Inequality works.

"About 10 years ago, less than one in 10 of India's poorest households owned a bike or car; now close to half do." Mobile phones have become ubiquitous, while among the bottom 40% of households, ownership of refrigerators has jumped from 2.9% to 22.5% in rural and from 20.9% to 57.9% in urban areas, wrote Richa Gandhi.  But, The World Inequality Report 2026 says that in India, "The top 10% of earners capture about 58% of national income, while the bottom 50% receive only 15%...with the richest 10% holding about 65% of total wealth and the top 1% about 40%." The Wire. Still, "As India has grown richer, a different epidemic has quietly spread - obesity." "At a BMI of just 24, Indians face the same risk of diabetes and heart disease that Europeans do at 30." "Officially, only 5% of Indians are obese, but using a more realistic Indian threshold, nearly 30% may already be economically obese," wrote V Anantha Nageswaran & Ruchir Agarwal. Are government handouts partly responsible for this impressive rise in ownership of assets? Starting on 1 January 2024, the central government is providing free food grains to 813.5 million Indians every month. It is a massive transfer of Rs 11.80 trillion over five years. pib.gov.in. "The population covered by social protection systems has increased from 22.2% in 2016 to 64.3% in 2025, indicating substantial expansion in social security coverage in the country." TOI. "Across India, 118 million adult women in 12 states now receive unconditional cash transfers from their governments." "The transfers range from Rs 1,000 -Rs 2,500 ($12-$30)," which "Women typically spend the money on household and family needs - children's education, groceries, cooking gas, medical and emergency expenses, retiring small debts and occasional small items like gold or small comforts." BBC. That is chump change. During the recent elections in Bihar, "The governing NDA govt transferred Rs 10,000 to roughly 12 million women even as the campaign was on." "What makes this more worrisome is that neither the Centre nor the states are financing these giveaways out of surplus revenues. They are funding them through borrowing," wrote Duvvuri Subbarao. Who cares? The ruling coalition won with a thumping majority. The Hindu. Inequality works. As people have acquired more, "Household debt -to-GDP ratio nearly doubled from 26% in June 2015 to 41.9% in Dec 2024. Stressed unsecured retail debt size is $35-45 billion (Rs 3.07-3.95 trillion)" and "1 in 4 personal loans in 2025 funded holidays, overtaking medical and house renovation." TOI. A huge jump from Rs 1,500 to Rs 10,000. In the next election women will expect at least Rs 15,000. More handouts, more debt, more assets, everyone loves inequality. PM Modi has left for a 4-day trip to Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman. Mint. And, why not?