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India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

bbc.com

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Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#11

Post by bjkkkjduid »

addicted wrote: post #5
duxup wrote: post #2

> In fact, this has been a long-term structural trend that began even before the pandemic. India has been getting increasingly more unequal, with the top 10% of Indians now holding 57.7% of national income compared with 34% in 1990. The bottom half have seen their share of national income fall from 22.2% to 15%. Yikes, and it’s not like there’s some magic in the free market that “helps” those folks… if anything they’…

Let’s run some numbers for the bottom half. I don’t know what they mean by income data, but let’s use the GDP as a proxy. 2025 GDP (Current USD) - $3.5Tn (actually 2023, but it’s probably still close) Population - 1.45Bn Bottom Half Population - 725mm Bottom Half share - 15% Bottom half share of GDP - $525Bn Bottom half GDP per capita - $725 1990 GDP (current USD) - $320Bn Population - 870mm Bottom Half population -…

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Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#12

Post by fooker »

This is true, but evaluate this in the context of:

* Three generations share a house or two, you don’t need to buy a house.

* Food, education and health care are affordable with a middle class salary.

* Cars are a liability at most places, so you don’t usually buy a car.

Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#13

Post by windex »

anigbrowl wrote: post #6

I am reposting this comment, which was inexplicably marked [dead] within seconds of being posted, even though it is a brand new account with no comment or submission history at all. burnermore 2 minutes ago [dead] | parent | context | unvouch | favorite | on: India: A billion people have no real money to spen... Indians who have huge spending potential are in huge numbers. They are just leaving India. High skilled In…

I hear they randomly seize vehicles older than 15 years and crush them even if perfectly maintained.

Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#14

Post by potamic »

One of the ways this is very evident is when you look at entry level software dev salaries at the giant IT sweatshops (Infosys, TCS, Wipro etc).

2010: ₹325k a year (equivalent to then $7000 per year)

2025: ₹350k a year (equivalent to now $4000 per year)

Even disregarding the global earning parity, that's only a rise of 10% over 15 years when inflation has risen by 100% in the same period. This is even more egregious when you consider that these companies earn primarily in dollars have enjoyed massive profits owing to depreciation of the Rupee.

These companies were once highly regarded for their earning potential. They moved a generation of employees from the lower income to the middle income bracket. Sadly, the same cannot be said of employees joining today, who haven't even seen their comps increased since the pandemic. They seem to be getting forever stuck in the lower income trap.

Hiring has already drastically reduced since the pandemic recession and now there's the threat of AI. At the same time, record numbers of CSE students are graduating out of universities each year, who are increasingly struggling to find employment. The country's service industry which once formed the backbone for the middle class is in a very critical stage. The future doesn't look very bright honestly.

Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#15

Post by OhtaniSan »

I get paid pretty well and also don't have to pay rent since I live in my parents' house (very common here). I just don't spend much despite that. Transport to and from work, the occasional Steam/PSN purchase and every few months a fancy dinner are like my only discretionary expenses. Everything is so low quality. I save my money and spend it while traveling instead.

Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#16

Post by hy4000days »

windex wrote: post #13
anigbrowl wrote: post #6

I am reposting this comment, which was inexplicably marked [dead] within seconds of being posted, even though it is a brand new account with no comment or submission history at all. burnermore 2 minutes ago [dead] | parent | context | unvouch | favorite | on: India: A billion people have no real money to spen... Indians who have huge spending potential are in huge numbers. They are just leaving India. High skilled In…

I hear they randomly seize vehicles older than 15 years and crush them even if perfectly maintained.

[dead]

Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#18

Post by ashoeafoot »

addicted wrote: post #5
duxup wrote: post #2

> In fact, this has been a long-term structural trend that began even before the pandemic. India has been getting increasingly more unequal, with the top 10% of Indians now holding 57.7% of national income compared with 34% in 1990. The bottom half have seen their share of national income fall from 22.2% to 15%. Yikes, and it’s not like there’s some magic in the free market that “helps” those folks… if anything they’…

Let’s run some numbers for the bottom half. I don’t know what they mean by income data, but let’s use the GDP as a proxy. 2025 GDP (Current USD) - $3.5Tn (actually 2023, but it’s probably still close) Population - 1.45Bn Bottom Half Population - 725mm Bottom Half share - 15% Bottom half share of GDP - $525Bn Bottom half GDP per capita - $725 1990 GDP (current USD) - $320Bn Population - 870mm Bottom Half population -…

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/wp-content/data-viz/heat-h... becoming longterm uninhabitable ?

Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#19

Post by mk89 »

anigbrowl wrote: post #6

I am reposting this comment, which was inexplicably marked [dead] within seconds of being posted, even though it is a brand new account with no comment or submission history at all. burnermore 2 minutes ago [dead] | parent | context | unvouch | favorite | on: India: A billion people have no real money to spen... Indians who have huge spending potential are in huge numbers. They are just leaving India. High skilled In…

> We pay tax like first world countries but get services like poorest of the poor countries.

I asked chatgpt to give a comparison, and I am not sure which country you're comparing against, but it seems people in India pay significantly less than in EU for example. (20% vs 40%, etc...)

EDIT: as cliché as it might sound, how about blaming it on the really high level of corruption spread across all layers? Corruption is a disease for a country, especially when you can bribe authorities for very small money.

Re: India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

#20

Post by koolhead17 »

jasdi wrote: post #10
duxup wrote: post #2

> In fact, this has been a long-term structural trend that began even before the pandemic. India has been getting increasingly more unequal, with the top 10% of Indians now holding 57.7% of national income compared with 34% in 1990. The bottom half have seen their share of national income fall from 22.2% to 15%. Yikes, and it’s not like there’s some magic in the free market that “helps” those folks… if anything they’…

Actually its more a question of what others can learn from them, than the other way around because of these constraints. The first time I was shown a case study of Amul (cooperative model of food production), it was a really eye opening moment, cause they had reached massive scale, profitable, invested in quality/innovation, really super creative (on the marketing side without any great budget) and most importantly S…

well said.
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