Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: World Inequality Lab (WIL) study | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: World Inequality Lab (WIL) study

Posted 21 Mar 2024

2 min read

  • The WIL is a global research center focused on the study of inequality and public policies that promote social, economic, and environmental justice. 

 

  • Key findings of the study:
    • Inequality declined post-independence till the early 1980s, after which it began rising and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s.
    • By the end of 2023, India's richest citizens owned 40.1 percent of the country's wealth.
    • India’s top 1 percent income share is among the very highest in the world, higher than even South Africa, Brazil, and the US.

 

  • Issues with extreme inequality
    • It facilitates the disproportionate influence of wealthy people on society and government leading to plutocracy.
    • Poor people find it more difficult to escape poverty as they do not have the same opportunities.
    • Leads to lower overall economic growth.

 

  • Recommendations given in the study for removing income inequality
    • To improve the quality of economic data.
    • Broad-based public investments in health, education, and nutrition to enable the average Indian.
    • Restructuring of the tax code to account for both income and wealth.
      • A “super tax” of 2% on the net wealth of the wealthiest families can be imposed.
  • Tags :
  • Poverty
  • Income Inequality
  • Wealth Inequality
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