4.6cr Indians slipped into extreme poverty during pandemic, accounting for half of the global ‘new poor’ , but billionaires’ wealth rose: Oxfam

[mhosein]

4.6cr Indians slipped into extreme poverty during pandemic, but billionaires’ wealth rose: Oxfam​

Ambika Pandit / TNN / Updated: Jan 17, 2022, 15:23 IST​

NEW DELHI: A new report on rising inequality highlights that while 4.6 crore Indians are estimated to have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020, accounting for nearly half of the global ‘new poor’ according to the United Nations, the number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 143 during the pandemic period. The collective wealth of India’s 100 richest people hit a record high of Rs 57.3 lakh crore ($775 billion) in 2021.

The analysis is part of the statement released by Oxfam India, based on the ‘Inequality Kills Report: The Davos India Supplement’, that is part of the global report to be released at the World Economic Forum’s virtual event ‘The Davos Agenda’ on Monday.

In India, the wealth of billionaires during the pandemic (from March, 2020 to November 30, 2021) increased from Rs 23.1 lakh crore ($313 billion) to Rs 53.2 lakh crore ($719 billion). In contrast, the report cites the Consumer Pyramid Household Survey data collated by CMIE for 2021 to point that it is estimated that 84% of households in the country suffered a decline in their income in a year marked by unprecedented loss of life and livelihoods.

The data factsheets on wealth highlights that 142 Indian billionaires own more wealth ($719 billion) than 555 million people ($657 billion, bottom 40%). The richest 98 have the same wealth($657 billion) as the poorest 555 million people (bottom 40%). “If each of the 10 richest Indians billionaires were to spend $1 million daily, it would take them 84 years to exhaust their current wealth. Indians billionaires have seen their combined fortunes more than double during the pandemic. Their number shot up by 39%,” the Oxfam statement said.

Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar said, “It has never been so important to start righting the wrongs of this obscene inequality by targeting extreme wealth through taxation and getting that money back into the real economy to save lives.” He also highlighted that the pandemic has set gender parity back from 99 years to 135 years now. Women collectively lost Rs 59.1 lakh crore ($800 billion) in earnings in 2020, with 1.3 crore fewer women in work now than in 2019.

The analysis also shows that allocation towards health in 2021-22 saw a decline of 10% from the previous year in the Union budget, while the allocation towards education in 2021-22 saw an increase of 10% over 2020-21. However, education spending as a percentage of GDP has remained low at 3% and increased only 0.07% over the last 18 years. Similarly health spending as a percentage of GDP has remained abysmally low at 1.2% to 1.6% and increased only 0.09% over the last 22 years.

It is further stated that with 93% of the nation’s workforce comprising workers who fall in the ambit of informal employment, there has been little success in bringing them under the ambit of formal employment. The report calls for focus on laying the legal groundwork for basic social protection for this sector.

Oxfam India recommends that it is important to “recognise inequality is real and agree to measure it” with a robust and transparent data collection mechanism to measure income and wealth inequality.

4.6cr Indians slipped into extreme poverty during pandemic, but billionaires’ wealth rose: Oxfam | India News - Times of India

India News: NEW DELHI: A new report on rising inequality highlights that while 4.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Democracy does miracles

India’s Billionaires On A Tear As 1.3 Billion People Lose

Poverty-fighting group Oxfam calculates that the richest Indians more than doubled their fortunes during the Covid-19 era, while poverty worsened markedly.

www.forbes.com

Income of poorest fifth plunged 53% in 5 yrs; those at top surged

🔴 This stark K-shaped recovery emerges in the latest round of ICE360 Survey 2021, conducted by People’s Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE), a Mumbai- based think-tank.

indianexpress.com

For those of us who aren't aware of the Indian crore system .... 1 crore is equivalent to 10 million. Which brings the total to 46 million Indians have gone into extreme poverty.

The rich get richer and the poor are imprisoned in permanent poverty.

 

[KrimesKaster]

I am not surprised. Tech startups obsessed with killing the middle-man and armed with endless PE funds are causing more damage than is evident to most urban Indians. Someone interested in an alternative perspective should read the attached article. These startups and their billionaire founders are winning market share not because of some inherently better model, but simply by selling at a loss. Then they bundle tech features which were not needed in the first place to keep retailers hooked to the platform. There is no way small businesses can keep up with this kind of relentless 'innovation'.

No. The middle man charges obscene amounts. India has a huge problem of undocumented and black market economy. The firms that bring that economy to mainstream and eliminated corrupt undocumented economy are benefiting India. All these "middle men" are just rent seekers looking to make quick buck from inherent inefficiencies of market. When that falls, buyers get better price and producers get better profit.

Things like green groceries are sold at MASSIVE margins in India.

For those of us who aren't aware of the Indian crore system .... 1 crore is equivalent to 10 million. Which brings the total to 46 million Indians have gone into extreme poverty.

To be very honest, 46 millions are 46 / 1400 = 3.2 percent dent in India's head count under poverty.

 

[Paitoo]

No. The middle man charges obscene amounts. India has a huge problem of undocumented and black market economy. The firms that bring that economy to mainstream and eliminated corrupt undocumented economy are benefiting India. All these "middle men" are just rent seekers looking to make quick buck from inherent inefficiencies of market. When that falls, buyers get better price and producers get better profit.

Things like green groceries are sold at MASSIVE margins in India.

When scarcity of any commodity happens, the entire chain exploits it, including the retailer and producer, not just the middleman. End of the day the middleman is just another person or company trying to feed his family. They are most hated because they are not visible and hence people think they are useless. They exist because producers simply cannot reach every nook and corner of the country through their own distribution infra and it is not their main focus area either. Bigger chains like Big Basket do not eliminate any step in the process. It's just that they are playing that part themselves and keeping the margins.

I agree on the undocumented economy part and technology has certainly helped bring more firms under the tax net.

The reason I shared the link to that article is because it had an important question - is lower price to the end consumer the sole pursuit? Even if it comes at the cost of destroying many livelihoods? In fact are consumers even getting a lower price? Shouldn't there be equal focus on increasing the salaries and wages of the lowest paid workers?

This is also linked to the question of why so many Indians slipped into poverty during Covid, while some became wealthier (even if notionally through stock market capitalization). Some answers are obvious, but it is also true that bigger chains had more muscle power to adapt to the lockdown dynamics.

I am not anti technology or innovation, in fact technology is central to my own livelihood. But I do not completely buy the argument that big tech companies have very noble motives at heart. I would like to see some data on whether the farmers are actually getting better prices and whether profiteering is actually a thing of the past.

 

[GiantPanda]

Indian GDP number keeps growing but the people get poorer.

Mostly inflation. When a country is growing the world's largest pool of poverty stricken people it is not growing much wealth.

 

[K_Bin_W]

For those of us who aren't aware of the Indian crore system .... 1 crore is equivalent to 10 million. Which brings the total to 46 million Indians have gone into extreme poverty.

The rich get richer and the poor are imprisoned in permanent poverty.

46m is in addition to... BTW, Ganga thodi aur maili ho Jayeg, so what...

 

[serenity]

Capitalism has different levels and manifests in ways that keep changing. India climbing out of this trap means first being actually independent totally from the west. It doesn't need to be warm with China or anyone but to have the leech continue sucking, well the elite class is praying for miracles to save them from the trend and the inevitable rising of those who are demanded and structured to support the few at the top.

 

[KrimesKaster]

When scarcity of any commodity happens, the entire chain exploits it, including the retailer and producer, not just the middleman.

India does not have scarcity of MANY MANY produces. Things like tomatoes. Or even wheat. Lots of middle men create artificial scarcity or use convoluted old farm laws to corner the market. Read about APMC system in India.

End of the day the middleman is just another person or company trying to feed his family.

If you reduce it this way, at the end of the day Kolboshan guy is another person trying to feed his family. Except he is doing it at the cost of people's blood in Pakistan... You know what we should call such people, don't you?

They exist because producers simply cannot reach every nook and corner of the country through their own distribution infra and it is not their main focus area either. Bigger chains like Big Basket do not eliminate any step in the process. It's just that they are playing that part themselves and keeping the margins.

No really, they are bypassing a number of middle man and operate at a scale the middlemen can not operate. So they get efficiency of scale and smaller supply chain. If your entire utility in a supply chain was to act as a way point and to make money in process... you are a rent seeking leech. Indian food supply chain has too many leeches, many protected by law and political connections. To be a buyer in APMC you need to be connected to ministers in ruling parties. Modi tried to remove these and replace then with big businesses and this is the reason he got such a massive push back. Those were not just farmers protesting in Delhi.

I agree on the undocumented economy part and technology has certainly helped bring more firms under the tax net.

The reason I shared the link to that article is because it had an important question - is lower price to the end consumer the sole pursuit? Even if it comes at the cost of destroying many livelihoods? In fact are consumers even getting a lower price? Shouldn't there be equal focus on increasing the salaries and wages of the lowest paid workers?

The question is, if you allow leeches to exist in your supply chains, you are wasting consumers buying power in form of an artificial tax. Tax to keep leeches alive. The same money in the hand of people can then be spent elsewhere to create larger number of jobs in economy. A farmer gets 2-10 INR for tomatoes while customer pays INR 30-40. Thats a lot of leeches in the supply chain.

This is also linked to the question of why so many Indians slipped into poverty during Covid, while some became wealthier (even if notionally through stock market capitalization). Some answers are obvious, but it is also true that bigger chains had more muscle power to adapt to the lockdown dynamics.

I do not deny there has been massive job loss and poverty increase in India. In canada government had to literally pull all stoppers out to prevent a massive increase in poverty due to job loss. India there is no such safety net so devil only knows what would have happened.

Capitalism has different levels and manifests in ways that keep changing. India climbing out of this trap means first being actually independent totally from the west. It doesn't need to be warm with China or anyone but to have the leech continue sucking, well the elite class is praying for miracles to save them from the trend and the inevitable rising of those who are demanded and structured to support the few at the top.

Who is leech? The person who contributes nothing and only gets money due to their position OR the people who actually start new businesses and attract investments or start new ventures?

Indian GDP number keeps growing but the people get poorer.

Wrong. In pandemic the poverty went up and GDP went down as expected in India. India has been reducing poverty in past with increase in GDP.

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Impact of Covid on the poor was known and Indian Govt launched a stimulus package for the poor and will need to do much possibly subsidies may be short term answer

India announces $22.5 billion stimulus package to help those affected by the lockdown

As for Indian billionaires getting wealthier more due to a privatization friendly Govt


However Indian Govt needs to watch the wealth gap carefully, if not it may end up like the Great Leap victor across the Himalayas, which has worse off gini coefficient than India

The country itself being inequal with coastal handlands being wealthy from the natural wealth stolen from eastern non-hanlands at the cost of its inhabitants

To make things worse the rich are not interested in keeping their wealth in China

5 Chinese billionaires who pulled their wealth out of China – from spicy hotpot billionaire Zhang Yong to recycling entrepreneur Zhang Yin


and the poor suffer worse with corruption

Given the illicit outflow of over $ 1 trillion in less than a decade due to corrupt CCP local officials

China’s Illicit Outflows Were US$1.08 Trillion from 2002-2011

In other words, if we break down this data.
Thats $140 billion losses per year
$12 billion in a month
$400 million a day
$16.6 million in an hour


When the Leadership personal family is rotten, what can be expected of the nation

As China’s Leader Fights Graft, His Relatives Shed Assets

End result more Hans launching themselves into a great leap from Zhongua , at a much higher rate than even Afghans

Net migration rate

Troubles of Chinese poor after escaping China do not end there

most of them don't escape they way wanted, only to be preyed by Chinese organized criminals groups with CCP blessing which sells them into sex trafficking

Chinese Triad gangs trafficking women into Ireland for sex industry – cables

The cables also disclosed strong Chinese involvement in the trafficking of children, some of whom end up working as sex slaves in brothels.

 

[beijingwalker]

A map showing Gini coefficients for Wealth within countries for 2019.

 

[GamoAccu]

Impact of Covid on the poor was known and Indian Govt launched a stimulus package for the poor and will need to do much possibly subsidies may be short term answer

India announces $22.5 billion stimulus package to help those affected by the lockdown

As for Indian billionaires getting wealthier more due to a privatization friendly Govt


However Indian Govt needs to watch the wealth gap carefully, if not it may end up like the Great Leap victor across the Himalayas, which has worse off gini coefficient than India
View attachment 811201



The country itself being inequal with coastal handlands being wealthy from the natural wealth stolen from eastern non-hanlands at the cost of its inhabitants
View attachment 811200


To make things worse the rich are not interested in keeping their wealth in China

5 Chinese billionaires who pulled their wealth out of China – from spicy hotpot billionaire Zhang Yong to recycling entrepreneur Zhang Yin


and the poor suffer worse with corruption

Given the illicit outflow of over $ 1 trillion in less than a decade due to corrupt CCP local officials

China’s Illicit Outflows Were US$1.08 Trillion from 2002-2011

In other words, if we break down this data.
Thats $140 billion losses per year
$12 billion in a month
$400 million a day
$16.6 million in an hour


When the Leadership personal family is rotten, what can be expected of the nation

As China’s Leader Fights Graft, His Relatives Shed Assets

End result more Hans launching themselves into a great leap from Zhongua , at a much higher rate than even Afghans

Net migration rate

Troubles of Chinese poor after escaping China do not end there

most of them don't escape they way wanted, only to be preyed by Chinese organized criminals groups with CCP blessing which sells them into sex trafficking

Chinese Triad gangs trafficking women into Ireland for sex industry – cables

 

[MH.Yang]

Impact of Covid on the poor was known and Indian Govt launched a stimulus package for the poor and will need to do much possibly subsidies may be short term answer

India announces $22.5 billion stimulus package to help those affected by the lockdown

As for Indian billionaires getting wealthier more due to a privatization friendly Govt


However Indian Govt needs to watch the wealth gap carefully, if not it may end up like the Great Leap victor across the Himalayas, which has worse off gini coefficient than India
View attachment 811201



The country itself being inequal with coastal handlands being wealthy from the natural wealth stolen from eastern non-hanlands at the cost of its inhabitants
View attachment 811200


To make things worse the rich are not interested in keeping their wealth in China

5 Chinese billionaires who pulled their wealth out of China – from spicy hotpot billionaire Zhang Yong to recycling entrepreneur Zhang Yin


and the poor suffer worse with corruption

Given the illicit outflow of over $ 1 trillion in less than a decade due to corrupt CCP local officials

China’s Illicit Outflows Were US$1.08 Trillion from 2002-2011

In other words, if we break down this data.
Thats $140 billion losses per year
$12 billion in a month
$400 million a day
$16.6 million in an hour


When the Leadership personal family is rotten, what can be expected of the nation

As China’s Leader Fights Graft, His Relatives Shed Assets

End result more Hans launching themselves into a great leap from Zhongua , at a much higher rate than even Afghans

Net migration rate

Troubles of Chinese poor after escaping China do not end there

most of them don't escape they way wanted, only to be preyed by Chinese organized criminals groups with CCP blessing which sells them into sex trafficking

Chinese Triad gangs trafficking women into Ireland for sex industry – cables

You should get data from regular websites, not cult websites. China's Gini coefficient is 71.7, far better than India.
India's Gini coefficient is 84.3. Among the major economies, only USA and Russia are worse than India.

Gini coefficient - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[GamoAccu]