India’s government claims that inequality has fallen to among the lowest in the world, boasting policies that make the country the fourth most equal society globally. It points to a World Bank estimate suggesting a Gini coefficient of 25.5 in 2022-23, trailing only Slovakia, Slovenia, and Belarus.This narrative is more convenient myth than economic fact. It rests on a selective interpretation of data, conflating consumption and income inequality while ignoring deeper structural problems. By highlighting a fall in consumption inequality drawn from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey of 2022-23, the government is presenting a misleading picture of economic equality.
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