Friday, August 30, 2024

It would be nice to know.

"The 2024 Hurun India Rich List reveals that India now has 334 billionaires, an increase of 75 compared to the previous year," with one billionaire added every 5 days. TOI. "The cumulative wealth of Hurun India rich listers has surged to Rs 159 trillion, surpassing the combined GDP of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland and more than half of India's GDP." So, 334 individuals now own more than half of India's GDP while we, the rest of 1.450 billion people (worldometer), live on less than half. India's GDP per capita in 2023 was $2,484.8. World Bank. One billion is 1 followed by 9 zeros, that is $1,000,000,000. amnh.org. Some of these people have, not one, but, tens of billions of dollars. We should be so proud. But, "Asia's fastest-growing economies are hiding a dirty secret: Their youngest workers are battling stubbornly high rates of unemployment." "The figures are worse than in rich countries such as the US, Japan and Germany." India has "developed a well-known information technology industry," but "More than 40% of the country's college graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed, compared with 11% of those of the same age group who are literate but haven't completed primary school, according to a 2023 report from Azim Premji University." Mint. Meanwhile, "Jay Shah will take over as the ICC chairman from December 1, 2024." At 35, he will be the youngest chairman of the ICC. NDTV. "Jay Amitbhai Shah, born on 22 September 1988, is the son of Amit Shah, India's Minister of Home Affairs, and Sonal shah." He has a Bachelor of Technology degree from Nirma University, is worth Rs 1.24 billion and, "As the Secretary of the BCCI, he earns Rs 84,000 daily for international meetings, in addition to travel and stay allowances." TOI. "It has been pointed out that Jay Shah has had no achievement or experience that would qualify or prepare him for a global role. Not much is known of his educational qualifications nor of any substantive assignment in public or private sectors." "But, again, he is in the influential position only because of the power and influence of his father - a quintessential political boss, and someone to be feared by friends and foes alike," wrote Harish Khare. "Gautam Adani and his family have secured the top spot in the 2024 Hurun India Rich List, with a wealth of Rs 11.6 trillion, surpassing Mukesh Ambani." NDTV. "But fraud, right from siphoning funds offshore and market manipulation of share prices of the group in India, are nothing new to the group." "However, in 2015, soon after the Modi government came to power, the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) dismissed the findings of investigations that spanned several years." Telangana Today. "This is not an Adani issue, this is a 'Modani' issue. The real issue is the relationship between PM Modi and Adani," said Congress MP Jairam Ramesh. India Today. "India's nominal GDP in 2024 is estimated at $3.94 trillion. IMF. More than half of it belongs to the 334 on the Hurun list. The Crony Capitalist Index 2023 by The Economist ranks India at number 10, which is an improvement from number 7 earlier. Quartz. It would be interesting to match the Hurun list with the Crony list. We, the people, should know who is getting our money. Not that we can do anything. Still.    

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