The richest 1 percent in India cornered 73 percent of the wealth generated in the country last year, a new survey showed today, presenting a worrying picture of rising income inequality.
Besides, 67 crore Indians comprising the population’s poorest half saw their wealth rise by just 1 percent, as per the survey released by the international rights group Oxfam hours before the start of the annual congregation of the rich and powerful from across the world in this resort town.
The situation appears even grimmer globally, where 82 percent of the wealth generated last year worldwide went to the 1 percent, while 3.7 billion people that account for the poorest half of population saw no increase in their wealth.
The annual Oxfam survey is keenly watched and is discussed in detail at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting where rising income and gender inequality is among the key talking points for the world leaders.
Last year’s survey had shown that India’s richest 1 percent held a huge 58 percent of the country’s total wealth — higher than the global figure of about 50 percent. This year’s survey also showed that the wealth of India’s richest 1 percent increased by over Rs 20.9 lakh crore during 2017 — an amount equivalent to the total budget of the central government in 2017-18, Oxfam India said.
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“2017 saw an unprecedented increase in the number of billionaires, at a rate of one every two days. Billionaire wealth has risen by an average of 13 percent a year since 2010 — six times faster than the wages of ordinary workers, which have risen by a yearly average of just 2 percent,” it said.
In India, it will take 941 years for a minimum wage worker in rural India to earn what the top paid executive at a leading Indian garment firm earns in a year, the study found. In the US, it takes slightly over one working day for a CEO to earn what an ordinary worker makes in a year, it added.
Citing results of the global survey of 120,000 people surveyed in 10 countries, Oxfam said it demonstrates a groundswell of support for action on inequality and nearly two-thirds of all respondents think the gap between the rich and the poor needs to be urgently addressed.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the WEF meeting in Davos, Oxfam India urged the Indian government to ensure that the country’s the economy works for everyone and not just the fortunate few.
It asked the government to promote inclusive growth by encouraging labor-intensive sectors that will create more jobs; investing in agriculture, and effectively implementing the social protection schemes that exist.
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