- India is ranked 132/152 countries
- Index rates countries by their commitment to reducing inequality.
- Sweden is ranked 1
- Index released by NGO Oxfam and Development Finance International
- The US had the highest level of inequality among developed countries, though it is the wealthiest country in history
Why India is unable to reduce inequality?
- The report noted that government spending on health, education and social protection was woefully low in India.
- The tax structure looks reasonably progressive on paper, but in practice much of the progressive tax is not collected.
- India fared poorly on labour rights as well as respect for women in the work place.
- The report said that if India were to reduce its inequality by a third, 170 million people could be raised out of poverty. In contrast, it noted how Namibia had halved the poverty rate from 53% to 23% with very high spending on health and education.