INEQUALITY IN INDIA: WHAT'S

THE REAL STORY?

By- ANAIDA KHAN
HARSHITA R
How
unequal is
India?
The question is
simple,answer is
not :
• In India, the
richest 1% own
53% of the
country’s wealth
• the poorer half
jostles for a mere
4.1% of national
wealth
India:
one of
the most
unequal
countries
in the
world
 Why does Inequality matter?

◦ Rising inequality will lead to slower poverty reduction

◦ Undermine the sustainability of economic growth
◦ Compound the inequalities between men and women
◦ drive inequalities in health, education and life chances

A growing body of evidence has also demonstrated

that economic inequality is associated with a range
of health and social problems, such as mental
illness and violent crime. This is true across both
rich and poor countries. Inequality hurts everyone.
What can India do to reduce
inequality?
◦ Progressive taxation : Tax can play a progressive role, or a
regressive one, depending on the policy choices of the
government.
◦ Social spending : how much has a government committed
to spend on education, health and social protection?
The dream of
ending
poverty
if India stops
inequality from
rising further, it
could end extreme
poverty for 90
million people by
2019. If it goes
further and reduces
inequality by 36%,
it could virtually
eliminate extreme
poverty.