World Bank’s Report on India’s Inequality

 Report indicates drastic reduction in extreme poverty and inequality.
• Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, fell from 0.288 in 2011-12 to 0.255 in 2022-223.
• Critics argue the report doesn’t accurately represent India’s current inequality.
• Inequality in consumption is lower than in income or wealth.
• Databases often overlook extremely high incomes and don’t allow for comparison of inequality levels over time.World Inequality Database (WID)
• WID, led by Thomas Piketty, analyzes various data sources for more accurate inequality indicators.
• Gini coefficient for pre-tax income in 2022-23 is 0.61, making India one of the most unequal economies.
• Gini coefficient doesn’t provide information on the relative share of wealth or income held by a fraction of the population.
• Top 1% of adults in India controlled almost 40% of net personal wealth in 2022-23.