On January 8, 2024, the State Bank of India (SBI) Economic Research Department (ERD) released a report titled ‘SBI Research: Debunking K-shaped recovery‘ which stated that individual income inequality in India has declined during 2013–2014(FY14) to 2021–2022(FY22).
- The Gini coefficient of taxable income, which captured income inequality, dropped from 0.472 to 0.402 during this period.
Note:
The Gini coefficient, a widely used measure of income inequality, is used to calculate the estimate. This co-efficient measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating higher inequality.
Highlights:
i.36.3% taxpayers moved to higher income groups, leading to a 21.3% income increase.
ii.Top 2.5% taxpayers’ share dropped from 2.81% to 2.28% (2014–2021).
iii.Taxpayers earning Rs 5-10 lakh increased by 295% (Assessment Years AY 2013–14 to AY 2021–22).
iv.Income disparity of people earning less than 3.5 lakh decreased from 31.8% to 15.8%.
v.Weighted mean income of individuals rose from Rs 3.1 lakh to Rs 11.6 lakh (2014–2021).
vi.The report criticized the K-shaped recovery post-pandemic by stating it flawed, prejudiced, and ill-concocted.
- K-shaped recovery reflects uneven recovery where certain sectors of the economy thrives while other sectors continue to decline or struggle to recover.
vii.With respect to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), around 19.5% micro MSMEs shifted income to upwards. Of these 4.8% shifted to small, 6.1% to medium, 9.3% to large firms.
viii.2 crore family members in semi-urban areas use food delivery platforms like Zomato.
ix.Female tax filers are around 15% of the individual tax filers 15% with higher in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and West Bengal.
Recent Related News:
i.State Bank of India (SBI) Life Insurance Company Limited signed a bancassurance pact with the State Bank of Sikkim (SBS) to make insurance solutions accessible to the residents of Sikkim.
ii.SBI has launched a “mobile handheld device” for its financial inclusion customers
including senior citizens, differently-abled and the infirm. The device is designed to enhance accessibility and convenience for customers who live in remote areas or have difficulty visiting SBI branches.
About State Bank of India(SBI):
Chairman– Dinesh Kumar Khara
Establishment– 1955
Headquartered– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline – The Banker to Every Indian
