India's top 1% grew its wealth by 62% since 2000: G20 report
New Delhi (PTI): India's richest 1 per cent expanded its wealth by 62 per cent between 2000 to 2023, according to a report commissioned by the South African Presidency of the G20.
The study, led by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, warns that global inequality has reached "emergency" levels, threatening democracy, economic stability, and climate progress.
The G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, which includes economists Jayati Ghosh, Winnie Byanyima, and Imraan Valodia, found that the top 1 per cent globally captured 41 per cent of all new wealth created between 2000 and 2024, while the bottom half of humanity received just 1 per cent.
The report said the intercountry inequality, broadly measured, appears to have reduced because of the rise in per capita incomes in some very populous countries like China and India, which brought down the share of high-income countries in global GDP somewhat.
The report said that between 2000 and 2023, the richest 1 per cent increased their share of the wealth in over half of all countries, which contain 74 per cent of the global.
"In India, the top 1% have grown their share of wealth by 62% over this period (2000-2023); this figure is 54% in China," the report said.
"Extreme inequality is a choice. It is not inevitable and can be reversed with political will. This can be greatly facilitated by global coordination, and in this regard, the G20 has a critical role," it said.
The report proposes the creation of an International Panel on Inequality (IPI), modelled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to monitor global trends and guide policymaking.
The body, to be launched under the South African G20 Presidency, would provide governments with "authoritative and accessible" data on inequality and its drivers.
Countries with high inequality are seven times more likely to experience democratic decline than more equal countries, the report said.
"Since 2020, global poverty reduction has slowed almost to a halt and reversed in some regions. 2.3 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity, up by 335 million since 2019.26 and half the world's population is still not covered by essential health services, with 1.3 billion people impoverished by out-of-pocket health spending," the report said.
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Rupee hits record low of 96.14/USD, settles at fresh closing low of 95.86/USD
Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee crashed below the 96/USD mark on Friday before closing at an all-time low of 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar as elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns added to the downside pressure on the rupee.
Rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses so far this year, and in the past six trading sessions, it has depreciated nearly 2 per cent as Iran war risk escalation pushed crude oil prices higher. The dollar index moved northwards after strong US retail sales and stable labour market data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, relatively high valuations, and the lack of AI-led investment opportunities have weighed on capital flows.
Moreover, weak net FDI inflows are likely to exert pressure on the balance of payments, while rising crude oil prices stoke inflation worries.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.86, then slumped to a record low of 96.14 in intraday trade, registering a fall of 50 paise from its previous close.
The USD/INR pair finally settled at 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a fall of 22 paise from its previous close, helped by likely RBI intervention.
On Thursday, the rupee weakened to a fresh record low of 95.96 before closing with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 95.64 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.15, higher by 0.34 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 3.14 per cent at USD 109.04 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 160.73 points to settle at 75,237.99, while Nifty declined 46.10 points to 23,643.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the country's exports in April rose by 13.78 per cent to USD 43.56 billion despite global challenges, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday.
Imports grew 10 per cent year-on-year to USD 71.94 billion in April. The trade deficit during the month stood at USD 28.38 billion.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI and hiking of import duty on gold and silver may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.60 to 96.20," said Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday hailed their talks as "historic" and "landmark", as the American leader wrapped up his three-day visit on a high note, but no deals on any contentious issues were announced.
Both Presidents, who held several rounds of talks covering a range of global issues, including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions, concluded their discussions with a private meeting at Zhongnanhai, the well-guarded compound in Beijing where top leaders reside.
