Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, married Radhika Merchant in a wedding reportedly costing upwards of $600 million.

This extravagant event has underscored the stark wealth divide in India. Despite the country's economic growth, the middle class has not seen comparable gains in wealth.

India's middle class, which has grown to about 460 million over the past 30 years, remains much poorer than China's. While China's middle class is larger and wealthier, India's middle class is heavily concentrated at the lower end of the income spectrum.

In 2022, only a quarter of Indian adults ea ed more than $10,000 annually, compared to 660 million Chinese adults. The average income for China's middle class was $30,400 pre-tax, whereas in India it was only $8,700.

Several factors contribute to this disparity.China's rapid urbanization and supportive gove ment policies have facilitated economic mobility. Conversely, India faces significant barriers to inte al migration, such as large distances, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and linguistic differences across states.

Additionally, the lack of social welfare programs makes many Indians reliant on local caste networks for support, further hindering migration.

The COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation have exacerbated the struggles of India's middle and lower-middle classes. Economist Thomas Piketty has described India as having a 'missing middle class,' with significant economic reforms needed to boost income and spending power.

Creating employment opportunities outside of agriculture and addressing unemployment, particularly among the youth, are crucial steps for broad-based income growth and economic development.



(colombotimes.lk)