New Delhi: The number of Indian billionaires has risen from 102 to 142, while 84% of households in the country have suffered a drop in income in 2021, which has also been a year marked by huge losses in life and death. livelihoods, according to non-profits in the latest Oxfam India report released on Monday.
The ‘Inequality Kills’ report precedes the Davos agenda of the World Economic Forum. It says the collective wealth of India’s 100 richest people hit an all-time high of Rs 57.3 lakh crore in 2021.
In India, during the pandemic (March 2020 to November 30, 2021), the wealth of billionaires increased from Rs 23.14 lakh crore to Rs 53.16 lakh crore.
It is estimated that more than 4.6 million Indians fell into extreme poverty in 2020 (nearly half of the world’s new poor according to the United Nations).
India’s high wealth inequality is the result of an economic system rigged in favor of the super-rich over the poor and marginalized, according to the report.
He advocates a 1% surcharge on the richest 10% of India’s population to fund measures to tackle inequality such as greater investment in school education, universal health care and social security benefits. such as maternity leave, paid vacation and pension for all Indians.
“The ‘Inequality Kills’ briefing shows how deeply unequal our economic system is and how it not only fuels inequality but also poverty. We urge the Government of India to commit to an economic system that creates a more egalitarian and sustainable,” said Amitabh. Behar, CEO of Oxfam India, said in a statement.
Additionally, Behar said Oxfam’s global briefing highlights the harsh reality of inequality that contributes to the death of at least 21,000 people every day, or one person every four seconds.
Additionally, the pandemic has pushed gender parity back from 99 to now 135. Women collectively lost Rs 59.11 lakh crore in income in 2020, with 1.3 crore fewer women in work now than in 2019, according to the report.
“Never has it been more important to start righting the wrongs of this obscene inequality by targeting extreme wealth through taxation and pumping that money back into the real economy to save lives,” Behar said.
“India can show the world that democratic systems are capable of redistributing wealth and delivering inclusive growth where no one is left behind. India’s fight against inequality and poverty must be supported by billionaires who made record profits in the country during the pandemic,” he suggested.
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