GNY LIVE The Inequality Paradox: Jaw Dropping Truth about India’s World Bank “Equality” Rank

This blog emerges from a detailed discussion between Dr Sulagna Chattopadhyay, Editor in Chief, and Dr Srinivas Goli, Associate Professor in Demography at the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, on the recent World Bank report that ranks India as the fourth most equal country globally. This unexpected position has sparked a critical debate on the measures and metrics behind inequality rankings and poverty reduction. The conversation decodes the data sources, methodological inconsistencies, and paradoxes in economic inequality indicators such as the Gini coefficient and income or wealth shares by different classes of populations. It explores why poverty decline does not necessarily translate into equality and examines the role of welfare schemes, progressive taxation, and statistical frameworks in shaping our understanding of inequality in India. This reflection offers a cautionary perspective against uncritical interpretations of global rankings and emphasizes the need for nuanced, context-aware policy responses.

Read more