Richest 1% Seeks to Maintain Wealth Share, While Millions Struggle to Climb Out of Poverty

The Quint  

The Oxfam survey has released its annual report on wealth distribution, highlighting the stark wealth gap between the 1% and the rest of the population. India's richest 1 percent holds 58% of the country's wealth, with their wealth increasing by over Rs 20.9 lakh crore in 2017. This indicates that the wealth of the richest 1 percent is disproportionately high …

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