Widening Inequality: 1% hold 40% wealth

New Delhi: Inequality in India has skyrocketed since early 2000s, with the income and wealth share of top one per cent population rising to 22.6 per cent and 40.1 per cent, respectively, in 2022-23, according to a working paper.

The paper titled ‘Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj’ said between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration. The paper authored by Thomas Piketty (Paris School of Economics and World Inequality Lab), Lucas Chancel (Harvard Kennedy School and World Inequality Lab) and Nitin Kumar Bharti (New York University and World Inequality Lab). Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration.

“By 2022-23, top 1 per cent income and wealth shares (22.6 per cent and 40.1 per cent) are at their highest historical levels and India’s top 1 per cent income share is among the very highest in the world, higher than even South Africa, Brazil, and the US,” the paper said.

According to the paper, the Indian income tax system might be regressive when viewed from the lens of net wealth. “A restructuring of the tax code to account for both income and wealth, and broad-based public investments in health, education and nutrition are needed to enable the average Indian, and not just the elites, to meaningfully benefit from the ongoing wave of globalisation,” it noted.