By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 26 January 2021: The rich become richer in India as the country was reeling under the COVID-19 lockouts and restrictions. And, the poor became poorer, says the Oxfam’s Inequality Virus Report released at the World Economic Forum in Davos. A read of the news item in the report in The Hindu reveals “The sharp increment in their wealth since the lockdown in March is enough to give every one of the 138 million poorest Indians a cheque for ₹94,045 each.”
“The spike in the wealth of just the top 11 billionaires during the pandemic could easily sustain the MGNREGS or the Health Ministry for the next 10 years, stated the report, which also underscored how Covid-19 has deepened inequalities. While the wealthiest escaped the worst impact of the pandemic, the poor faced joblessness, starvation, and death, the report noted.
Mukesh Ambani, who has emerged as the richest man in India and Asia, was earning ₹90 crores an hour during the pandemic. At the same time, during the lockdown, 24% of the people in the country were earning under ₹3,000 a month. The increase in Ambani’s wealth alone could keep 40 crores, informal workers, out of poverty for at least five months, said the report. Meanwhile, 170,000 people lost their jobs every hour in the month of April 2020, the report said.
The Hindu report says, ” According to the report, only 6% of the poorest 20% have access to non-shared sources of improved sanitation, compared to 93.4 % of the top 20 %. About 59.6% of India’s population lived in a room or less, which meant that protocols necessary to prevent the spread of Covid-19 could not be followed.”
It’s not just India but the world as the Oxfam Inequality report reveals global inequality. Billionaires’ fortunes globally grew by $2.5 billion a day last year, as the poorest half of humanity – 3.8 billion people – saw their wealth fall, is making headlines around the globe, says an Oxfam India press release.
READ HERE – Oxfam’s Inequality Virus Report