Per capita income of Indians is increasing. Real per capita income also increased after adjusting for inflation. This is proof that the country will become prosperous.
First Published Mar 6, 2023, 1:25 PM IST
Compared to 2014-15, Narendra Modi’s first year as Prime Minister, by 2023 the average per capita income of Indians has increased to Rs 1,72,000. It is noteworthy that the per capita income of Indians in 2014-15 was Rs.86,647. According to the statistics of the National Statistical Institute, the per capita income has increased by 99 percent.
But this did not increase real per capita income (after subtracting inflation) by much compared to current price basis. Real per capita income in 2014-15 was 72,805. The same has now reached Rs.98,118, said Jayati Ghosh, a leading development economist. It is estimated that if inflation had been reduced, the per capita income of Indians would have increased by 35 percent during this period.
According to the report, the increase in per capita income has mostly happened to only 10 percent of the population. At the same time, the wages of middle class families are expected to fall. Economist Jayati Ghosh said the income of the middle class may be lower than the real per capita income. According to statistics agency records, both current and real per capita income fell during Covid. The following years saw growth in both.
According to the Ecorap report released by the State Bank of India, the GDP per capita income of Indians has increased to Rs.1,96,716. It was Rs.71,609 in 2012. It has increased by an average of 10.6 percent every year. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India has already overtaken Britain to become the world’s fifth largest economy. Now in the world only Germany, Japan, China and America are ahead of India. A decade ago India was the 11th largest economy in the world. It has risen six places in just ten years. Economists say that India’s per capita income has increased by 35 percent in the last eight years if inflation is reduced.
But the income of the poor has not increased much Per capita income of Indians is increasing. Real per capita income also increased after adjusting for inflation. This is proof that the country will become prosperous. But income inequality is increasing in the country. Therefore, the income of the poor is not increasing much, noted economist Nagesh Kumar, director of the Institute of Studies in Industrial Development.
