Eleven years: A data-based critique

It will be seen that. Expenditure is a proxy for income and borrowing.

- 

It will be seen that.

Expenditure is a proxy for income and borrowing. The persons in the bottom 10 per cent have an expenditure of ₹50-100 per day. Ask yourself, with ₹50-100 a day, what kind of food can a person consume? What kind of dwelling can a person have? What kind of medical care or medicines can the person afford?

Ten per cent of the population is not an insignificant number; it is 14 crore people. If they were a separate country, it would be ranked 10th in the world in terms of population. Yet, the NITI Aayog and the government claim that the 'poor' are only 5% or less of the total population. The claim is cruel and dishonest.

The most relevant comparator is the ratio of the per capita expenditure of the top 5% and the bottom 5%.

Twelve years ago it was approximately 12 times; in 2023-24 it is still approximately 7.5 times.