The rich-poor gap increased in India: During the Corona period, the income of 84% of the families of the country decreased, but billionaires increased from 102 to 142

Posted on 17th Jan 2022 by rohit kumar

During the Corona epidemic, where on the one hand there was a crisis of food and drink in front of the poor in the country, on the other hand, the number of billionaires rich in the country has increased during this period.

 

According to a report by NGO Oxfam India, while the income of 84 percent of households in India declined in 2021, the number of Indian billionaires increased from 102 to 142.

 

Today is the first day of the World Economic Forum 2022. On this occasion, Oxfam India has released the Annual Inequality Survey. According to this, the total wealth of Indian billionaires doubled during the Corona period. Their wealth can be gauged from the fact that the top-10 rich have so much wealth that they can run all the schools and colleges of the country for the next 25 years.

 

45% money is with only 10% of the people

Due to Corona, inequality has increased so much that 10% of the richest people of the country have 45% of the country's wealth. At the same time, 50% of the poor population of the country has only 6% wealth.

 

1% tax will get 17.7 lakh extra oxygen cylinders

The report said that if 1% additional tax is imposed on the top 10% of India's rich people, then the country will get 17.7 lakh extra oxygen cylinders from that money. At the same time, if 1% extra tax is imposed on 98 rich families of the country, then with that money the Ayushman Bharat program can be run for the next seven years. Ayushman Bharat is the largest health insurance program in the world.

 

Wealth equal to 55.5 crore poor people on 98 rich people of the country

According to this economic inequality report, the total wealth of the country's 142 billionaires is $ 719 billion, i.e. 53 lakh crore rupees. The 98 richest people have the same wealth as 555 crores, poor people. This is about $ 657 billion, i.e. 49 lakh crore rupees. The total wealth of these 98 families is about 41% of the total budget of the Government of India.

 

Can spend Rs 7.4 crore daily for 84 years

The report says that even if India's top-10 rich spend $1 million, or Rs 7.4 crore, daily, it will take 84 years for their wealth to be spent. On the other hand, if wealth tax is imposed on the rich of the country, then $ 78.3 billion, i.e. 5.8 lakh crore rupees can be collected. With this money, the government's health budget can increase by 271%.

 

28% of women lost their jobs during the Corona period

Talking about gender, 28% of the job losses in the Corona era are women. This has reduced his total earnings by two-thirds. Regarding the condition of women, it was said that in Budget 2021, the government spent only that much on the Ministry of Women and Child Development, which is not even half of the total wealth of India's bottom-10 millionaires.

 

Budget allocation for education reduced

The Oxfam report said the government's budget allocation for education was cut by 6%, while the budgetary allocation for social security schemes came down to 0.6% from 1.5% of the total Union budget.