5. India: The Rich-Poor Divide (part 1)

I recently traveled to India to explore how this fascinating country has evolved and what drives it today. While India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, it’s also among the most unequal. Stories of extreme poverty coexist with accounts of India’s rise as a global superpower. How has this stark dichotomy come to be?

Here’s what I learned:

The Size of the Divide

Two simple facts underscore the immense disparity in wealth distribution in India:

1. The top 10% of the population controls 77% of the country’s total national wealth. In 2017, 73% of the wealth generated went to the richest 1%.

2. Meanwhile, about 60% of India’s 1.4 billion people live on less than $3.10 a day—the World Bank's median poverty line. Shockingly, 21%, or over 250 million people, survive on less than $2 a day.

   
   

The Dichotomy of India

India presents a striking contrast: one side showcases billionaires, cutting-edge technological innovation, Western-standard infrastructure, and thriving large enterprises. The other side, comprising the majority, struggles with inadequate housing, lacks access to running water, depends on communal toilets, bathes in the open and lives in conditions of abject poverty.

Poverty in India stems from a complex web of overlapping factors. The caste system perpetuates systemic inequalities, while socio-economic status, geographic location, and ethnicity collectively limit access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities. For many, the next generation faces an almost insurmountable challenge in breaking free from the cycle of poverty.

Mumbai Slum Residents Bathing in Open

Common Sight in Rural India Due to No Rubbish Collection

Women Begging in Street

A Personal Perspective

During my visit, I traveled to five cities in northwestern India—Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur —as well as Varanasi in the northeast and Mumbai in the southwest. I also took three extensive road trips, covering over 2,000 kilometers through rural India. These journeys provided me with a deep understanding of the urban-rural divide and how wealth is unequally distributed between the rich and the poor.

To be continued in the next post...