look news india
Annual Income: The income gap between Hindu-Muslim families is decreasing rapidly. The gap between the families of the two communities has reduced by 87% in 7 years to just Rs 250, which was Rs 1,917 per month in 2016.
These figures have come out in a survey conducted by the non-profit organization People's Research on India's Consumer Economy (PRICE). The annual income of Muslims in the country increased by 28%, Hindus by 19% and Sikhs by 57%.
This economic think tank conducted this sample survey among 2,01,900 families in 1,944 villages of 165 districts of the country. In seven years, the annual income of Muslim families increased by 27.7% from Rs 2.73 lakh to Rs 3.49 lakh.
Meanwhile, the income of Hindus rose by 18.8 per cent from Rs 2.96 lakh to Rs 3.52 lakh. According to Price, the income of the economically weaker sections has increased more than those who were earning more than before. The bottom 20% of the country's income Before Covid, it was only 3%, which increased to 6.5% in 2022-23.
In comparison, the share of the top 20% income group has declined from 52% to just 45%. As the income share of the upper class declined, the income of the poor and the middle class increased. This benefited all classes.
The government's free grain scheme, Kisan Samman Nidhi and housing schemes have also played an important role in reducing the socio-economic gap to some extent. Minorities, especially the Muslim community, fall in the economically weaker section. Therefore, Muslim families have benefited more from the upliftment compared to the lower classes.
On the basis of religion, among the Hindu households surveyed, 21% were found to be graduates and only 21% were found to be employed. The number of working households is the highest among the SC-ST category households as compared to the graduate households. In SC-ST category, 17% and 11% households respectively belong to graduates.
While 18% SC and 15% ST category families have jobs. 20% of OBC category families had graduates, but 18% families had working people. This difference is the highest in the general category.
Of these, 29% of the families have graduates, but only 26% of the families have employed people. In 2016, the monthly income of Hindus was Rs 24,667 and that of Muslims was Rs 22,750. In 2023, it was Rs 29,333 for Hindus and Rs 29,083 for Muslims. The annual income of the country's 60 lakh Sikh families increased by 57.4%, the highest in seven years.
It rose from Rs 4.40 lakh to Rs 6.93 lakh. Other communities, including Jain-Parsis and other smaller communities, saw their annual income rise by 53.2% from Rs 3.64 lakh to Rs 5.57 lakh. According to Price's report, these communities are already the richest. They benefited the most from the boom in economic activity in the country.