SBI is a government bank.

"Breaking news: According to an SBI (State Bank of India) research report, there has been a massive rise in middle-class income in India. The report is based on income tax returns filed for FY11 to FY22," and shows that "The mean weighted income has risen nearly three times form Rs 4.4 lakh (Rs 440,000) to Rs 13 lakh (Rs 1.3 million) in assessment year 2023-24 (corresponds to financial year 2022-23)." "When calculating a weighted average, before the final calculation is completed, each number in the data set is multiplied by a predetermined weight." Thus, "the weighted average assigns weights which decide the relative importance of each data point in advance." cleartax.in. In 2011, the exchange rate of the rupee rose from 44 to 56 to the dollar. Thomas Cook. If we take an average of 50, Rs 440,000 in 2011 would have bought $8,800. In 2022-23, the rupee rose from 75 to 80 to the dollar. Taking an average of Rs 78 to one dollar, Rs 1.3 million converts to $16,667. It is double, not triple of $8,800, but respectable nonetheless. The average annual inflation rate in the US varied from 3.2 in 2011 to 8.0 in 2022. usinflationcalculator.com. Taking an average inflation rate of 2.5 per year from 2011 to 2023, a basket of goods costing $8,800 in 2011 would cost $11,546 in 2022. Therefore, accounting for the value of the rupee against the dollar and inflation rate in the US, the increase in income for middle-class Indians rose by about 58%, not by 300%, from 2011 to 2023. Promptly, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi...citing an SBI report said income tax return data suggests the weighted mean income has witnessed a remarkable leap over the past nine years," resulting in "a widening tax base across different income brackets, with a minimum threefold increase in tax filings and nearly fourfold surge in some brackets." TNIE. Why such elation? Because income tax is collected on nominal income without accounting for inflation, which has ranged from 10.02% in 2013 to 3.33% in 2017. macrotrends. net. "The Indian government has collected Rs 6.53 lakh crore (Rs 6.53 trillion) as gross direct tax in the ongoing financial year (starting 1 April) up to August 10, showing a growth of 15.7 percent year-on-year, data showed." ET. Modi "highlighted India's progress towards equitable and collective prosperity". Collective it may be, equitable it definitely is not. The median salary of CEOs in India rose from Rs 115.1 million in FY19 to Rs 118.1 million in 2021, whereas the median salary for workers fell from Rs 644,000 in 2019 to Rs 640,000 in 2021. A "Business Standard analysis revealed that a typical Indian CEOs salary in FY 21 was 184 times the median employee salary." BS. "The Government of India has postponed the decadal census, which was due in 2021, indefinitely," wrote Yamini Aiyar. "The only conclusion to draw from the Government of India's stubborn refusal to fill the statistical vacuum is that it fears the political consequences of acknowledging the reality that poverty may well have increased." That's why the government is building food stockpiles which it will use to bring down prices before the general election. Bloomberg. The SBI gives just one set of figures without analysing what it means. SBI is a government bank. And, Brutus was an honorable man.