Economic inequality in India – uttamhindu.com

World Economic Forum A 5 per cent tax on India’s 10 richest people could provide enough money to get children back to school, Oxfam International has said in its report on rising economic inequality in India at the WEF annual meeting. It said, ‘Rs 1.79 lakh crore can be raised by imposing a one-time tax on the unrealized gains made by one billionaire Gautam Adani alone between 2017-2021, which will provide employment to more than 50 lakh Indian primary school teachers for a year. enough to give. Titled ‘Survival of the Richest’, the report further stated that if a one-time tax of 2 per cent was imposed on the entire wealth of India’s billionaires, it would save Rs 40,423 crore to feed the malnourished people in the country over the next 3 years. need can be met. According to the report, ‘The amount received from imposing a one-time tax of 5 percent (Rs 1.37 lakh crore) on the country’s 10 richest billionaires is 1.5 times the budget of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Rs 86,200 crore) and the Ministry of AYUSH for 2022-23. is more.’ On the issue of gender inequality, the report said that women workers get only 63 paise for every rupee earned by a male worker. Similarly, there is a difference in the remuneration received by Scheduled Castes and rural workers. Scheduled castes get 55 percent and rural laborers get 50 percent of the wages compared to the wages received by the advanced social class. Oxfam said that a 2.5 percent tax on the top 100 Indian billionaires or a five percent tax on the top 10 Indian billionaires would provide almost the entire amount needed to get children back to school. Oxfam said the report blends qualitative and quantitative information to explore the impact of inequality in India. Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar said, “The country’s marginalized people – Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, women and workers in the informal sector – are victims of a vicious cycle that ensures the survival of the richest.” The poor are paying more taxes, spending more on essential goods and services than the rich, he said. The time has come to tax the rich and ensure that they pay their fair share. Behar urged the Union Finance Minister to introduce progressive tax measures such as wealth tax and inheritance tax. He said that these taxes have historically proved effective in tackling inequality.

According to the report, the richest one percent of the people in India have 40 percent of the total wealth of the country, and the second and the bottom 50 percent of the population have only 3 percent of the total wealth. The report said that the ultra-wealthy in India own an average of 5.1 houses, which is higher than the global average of 4.1 per cent. Also, 37 per cent of Indian ultra-wealthy individuals have invested in primary and secondary homes. This is also higher than the global average of 32 per cent. 84% of India’s ultra-wealthy investable assets are in equity, real estate and bond markets. Of these, the maximum i.e. 34 per cent assets have been invested in the stock market. After that 25 per cent has been invested in commercial property and 16 per cent in the bond market. Globally, the ultra-wealthy individuals have invested the maximum amount i.e. 33 per cent in commercial property. According to Liam Bailey, Head of Global Research at Knight Frank, there will be a change in investment patterns during the coming year with a greater focus on real estate. According to Bailey, ‘In 2023, 69 percent of the ultra-wealthy individuals are expected to increase their wealth. Also, we are expecting a significant change in his portfolio strategy. The search for value opportunities in the real estate sector is playing a much bigger role than in recent years. According to Bailey, ‘the downward pressure on real estate values ​​due to rising interest rates has created an opportunity for private capital investment. This is particularly the case as we enter a new market phase with the stock of best-in-class properties across the residential and commercial markets at historic lows.” In 2023, 100% of the ultra-wealthy individuals in India and 69% of the ultra-wealthy globally expect their wealth to grow. 47% of people in India believe that wealth will increase by more than 10%, while 53% believe that wealth will increase by at least 10%.

Globally, the Indian super-rich have performed better than the super-rich in other countries, and the main reason for this is India’s flexible policies. India was also able to face the global recession due to flexible economic policies. It is a matter of concern that due to increasing economic inequality, where tension increases in the society, crime also increases. The central government will have to give priority to curbing the growing economic inequality. On the other hand, very rich people will have to cooperate with the society and the government at every level to strengthen the country’s infrastructure and basic facilities. Common man can live a normal life only when the foundation of the country is strong and minimum economic protection is received.

– Irwin Khanna (Chief Editor, Dainik Uttam Hindu)