NEW DELHI: India’s per capita income has doubled to Rs 1,72,000 in nominal terms since the Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power in 2014-15, according to the National Statistical Office (NSO).
As per the NSO, the annual per capita (net national income) at current prices is estimated at Rs 1,72,000 in 2022-23, up from Rs 86,647 in 2014-15, suggesting an increase of about 99 per cent.
The per capita income dipped during the Covid period, both in real and nominal terms, the NSO data showed. However, it has picked up again in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Former director of premier economic research institute NIPFP Pinaki Chakraborty said as per the World Development Indicator data base, average growth of India’s per-capita income in real term for the period from 2014 to 2019 was 5.6 per cent per annum.
“This growth is significant. We have seen improvements in outcome related to health, education, and economic and social mobility. Covid impacted us badly. However, we have seen significant economic recovery after Covid,” he said.
“Sustaining per-capita income growth at 5 to 6 per cent per annum with appropriate redistributive policies will help sustain this momentum. We also have to factor in unevenness in growth within the country. Balanced regional development will act as a catalyst for higher growth,” he said.
However, uneven income distribution remains a challenge, with most of the increase benefiting the top 10% of the population. “Rising concentration of incomes at the high end means incomes of those at the lower rung of the income ladder may not be changing much,” Nagesh Kumar, Director, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), said.
Apart from unequal distribution, inflation is also a concern. “You are looking at GDP in current prices, but if you account for inflation, the increase is much less,” said noted development economist Jayati Ghosh on doubling of per capita income in nominal terms.
Ghosh emphasized that distribution is critical, and median wages are falling in real terms.
However, despite all these challenges, India remains one of the fastest growing major economies of the world. According to IMF projections, India has overtaken the UK to become the world’s fifth-largest economy and is now behind only the US, China, Japan and Germany. A decade back, India was ranked 11th among the large economies while the UK was at the fifth position.
(With inputs from agencies)
As per the NSO, the annual per capita (net national income) at current prices is estimated at Rs 1,72,000 in 2022-23, up from Rs 86,647 in 2014-15, suggesting an increase of about 99 per cent.
The per capita income dipped during the Covid period, both in real and nominal terms, the NSO data showed. However, it has picked up again in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Former director of premier economic research institute NIPFP Pinaki Chakraborty said as per the World Development Indicator data base, average growth of India’s per-capita income in real term for the period from 2014 to 2019 was 5.6 per cent per annum.
“This growth is significant. We have seen improvements in outcome related to health, education, and economic and social mobility. Covid impacted us badly. However, we have seen significant economic recovery after Covid,” he said.
“Sustaining per-capita income growth at 5 to 6 per cent per annum with appropriate redistributive policies will help sustain this momentum. We also have to factor in unevenness in growth within the country. Balanced regional development will act as a catalyst for higher growth,” he said.
However, uneven income distribution remains a challenge, with most of the increase benefiting the top 10% of the population. “Rising concentration of incomes at the high end means incomes of those at the lower rung of the income ladder may not be changing much,” Nagesh Kumar, Director, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), said.
Apart from unequal distribution, inflation is also a concern. “You are looking at GDP in current prices, but if you account for inflation, the increase is much less,” said noted development economist Jayati Ghosh on doubling of per capita income in nominal terms.
Ghosh emphasized that distribution is critical, and median wages are falling in real terms.
However, despite all these challenges, India remains one of the fastest growing major economies of the world. According to IMF projections, India has overtaken the UK to become the world’s fifth-largest economy and is now behind only the US, China, Japan and Germany. A decade back, India was ranked 11th among the large economies while the UK was at the fifth position.
(With inputs from agencies)
