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India’s rich list and inequality

prasad1

Active member
The rapid increase in the wealth of the very rich is a sign of the economy’s health, but we can’t afford to ignore the widening disparity either

The Hurun Research Institute of London produced its seventh Barclays Hurun India Rich List recently. Such a list has been compiled every year since 2012. These are India’s top entrepreneurs and business owners, and not politicians. Their wealth is either inherited, or they are self-made. As the Hurun Institute says, estimating wealth is as much an art as a science. There is no authentic, government-certified account of people’s wealth. Even income data is hard to come by, since only about five per cent of Indians file their income-tax returns and disclose their incomes.


As per the Hurun report, as of July 2018, India has 831people with a wealth of Rs 1,000 crore or more. This number has more than doubled in the past two years; it was 339 in 2016. The number one person on this list is Mukesh Ambani, with an estimated wealth of Rs 3.7 lakh crore, which is 44 per cent higher than last year. The average wealth of the 831individuals is Rs 5,900 crore, and the average wealth of the top 10 is a staggering Rs 69,400 crore.


India’s income and wealth inequality (two different things) are both rising. Some economists believe this is not a worry, unlike in the USA, UK or Europe. The income and wealth gap in those countries is what led to outcomes like Brexit and the election of President Trump. But in India, “we must focus on high growth and income generation, and not inequality”, they say. Not quite. Widening inequality engenders a feeling of being “left out”, a lack of equal opportunity, and a suspicion that some are getting ahead by “crooked means”. It may also lead to an increase in corruption, social tension and political instability.



Eventually, too much inequality itself will cause a GDP slowdown and investment drought. Hence, a certain amount of redistribution and a focus on the universal provision of quality health and primary education and other public goods become imperative. Otherwise, even the Hurun Rich List people may start to migrate out of India.

https://punemirror.indiatimes.com/columns/columnists/ajit-ranade/indias-rich-list-and-inequality/articleshow/66186198.cms
 

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