India's Shocking Income Inequality – 50 Billionaires and 800 Million Desperately Poor

Income Inequality in India has been rising at an unprecedented rate in the  last couple of decades.The opening of the Indian economy has led to even starker levels of income disparity among the very rich and majority of the Indian citizens.The Crushing Income Disparity is seen in the world’s most expensive $2 Billion House set amongst 42% of the world’s hungry children.The latest Forbes report lists 50 Indian Dollar Billionaires with 2 in the Top 10.A 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) found that 77% of Indians, or 836 million people, lived on less than 20 rupees (approximately US$0.50 nominal; US$2 PPP) per day.The living conditions of the majority have already fallen further with food price inflation between 10-20%.While revolutions have already broken out in much higher per capita countries like Egypt,Libya etc. India remains relatively dormant with a only the large Naxalite movement reflecting the massive income disparity.Makes you question whether capitalism in India has made much sense especially as there has been no spreading of wealth from the top to the bottom.

50 Indian billionaires in global richest club

Indian steel czar Lakshmi Mittal with a net worth of $31.1 billion grabbed the sixth place with net profits of ArcelorMittal, world’s largest steel-maker, rising 18-fold to $2.9 billion in 2010 on recovery in demand for the commodity and higher margins.

Mukesh Ambani with a net worth $27 billion was ranked ninth on the world list, while the head of consumer products to outsourcing giant Wipro, Azim Premji, was next ranked 36th with a net worth of $16.8 billion.