The long-run income inequality dynamics in India over the period of 1951-2022 has seen an increasing graph of the share of the top 10% population touching nearly 60% in recent years.
At one point, India was the leading developing country that created a statistical system to monitor living standards. But today, there is rank confusion.
On 14 June 1972, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's speech at the UN conference on environment in Stockholm called out the hypocrisy of rich nations that advanced due to industrialisation by exploiting natural resources and labour of colonised countries but now expect developing nations to be mindful of not causing damage to the environment.
3 decades ago, half the people in India had incomes greater than $2.15 a day. Today 7 out of 8 do. Unemployment, though, remains a problem with no easy answer to providing well-paying jobs.
Stereotypes are mental shortcuts hardwired in us. They help us with quick decision-making when we are faced with a lack of information, in turn aiding survival.
NITI Aayog Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023 shows 13.5 crore Indians escaped poverty between 2016 and 2021. Data suggests a big boost came from ‘standard of living’ indicators.
The study which used UN MPI, based on 12 indicators such as malnutrition, education and sanitation, said rural areas saw the strongest fall in poverty.
‘Cassette culture’ discusses the boom of Bhakti music during the '80s and '90s when Anoop Jalota, Gulshan Kumar saw the pinnacle of success by singing the sanitised Bhajans.
Economists say there are weaknesses in India’s GDP data. But statisticians claim the accusations are based on flawed understanding, saying while GDP has problems, the economists are looking in the wrong places.
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