India Isn’t a Poor Country — It’s a Country With Poor People

India is projected to overtake Japan and Germany to become the 4th largest economy in the world by 2026, according to S&P Global. Its GDP is on course to exceed $4.2 trillion, and its unicorn startups, billionaires, and global tech expansion are making international headlines.

But beneath this dazzling ascent is a paradox: India is rich as a country — but poor as a society. The average Indian is not wealthier. In fact, the wealth gap is widening to historic levels. The World Inequality Database and recent economic studies tell a story that policymakers often don’t: India’s rise is happening for the top 10%, not the remaining 90%. Let’s look at the raw data that shatters the illusion of broad-based prosperity:


Compare that with 1961, when the bottom 50% held 11.4% of the wealth — almost double what they have now.

This isn’t just inequality. It’s a deliberate concentration of power over six decades. The so-called Indian middle class — once imagined as the great equalizer — is being hollowed out. Even as their role in consumption grows, their share in national wealth has dropped from 43.7% to 29% over six decades.

• Average Indian income (2022–23): ₹2.35 lakh/year.
• Middle 40% income: ₹1.65 lakh/year.
• Middle class pays most indirect taxes (like GST) while receiving few direct benefits.

Tax rebates like the recent ₹7 lakh exemption under the new regime offer short-term relief, but without stronger social infrastructure and better wages, India’s middle class is treading water — not swimming upward. For the bottom 50% of Indians, growth is a word they hear, not a change they feel. Income has stagnated, public goods are insufficient, and upward mobility is rare.

• Bottom 50% average income: ₹71,163/year.
• Share of national income: only 15%.
• Share of national wealth: just 6.4%.

Even basic amenities like clean water, decent schooling, and healthcare are out of reach for many. India may no longer be “poor” in GDP terms, but it remains deeply unequal in lived experience. India’s super-rich are in a different economic universe altogether — earning hundreds of crores while paying relatively little in tax and contributing marginally to public welfare.

• Top 1% income: ₹53 lakh/year.
• Top 0.01% income: ₹10.18 crore/year.
• Top 0.001% income: ₹48.52 crore/year.

The income gap between top 1% and bottom 50% is 75x, but the wealth gap is over 313x. This is not just inequality — it’s systemic exclusion from opportunity. India’s tax system favours the wealthy. There is no wealth tax, and most income from stocks, inheritance, or property is lightly taxed — while ordinary people are hit with high indirect taxes on essentials.

• India has no inheritance tax or net wealth tax.
• GST on items like mobile phones is 18%, but luxury wealth remains untouched.
• Tax rebates help salaried workers but ignore casual or rural labour.

This fiscal model lets the rich get richer, while the rest pay more for less. It’s structurally upside down. To reverse this dangerous trajectory, India must act — with bold tax reforms and massive public investment in its people.

• A 2% wealth tax on top 167 families can raise 0.5% of national income.
• Investments in public health, education, nutrition yield long-term gains in productivity.
• Job creation, not just GDP growth, must be a central national goal.

Without such measures, India risks becoming an economic superpower without social cohesion or human development.
India is no longer a poor country in the traditional sense. It has a space program, billion-dollar startups, and international influence. But for hundreds of millions of Indians, none of this progress improves their life. India is rich — but only for the few who own it. The rest live in the shadow of a prosperity that feels unreachable.

As India aspires to be a global leader, it must ask itself: What is the point of economic power if it cannot lift the majority of its citizens out of struggle?

Can a country be called successful if 90% of its citizens still struggle to achieve dignity, security, and opportunity — even as its billionaires buy football clubs and private jets?