What’s the one economic data point in India that’s returning to pre-Independence levels? The ratio of wealth to income. What this ratio indicates is whether, over time, those who hold assets and/or have substantial savings are getting richer at a faster or slower rate than the rest of the population. The higher the ratio, the bigger the gap. And interestingly, in the nearly three decades since India liberalised, incomes have grown substantially but the wealthy have got wealthier at a faster rate, too. In fact, the national wealth-income ratio is returning to pre-Independence levels of 600-700%. The time series data is from a working paper by Rishabh Kumar of California State University. Sourabh Gupta breaks down the numbers. Read More
