India IN: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 44.000 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 48.200 % for 2020. India IN: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 62.000 % from Dec 1977 (Median) to 2021, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 89.100 % in 1977 and a record low of 44.000 % in 2021. India IN: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Poverty headcount ratio at $3.65 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.65 a day at 2017 international prices.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

India Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 33.100 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 34.800 % for 2020. India Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 38.450 % from Dec 1977 (Median) to 2021, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 63.500 % in 1977 and a record low of 32.400 % in 2018. India Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2017 U.S. dollars and defined as max($2.15, $1.15 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the national median is sufficiently low, the Societal Poverty line is equivalent to the extreme poverty line, $2.15. For countries with a sufficiently high national median, the Societal Poverty Line grows as countries’ median income grows.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Additional file 1: Appendix S1. Value-added disaggregated SAM for India for the year 2007–2008 (Unit: Rs. Lakh).

In 2024, the Gini coefficient of wealth in India stood at **. This was a slight decrease from previous years. The trend since 2005 shows rising inequalities among the Indian population. What is Gini coefficient of wealth? The Gini coefficient is a measure of wealth inequality. The coefficient of the Gini index ranges from 0 to 1 with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. Wealth and income distribution and inequality can however vary greatly. In 2023, South Africa topped the list of the most unequal countries in the world in terms of income inequality. Why do economic inequalities persist in India? By the end of 2022, the richest citizens in the country owned more than ** percent of the country’s wealth. Asia’s two richest men Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are Indians. The number of high-net-worth individuals has continuously increased over the last decades. While millions of people escaped poverty in the country in the last few years, the wealth distribution between rich and poor remains skewed. Crony capitalism and the accumulation of wealth through inheritance are some of the factors behind this widening gap.

India IN: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2017 PPP per day data was reported at 2.010 Intl $/Day in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.610 Intl $/Day for 2004. India IN: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2017 PPP per day data is updated yearly, averaging 1.810 Intl $/Day from Dec 2004 (Median) to 2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.010 Intl $/Day in 2011 and a record low of 1.610 Intl $/Day in 2004. India IN: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2017 PPP per day data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Mean consumption or income per capita (2017 PPP $ per day) of the bottom 40%, used in calculating the growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% of the population in the income distribution in a country.;World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).;;The choice of consumption or income for a country is made according to which welfare aggregate is used to estimate extreme poverty in the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). The practice adopted by the World Bank for estimating global and regional poverty is, in principle, to use per capita consumption expenditure as the welfare measure wherever available; and to use income as the welfare measure for countries for which consumption is unavailable. However, in some cases data on consumption may be available but are outdated or not shared with the World Bank for recent survey years. In these cases, if data on income are available, income is used. Whether data are for consumption or income per capita is noted in the footnotes. Because household surveys are infrequent in most countries and are not aligned across countries, comparisons across countries or over time should be made with a high degree of caution.

The data contains 5 different files, classified by topic. The file india_pov_c81_revise.dta contains variables on the number of dams in each district as well as information about the neighbouring districts. The data set also includes data on local poverty, such as a povertygap measure, the gini coefficient, mean per capita expenditure. The file india_ag_extend contains in addition, data on agricultural produc tion ( value, yield) for major crops and distinguishes between water-intensive and non-water-intensive crops. The file census.dta contains data on the population size and occupation. The file india_public_updown_doc.dta contains data on the availability of public goods such as water access, power facilities and road. The file malaria_code81.dta contains in addition a variable about malaria incidence.

India Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data was reported at 2.570 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.400 % for 2011. India Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data is updated yearly, averaging 1.930 % from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2017, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.400 % in 2011 and a record low of 1.290 % in 2001. India Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. This indicator shows the fraction of a country’s population experiencing out-of-pocket health impoverishing expenditures, defined as expenditures without which the household they live in would have been above the 60% median consumption but because of the expenditures is below the poverty line. Out-of-pocket health expenditure is defined as any spending incurred by a household when any member uses a health good or service to receive any type of care (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, long-term or palliative care); provided by any type of provider; for any type of disease, illness or health condition; in any type of setting (outpatient, inpatient, at home).;Global Health Observatory. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. (https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/financial-protection);Weighted average;This indicator is related to Sustainable Development Goal 3.8.2 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

India Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 9.800 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.000 % for 2020. India Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 6.200 % from Dec 1977 (Median) to 2021, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.300 % in 2019 and a record low of 5.100 % in 2004. India Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

In the financial year 2021, a majority of Indian households fell under the aspirers category, earning between ******* and ******* Indian rupees a year. On the other hand, about ***** percent of households that same year, accounted for the rich, earning over * million rupees annually. The middle class more than doubled that year compared to ** percent in financial year 2005. Middle-class income group and the COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic specifically during the lockdown in March 2020, loss of incomes hit the entire household income spectrum. However, research showed the severest affected groups were the upper middle- and middle-class income brackets. In addition, unemployment rates were rampant nationwide that further lead to a dismally low GDP. Despite job recoveries over the last few months, improvement in incomes were insignificant. Economic inequality While India maybe one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it is also one of the most vulnerable and severely afflicted economies in terms of economic inequality. The vast discrepancy between the rich and poor has been prominent since the last ***** decades. The rich continue to grow richer at a faster pace while the impoverished struggle more than ever before to earn a minimum wage. The widening gaps in the economic structure affect women and children the most. This is a call for reinforcement in in the country’s social structure that emphasizes access to quality education and universal healthcare services.

India IN: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Total Population: 2017 PPP per day data was reported at 4.020 Intl $/Day in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.120 Intl $/Day for 2004. India IN: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Total Population: 2017 PPP per day data is updated yearly, averaging 3.570 Intl $/Day from Dec 2004 (Median) to 2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.020 Intl $/Day in 2011 and a record low of 3.120 Intl $/Day in 2004. India IN: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Total Population: 2017 PPP per day data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Mean consumption or income per capita (2017 PPP $ per day) used in calculating the growth rate in the welfare aggregate of total population.;World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).;;The choice of consumption or income for a country is made according to which welfare aggregate is used to estimate extreme poverty in the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). The practice adopted by the World Bank for estimating global and regional poverty is, in principle, to use per capita consumption expenditure as the welfare measure wherever available; and to use income as the welfare measure for countries for which consumption is unavailable. However, in some cases data on consumption may be available but are outdated or not shared with the World Bank for recent survey years. In these cases, if data on income are available, income is used. Whether data are for consumption or income per capita is noted in the footnotes. Because household surveys are infrequent in most countries and are not aligned across countries, comparisons across countries or over time should be made with a high degree of caution.

The estimated per capita income across Sikkim was the highest among Indian states at around *** thousand Indian rupees in the financial year 2024. Meanwhile, it was the lowest in the northern state of Bihar at over ** thousand rupees. India’s youngest state, Telangana stood in the fifth place. The country's average per capita income that year was an estimated *** thousand rupees. What is per capita income? Per capita income is a measure of the average income earned per person in a given area in a certain period. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. If absolute numbers are noted, India’s per capita income doubled from the financial year 2015 to 2023. Wealth inequality However, as per economists, the increase in the per capita income of a country does not always reflect an increase in the income of the entire population. Wealth distribution in India remains highly skewed. The average income hides the disbursal and inequality in a society. Especially in a society like India where the top one percent owned over ** percent of the total wealth in 2022.

Dr. Ambedkar believed that for India's economic prosperity, the emphasis should be on the eradication of poverty and inequality and the freedom from exploitation of the masses. In his writings and speeches during the 1930s and 1940s and for some years to come, he emphasized the need to free the masses from exploitation. Dr. Ambedkar wanted socialism, but he did not like traditional socialism. From their point of view, planning should be done with more focus on the financial security of the working and exploited class. Moral motivation must be in the people, and all the wealth they have earned through their labor must be shared equally. Dr. The statement submitted by Ambedkar to the Constituent Assembly was a model of state socialism. He was of the view that there should be a provision for socialism in the state constitution itself. In the objectives and guiding principles of the Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar has embraced socialism. In which the shades of Buddha's philosophy are visible. Dr. Ambedkar's economic policy is the 'Economy of Prosperity' which is conducive to the creation of an economically prosperous state and the 'Economics of Social Welfare and the Economics of the Welfare State which accelerates the establishment of a socially egalitarian society.

Prevalence (%) of stunting among under-five children by wealth quintile and background characteristics, India, 2015–16.

In 2024, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China amounted to around 18.7 trillion U.S. dollars. In comparison to the GDP of the other BRIC countries India, Russia and Brazil, China came first that year and second in the world GDP ranking. The stagnation of China's GDP in U.S. dollar terms in 2022 and 2023 was mainly due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar. China's real GDP growth was 5.4 percent in 2023 and 5.0 percent in 2024. In 2024, per capita GDP in China reached around 13,300 U.S. dollars. Economic performance in China Gross domestic product (GDP) is a primary economic indicator. It measures the total value of all goods and services produced in an economy over a certain time period. China's economy used to grow quickly in the past, but the growth rate of China’s real GDP gradually slowed down in recent years, and year-on-year GDP growth is forecasted to range at only around four percent in the years after 2024. Since 2010, China has been the world’s second-largest economy, surpassing Japan.China’s emergence in the world’s economy has a lot to do with its status as the ‘world’s factory’. Since 2013, China is the largest export country in the world. Some argue that it is partly due to the undervalued Chinese currency. The Big Mac Index, a simplified and informal way to measure the purchasing power parity between different currencies, indicates that the Chinese currency yuan was roughly undervalued by 38 percent in 2024. GDP development Although the impressive economic development in China has led millions of people out of poverty, China is still not in the league of industrialized countries on the per capita basis. To name one example, the U.S. per capita economic output was more than six times as large as in China in 2024. Meanwhile, the Chinese society faces increased income disparities. The Gini coefficient of China, a widely used indicator of economic inequality, has been larger than 0.45 over the last decade, whereas 0.40 is the warning level for social unrest.

In 2022, ****** was home to the highest number of millionaires, followed by India’s capital New Delhi, and the IT capital - Bengaluru. This comes as no surprise since all three cities have the largest share of high net worth households along with a booming economic outlook. Overall, India had around *** billionaires as of March 2023, and ranked third globally in terms of its ultra-net-worth individuals. A growing wealth gap Despite this, India also has a very high wealth inequality with millions of people living below the poverty line. In fact, according to the last census, the state of Maharashtra (with Mumbai as its capital city) had the highest number of slums across the country with over *** million households. Furthermore, according to a 2015 study on the geography of the super-rich, Bangalore was ranked first in terms of the inequality between its rich and poor, with the wealth of the city’s billionaires being ******* times that of the average per capita GDP in the city. Mumbai came second in this listing, while Delhi was ranked fifth. It's a rich man's world As of 2018, the richest ** percent of Indians owned **** percent of the country’s wealth. The Indian economy was also seen to be one of the fastest growing economies across the world. This indicates the level of unequal distribution of wealth in the country. This is a matter of grave concern and has several implications in terms of the country’s development and progress.

Concentration index of child stunting by background characteristics, India, 2019–21.

。多维贫困率：联合国开发计划署：占总人口百分比数据按年更新，12-01-2019至12-01-2019期间平均值为16.400%，共1份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-2019，达16.400%，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-2019，为16.400%。CEIC提供的多维贫困率：联合国开发计划署：占总人口百分比数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的印度 – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality。

每天生活费不足3.65美元的贫困人口比例：2017 PPP：占人口百分比在12-01-2021达44.000%，相较于12-01-2020的48.200%有所下降。每天生活费不足3.65美元的贫困人口比例：2017 PPP：占人口百分比数据按年更新，12-01-1977至12-01-2021期间平均值为62.000%，共14份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-1977，达89.100%，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-2021，为44.000%。CEIC提供的每天生活费不足3.65美元的贫困人口比例：2017 PPP：占人口百分比数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的印度 – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality。

Decomposition of concentration indices of stunting by background characteristics, India, 2015–16.

（停止更新）人均消费或收入调查：总人口：2017年购买力平价/天在12-01-2011达4.020Intl $/Day，相较于12-01-2004的3.120Intl $/Day有所增长。（停止更新）人均消费或收入调查：总人口：2017年购买力平价/天数据按年更新，12-01-2004至12-01-2011期间平均值为3.570Intl $/Day，共2份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-2011，达4.020Intl $/Day，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-2004，为3.120Intl $/Day。CEIC提供的（停止更新）人均消费或收入调查：总人口：2017年购买力平价/天数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的印度 – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality。