Thread by @IndiaSpend

The fortunes of India’s 100 #billionaires increased by ~Rs 13 lakh crore ($17.8 bn) between March 18 and December 31, 2020, enough to give 138 million of the poorest Indians Rs 94,045 each, says a recently released @OxfamIndia report #inequality
oxfamindia.org/press-release/…

The wealth of Indian #billionaires was at $422.9 billion in July 2020, which increased by 35% between April and July 2020, during the #COVIDLockdown #inequality
pwc.ch/en/publication…

The wealth of Indian #billionaires increased 90% between 2009 and 2020. India ranks 8th among 9 countries analysed on increases in billionaire wealth btwn 2009 & 2020, after China, France, Canada, Germany, the US & the UK, Brazil
pwc.ch/en/publication…

If India’s top 11 #billionaires are taxed 1% on the increase in their wealth, it will be enough to increase the allocation of the Jan Aushadhi Scheme, which provides affordable medicines to the poor and marginalised, by 140 times, the report says #inequality

Nine of the richest Indians now own wealth equivalent to the poorest 50% of the country. The top 1% own 52% of national wealth while the poorest 60% own only 5%, we had reported in Jan 2019: #inequality
indiaspend.com/wealth-of-10-r…

The inc in the wealth of the richest Indian, Mukesh Ambani, during the #pandemic could keep 400 mn informal workers out of poverty for ~5 months, the report says. India’s workforce is mostly engaged in the informal sector, we reported in May'19 #inequality
bit.ly/3tbpGg7

“Virtually nothing has been provided by the Centre against the jobs lost by the informal workers and the circular migrants,” Ravi Srivastava, director, Centre for Employment Studies at the Institute for Human Development, told us in May 2020:
indiaspend.com/centre-has-off…

17 mn women lost their jobs in April 2020 & unemployment for women rose by 15% from a pre-#lockdown level of 18%, says the @OxfamIndia report. Read our Women@Work series on the challenges women face in the workforce:
indiaspend.com/womenwork

For every 100 women employed in December 2019, 74 lost work during the #lockdown, and another 11 had lost work by August 2020, we reported on Jan 20, 2021:
indiaspend.com/economy/pandem…

The complete @OxfamIndia report can be accessed here: d1ns4ht6ytuzzo.cloudfront.net/oxfamdata/oxfa…