India’s Richest One Percent Population Is Four-Times Wealthier Than 70 Per Cent Poor, Finds Oxfam Study

As per a latest study, India’s richest 1 per cent possess over four-times more wealth than what is held by 95.3 crore people who form the bottom 70 per cent of country’s total population, The Indian Express reported.

The study ‘Time to Care’, which was released on Monday (20 January), also pointed out the total wealth of all billionaires in India was more than the full-year budget of the country.

The study was released by rights groups Oxfam in Switzerland’s Davos ahead of World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 50th Annual Meeting. The group, while making the study public, also highlighted that the 60 per cent of the total world population which numbers to 4.6 billion owned less wealth than 2,153 billionaires in the world.

Flagging the issue of global inequality which has been growing steep, Oxfam India chief executive officer (CEO) Amitabh Behar said, “The gap between rich and poor can’t be resolved without deliberate inequality-busting policies, and too few governments are committed to these.” Behar also represented the Oxfam confederation at the Forum summit.

Adding more with regards to Indias, the study said that 63 Indian billionaires own wealth worth more than the total union Budget of the country for the fiscal year 2018-19 which was at Rs 24,42,200 crore.

“Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women. No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist,” Behar said.