Why is the gap between affluent and poor rising in India?

India is a nation renowned for its variety. This place has it all: golden desert, blue sea, lush green valleys, and high mountains. However, inequality is also concealed among this diversity; some people are extremely wealthy, while others are not. Although the wealth of India's billionaires is increasing rapidly, a vast number of people are still living in poverty. Without a question, India's economy is expanding quickly. India's economy is among the fastest expanding in the world, according to the World Bank. India's GDP is predicted to increase by 7.3% between 2023 and 2024. However, not all 140 crore people in the nation are equally impacted by this change. The wealth gap between the rich and the poor keeps growing. Even though India's per capita income is constantly rising, poverty is still a major issue there.

The wealth and poverty divide is widening.

There is a growing wealth disparity in the nation. Only 1% of the population held 33% of the nation's wealth in 2000, according to Oxfam International's Annual Inequality Report. 40% of the nation's wealth will be held by 1% of the wealthy by 2022. This implies that nearly half of India's total wealth is owned by a small number of the wealthiest citizens. According to the survey, the combined wealth of the top 100 earners in the nation is 660 billion dollars, or almost 55 lakh crores. During the Corona outbreak, the lockdown caused the labor of millions of people to stop, but it also considerably enhanced the fortune of the wealthy.

Between april 2020 and november 2022, there was a 121% growth in the wealth of the nation's billionaires. Every day, his wealth grew by an additional Rs 3608 crore. In addition, there were 166 billionaires at that time, up from 102. The impact of inequality on India's social and economic growth is significant. Poverty, starvation, malnutrition, and sickness are all made worse by inequality. Access to healthcare and education is hampered by inequality. Social unrest and criminality are also encouraged by this enormous wealth and poverty disparity.