Following Marx.

"A growing middle class - larger, wealthier and more globally connected than ever before - is increasingly spending on goods and services priced directly or indirectly in dollars. International holidays, overseas education, AI subscriptions, streaming platforms, premium electronics, imported luxury products and even fuel consumed through greater mobility all carry a foreign exchange footprint." Also, "RBI data show that remittances for studies abroad exceeded $2.3 billion in FY26, while another $450 million was remitted under travel for education." ET. "As incomes rise for affluent households, they are increasingly spending on travel, fine dining and curated experiences such as concerts and well-being retreats, even as they continue to purchase high value premium goods." "Three in four wealthy Indians now make at least one high-end purchase every quarter, while one in four buys something premium every two weeks," wrote Sowmya Ramasubramanian & Neethi Lisa Rojan. At the same time, "By 2025-26, more than 15 states had unconditional cash transfer schemes for women, costing roughly Rs 1.7 trillion and reaching nearly 120 million beneficiaries." These schemes led to increased savings, increased spending, "though not enough to exhaust the income gain", increased spending on education and also helped the male members of the household. "Thus, total household welfare improved for everyone," wrote Soumya Kanti Ghosh & Shagishna K. India's "Net FDI (foreign direct investment) was weak all through 2025-26," India's corporate sector has been investing overseas, and "India's merchandise trade deficit (the excess of goods imports over goods exports) for 2025-26 was at $333.2 billion, widening 17.5% from 2024-25." Consumer demand has stagnated and "Capacity utilization for the 1000-odd units surveyed by RBI has been frozen around 75% for a prolonged period." "The solution, therefore, has to be austerity for the rich and a safety net for the vulnerable," wrote Rajrishi Singhal." "The International Monetary Fund (IMF)...marginally lowered India's FY27 growth forecast to 6.4% from 6.5% projected in April, while highlighting that India remains among the world's fastest-growing major economies." ET. But, "Given wages (after inflationary erosion is accounted for) have not grown across livelihoods, households have been forced to meet consumption expenses through borrowings." "By utilizing short-term but expensive debt to fund immediate survival, the working class effectively borrows from its future financial security to keep current domestic consumption afloat," wrote Prof Deepanshu Mohan & Srisoniya Subramanian. Education does not guarantee a stable income. "According to the State of Working India report, graduate unemployment for the 15-25 age group is hovering near 40%." "India's elite, hemmed in by its own risk aversion and stifling bureaucratic controls, has shown little ambition to build the kind of mass-employment manufacturing base that could provide an alternative," wrote Andy Mukherjee. Substituting subsidies instead of salaried income induces the government to resort to tax terrorism. Indians are concerned "That the taxman will send them a demand for an arbitrary sum when they least expect it." "The numbers seem to partly justify this suspicion: When these disagreements go to court. the government wins less than 8% of the time," wrote Mihir Sharma. It's a winning formula for politicians. Boast loudly about the growth rate, even if it is jobless, and distribute handouts to win elections. "What parties promise with flourish is not their money; it is public revenue." "The taxpayer funds the pool; the political class allocates it; the gratitude accrues to the allocator. It is your money; it becomes their mandate." TNIE. While dismissing religion as "Opium of the people" (wikipedia), Karl Marx had no hesitation in borrowing from the New Testament when he propounded his dictum: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs (wikipedia)." Thankfully, Marxism has been a miserable failure. Indian politicians seem to be following Marx's footsteps. The result will be no different.