Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Economic Times
The Economic Times
Comment
Rathin Roy

India’s prosperity problem: Public finances now compensate the majority for economic insecurity, regardless of growth

To be rich is glorious' is a slogan apocryphally attributed to Deng Xiaoping. Equally, to be poor is dehumanising. Individuals in extreme poverty are constantly on the verge of extinction, requiring handouts from government, or charity, to survive. They have no hope that their progeny will escape their fate, unless there's intervention.

Extreme and chronic poverty, unattended, is a terminal disease. For this reason, the most important global Millennium Development Goal (MDG) promised the elimination of extreme poverty by 2020. Happily, this goal has been substantially met in India. India's extreme poverty has plummeted from roughly 431 mn people in 1990 to under 75 mn in 2025.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.