Homies and cronies.

"An estimated 6,500 high net worth individuals (HNWI) are projected to leave India in 2023. This number represents a decrease from the previous year's net outflow of 7,500 individuals, according to Henley's Private Wealth Migration Dashboard 2023." ET. Presumably, these are dollar millionaires. But, there is nothing to worry about because "the net loss in 2023 is just 1.9% of the total number of residential millionaires, 344,600. However, the overall number, too, saw a slight decline from last year's 357,000," wrote Tuaseef Shahidi. "The US, Canada and Australia continue to be the top destinations not just for the rich but for Indians from lower income brackets as well." "Prohibitive tax legislation" and "convoluted, complex rules relating to outbound remittances" are reasons for the flight of HNWI, says the report. The fleeing millionaires are probably those who earned their money through legitimate means and hard work and their number is a negligible 1.9% of the total. The vast majority are comfortably protected. The Lok Sabha, which is the lower house of the Parliament, has 543 elected members. mea,gov.in. Of these 543 MPs, 475 or roughly 88% are crorepatis. ADR. 1 crore is 10 million and one dollar buys around Rs 82 at today's exchange rate. xe.com. So, one would need to possess at least Rs 82 million, or Rs 8.2 crore, to be a dollar millionaire. Still, "In an India where the per capita income is Rs 143,000 (IMF), where about 20 percent of the population lives on less than $1.9/day, and where about 95 percent of households earn less than Rs 800,000 annually, how does one interpret 88 percent people's representatives being crorepatis?" This was in 2019 when the current Lok Sabha was elected. The next general election in India must be held by May 2024. wikipedia. In 2023, "Out of 558 MLAs in current state assemblies, 486 (87%) are crorepatis whereas, 239 (43%) ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)." HT. The average assets of ministers was Rs 16.63 crore and those of criminals was Rs 21.21 crores. That makes them definite dollar millionaires. The protection offered to politicians was illustrated by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh when he stated that he will definitely run for the 2024 election. ET. Then there are our crony capitalists. The Economist published its 2023 crony-capitalism index on 2 May. Quartz. "The Economist used data from a Forbes list of the world's billionaires and their worth. Each individual was labeled 'crony' or not, based on the person's source of wealth." "India's crony capitalists' wealth in sectors such as banking, defence, extractive industries, and construction made for nearly 8% of the country's GDP, the report said, up from 5% in the past decade. In 2021, India was seventh on the index." The cronies and members of the same ilk are safe. Outsiders make a run for it. Safety first.