Inequality

Reshaping the debate: Is capitalism the cause of global inequality?

Western observers rarely pay more than lip service to the roughly 85 per cent of the world's population living in the Global South

60% households earning Rs 5 lakh+ live in top 150 Indian districts: Report

The majority of housholds with an annual income of Rs 5 lakh and above are concentrated in the top 20 per cent, or about 150, districts in the country, a report by MapmyIndia-backed data analytics firm ClarityX said on Tuesday. The ClarityX District Potential Index 2024 Report based on MapmyIndia data repository and government data sources, found that luminosity across the county grew significantly from 17 to 30 per cent in last four years. "60 per cent of households with annual income above Rs 5 lakh are in the top 20 per cent (about 150) districts of India, and two-third of the total districts above All-India District median are in the western region -- which also has the highest share of fastest growing districts," the report said. The report has measured growth of districts based on a district potential index (DPI) score covering socio-economic indicators like income distribution, social impetus like healthcare, education facilities per capita, infrastructure availability, ...

74% Indians support taxing super-rich to address global inequality: Survey

As G20 finance ministers prepare to consider a wealth tax on the super-rich next month, a survey has revealed that 68 per cent of people in these countries, including 74 per cent in India, support the idea to address global hunger, inequality and climate crisis. The survey by the Earth4All initiative and Global Commons Alliance covered 22,000 citizens in the world's largest economies. The proposal for a levy on the super-rich has been under discussion since at least 2013 with international support on the issue growing over the years. Brazil, the current president of the G20, aims to build consensus on the taxation of wealth and is likely to push for a joint declaration at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in July. Gabriel Zucman, a French economist and a key influencer behind Brazil's G20 proposal for progressive international taxation to promote tax justice, will release a report on Tuesday, outlining how "a global minimum tax on the ultra-rich" could work and how much it could .

The Great Indian Inequality Debate: Is India's income inequality declining?

With the latest HCES showing a fall in Gini coefficient between FY12 and FY23, has India been able to reduce the income inequality?

Best of BS Opinion: India among Asia's new flying geese, Left out & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Balanced development

Spatial inequality must be addressed

Left out

Blinkered ideology has made it irrelevant

99.9% would pay no inheritance tax if bar set at Rs 10 crore: Study

World Inequality Lab says tax gains could raise health, education expenditure

South Africa to mark 30 years of freedom amid tense elections ahead

As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in Soweto, South Africa, she recalls the joy she and many others felt 30 years ago when they voted for the first time. It was at this school on April 27, 1994 that Kunene joined millions of South Africans to brave long queues and take part in the country's first democratic elections after decades of white minority rule which denied Black people the right to vote. However, as the country gears up for celebrations Saturday to mark 30 years of freedom and democracy, much of the enthusiasm and optimism of that period has subsided as Africa's most developed economy faces a myriad of challenges. Like many things in South Africa, the school that Kunene remembers has changed, and what used to be a school hall has now been turned into several classrooms. I somehow wish we could go back to that day, because of how excited I was and the things that happened thereafter, said Kunene, referring to Nelson Mandela

Lower inequality amid slower growth: A mixed bag

What other broad macroeconomic implications can be inferred from the household consumption expenditure survey factsheet?

Many countries bouncing back from Covid-19 but poorest are not: UN report

Many countries are bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the poorest are not and a significant number are seeing conditions deteriorating, a report from the UN Development Progamme said on Wednesday. Achim Steiner, head of the agency, said that after two decades during which rich and poor countries were coming closer in terms of development, the finding is a very strong warning signal that nations are now drifting apart. The Human Development Index that the agency has produced since 1990 is projected to reach record highs in 2023 after steep declines during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. But development in half of the world's poorest countries remains below 2019 pre-pandemic levels, the report said. It's a rich person's versus a poor person's world in which we are seeing development unfolding in very unequal, partially incomplete ways, Steiner said at a news conference. Why does this matter? Not only because it creates more vulnerability, it creates also more misery a

Google celebrates International Women's Day 2024, depicting gender equality

Google Doodle is also celebrating International Women's Day 2024 commemorating women's economic, cultural, social and political achievements

Education key to achieving equality transformation, says VP Dhankar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said education is the most impactful transformational mechanism to bring about equality and cut down inequality. Addressing a function in Gondia district of Maharashtra, he said young parliamentarians with vision, mission, and talent have a big role to play in building Vikasit Bharat of 2047. Dhankhar also suggested that "value addition" to farm produce will bring qualitative improvements in the lives of farmers. "Today, the world is seeing the change in India and the change is imminent when the leader is aware of the ground reality and has the ability to change them. Today, we have the able leadership at the Centre and in the state who are well capable of bringing the change," Dhankhar said. He said India is fast emerging as a strong nation. "In 1989 when I became MP for the first time, it was a difficult time for our country. The country had to send its gold reserve by air to France where it was kept as a mortgage in two banks so that ou

Addressing the land question: Focus on equity

Indian elites consider it their divine right to have first claim over our Commons - and the Indian state, a petty landlord obsessed with revenue crumbs, actively collaborates

Land and the problem of inequity

By 2050, India will be the most land-scarce major economy in the world, but any solution first needs to recognise the unequal deployment of land

Inclusive growth

Inequality can affect economic prospects

Cumulatively ravaging effects of inequality

The drumbeats of corporate inequality are being heard in many ways - from compensation differentials and working hours to work-from-home and gender pay parity

Anti-migration operation on French African island of Mayotte stirs tensions

Facing a migration quagmire on the French island territory of Mayotte, off Africa's east coast, France's government has sent in 2,000 troops and police to carry out mass expulsions, destroy slums and eradicate violent gangs. But the operation has become bogged down and raised concerns of abuse, aggravating tensions between local residents and immigrants from the neighbouring country of Comoros. It is also laying bare entrenched poverty among both communities, tensions over the island's status and deep inequalities between Mayotte and the rest of France. While Mayotte is a part of France, Comoros 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the northwest across a strait in the Indian Ocean was also once a French colony but has been independent since 1975. Mayotte is by far the poorest corner of France, but its average annual income of around USD 3,500 is still more than double that in Comoros. This has created a powerful pull. How can they imagine for a second that (the operation) will make thi

Government eyes higher capital gains tax for rich to curb inequality

The government tried to address this issue partially in the recent budget by taxing debt funds at the income tax rate

C20 conference discusses inequalities, seeks justice for African kids

Inequalities in the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where a large number of children are out of school to work as labourers, was among the highlights of the second day of the Civil20 India 2023 inception meet here on Tuesday. The conference had 'Civil Society Organisations and Promotion of Human Values' as its theme. C20 is one of the official Engagement Groups of the G20 that provides a platform for Civil Society Organizations around the world to voice the people's aspirations to the world leaders of G20. Owain James, global director of the 100 Million Campaign, a youth-led call to action for a world where all young people are free, safe and educated, called for justice for Africa's children, said a government release. He said there has been a rise in the number of Sub-Saharan Africans living on less than $2.15 a day since 2015. The number of child labour and children out of school is also increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa, he said. The continent has some of the best natu