Inequality Financial News

redistribution, or dial up its focus on boosting infrastructure investment and maintaining tax incentives to encourage private investment.

Consumption spending in marginalised groups such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes rose a percentage point faster every year compared with the other groups, indicating a decline in consumption inequity between upper and lower castes in the country since 2011-12, official data showed.

Consumption inequality declined over the last decade, with the share of the top 10% households in consumption falling 1.9% in rural areas and 4% in urban areas, showed results of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) released on Friday.

₹10,000 or less. In many poor states, they have spoken about their lived experience, in spite of the official numbers painting a bright picture of the larger economy.The figure of 8% real GDP growth in FY24 has not really found itself trickling down to a vast majority of masses.

Iceland, the world's most gender equal country, is set to elect a woman as president for the second time in its history.

Narendra Modi swept to power a decade ago on promises to transform India’s economy, and as he seeks a third term as prime minister, it would be hard to argue he hasn’t made strides

BJP of making efforts to mislead the people on religious and divisive issues in the Lok Sabha election campaign, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches over the past 15 days «did not speak a word» on unemployment and price rise even as he mentioned «Modi» 758 times, Congress 232 times and referred to INDIA alliance 573 times. Addressing a press conference here, Kharge expressed confidence of the INDIA bloc forming the government after the Lok Sabha polls and said they will take everyone along. He accused the Election Commission of not acting on «divisive» speeches by PM Modi

Australian mining giant BHP Group has pledged to invest in South Africa's economy as it seeks support for a 38.6 billion pound ($49.3 billion) bid to acquire Anglo American, which was founded in the country more than a century ago and remains one of it...

By R Gopalan and MC Singhi,

Thomas Piketty suggests India should impose a wealth tax on the ultra-rich to tackle inequality and create fiscal space for investments in the social sector. The paper, released on Friday, suggests imposing a 2% annual tax on net wealth over ₹10 crore, and a 33% inheritance tax on estates exceeding ₹10 crore in valuation. This could generate revenue amounting to 2.73% of gross domestic product (GDP), it said. According to the paper, Towards Tax Justice & Wealth Redistribution in India: Proposals, based on the latest inequality estimates, 0.04% of the adult population holds more than a quarter of total wealth, and imposing this tax would leave 99.96% unaffected. «Progressive wealth taxation, effective redistribution, and broad-based social sector investments are urgently needed to build an equitable and prosperous India,» said Anmol Somanchi, one of the four authors of the report.

vote-bank threat if a tax is imposed on the assets of the wealthy, as it will not impact 99.96% of the population, says Nitin Kumar Bharti, the lead author of a recent World Inequality Lab report that suggests imposition of a wealth tax to correct inequalities in India. Studies also show that such a tax causes little capital flight, he tells ET. Edited excerpts: India's past experiments on wealth tax haven't worked; why do you think this could? Wealth tax hasn't worked for several reasons — limited purview, easier evasion and, most importantly, lack of a strong government will. Today, evasion is less of a concern due to technological advancements, such as Aadhaar linkage and computerisation of land records and stock market trading. We propose to tax overall net wealth, not keeping any asset out of the purview. But haven't wealth taxes failed in developed countries as well? The narrative is changing now, and there is more debate about bringing back the repealed wealth taxes to tame the rising wealth inequality.

Limitarianism. By Ingrid Robeyns. Astra House; 336 pages; $28. Allen Lane; £25 Enough. By Luke Hildyard.

Commuters in Buenos Aires are being hit by an abrupt 360% increase in subway fares

The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy

In the landscape of finance, a radical shift is ongoing, it challenges the traditional investment landscape for financial gains. This transformation is vainly guarded by Social Stock Exchanges (SSEs); it prioritizes investing in social and environmental causes along with monetary returns. As the world is facing numerous challenges, climate change, poverty, social injustice, and inequality, SSEs provide an opportunity for investors to align financial objectives with societal development.

immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together, and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities worldwide," Melinda said in a post on X. "I care deeply about the foundation team, our partners around the world, and everyone who is touched by its work.

Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL). According to a January note by American brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald, AEL "is at the core of everything India wants to accomplish." The company functions as an incubator for Adani's businesses. Many have been spun out and become leading players in their respective sectors.

Democracy Perception Index revealed a striking sentiment among Indians, with nearly 75% expressing concern that global corporations pose a threat to democracy. As per the survey findings, after economic inequality and corruption, global corporations are viewed as the third most significant threat to democracy. The US also stands out as among the countries with the highest levels of the perceived threat from global corporations. India is also ranked top among countries fearing that big tech companies like Google, Amazon and Meta threaten democracy.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said that under the reign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "British Raj-like conditions" are prevailing in the country, with the government policies only benefiting billionaires. «British Raj-like conditions are prevalent in the country. The policies of the Modi government are not being made keeping in mind the poor but have been made to benefit the billionaires. International reports show that today the condition of inequality in India is worse than British rule,» Priyanka Gandhi said on Tuesday while addressing Congress workers in the Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where her brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting. «All the institutions which strengthen democracy are being weakened, be it media or Parliament. Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru had fought against the British to strengthen the rights of the people, little did they know that a day would come in independent India when the government would be bent upon depriving the people of their rights,» she added.

economy is expected to emerge as the world's third largest consumer market by 2026. In 2023, India’s consumption grew at a faster pace than that of China, US and Germany. But consumption growth lagged investment growth, post pandemic since mid-2022, said a report by UBS Securities.

Mint in the week gone by. The Godrej group, which began its journey as lock-maker 127 years ago, is now dividing its assets as the descendants have decided to go their separate ways. Meanwhile, Wipro’s new chief executive officer Srinivas Pallia, who took over for five years on 7 April, stands to earn up to $7 million ( ₹58.5 crore) in remuneration in his first year.