The BJP era was not a single story. It was a twin narrative:One where India Shined — for the billionaires, formal economy, and digital-savvy classes.And one where India Struggled — for its farmers, informal workers, job-seeking youth, and marginalised groups.
Progress, in this decade, was both real and selective. Data flowed freely. Wealth did not. Digital India connected millions. But ownership stayed with a few. Welfare was distributed. Power wasn’t. Ideology travelled faster than inclusion.
Who is the top 1%?
Big Corporates and Industrialists benefitted from:
Aggressive privatisation drives (Air India sale, LIC IPO, BPCL divestment plans)
Corporate tax slashed from 30% to 22% in 2019 — among the lowest in the G20
Ease of Doing Business reforms: online clearances, single-window approvals
PLI (Production Linked Incentive) schemes in electronics, pharma, defense
Who exactly:
Adani Group: Unprecedented rise — from ports to airports, coal to green energy
Reliance: Telecom dominance via Jio, retail expansion, investments in green hydrogen
Tata Group: Air India acquisition, EV manufacturing scale-up, global buyouts
The Flip Side: Oxfam (2023) reported India’s top 1% own over 40% of the national wealth — a level of concentration that undermines both equity and democracy.
They sold convenience that the upper-middle class did not prioritise before and took their dream to earn and own.
Seamless digital transactions via UPI, FASTag, DigiLocker, and Aadhaar-linked services
Better road infrastructure (Bharatmala, expressways, Gati Shakti projects)
New tax regime (optional) with simplified slabs and lower GST on essentials
Introduced in the 2020 Budget and revised in 2023, the new tax policy with simplified slabs became optional. Meaning, taxpayers can choose between the old regime (with deductions) and the new regime (simplified).
You pay less tax if you don’t have investments or deductions (like LIC, home loan, PF). If you invest or claim deductions, the old system often saves more money.
Whom does this benefit? People who don’t rely on exemptions — mainly young urban earners or the very rich who don’t need tax-saving schemes.
What is real wage? It is your salary minus inflation. If your salary goes up by Rs 1,000 but prices of everything go up Rs 1,200, your real income actually falls.
As per the Economic Survey 2025, male salaried workers saw their real income drop by 6.4% since 2017–18. Female salaried workers lost even more — 12.5% decline in real income.Real income for female self-employed workers fell by 32% between 2017 and 2023. Male self-employed saw a slight increase of just 3.1%, which is less than inflation.
What once needed collateral now only needed a swipe, a tap, a “yes.”Income growth hasn’t kept pace with inflation, forcing borrowing to manage daily expenses and expectations.
RBI flagged rising unsecured lending stress, with personal loan delinquencies hitting their highest in 6 quarters (~3.6% overdue).
While urban salaried households borrowed just to stay afloat, young professionals took loans for education, lifestyle upgrades, and gadgets — often at steep interest rates.
The lower middle class turned to credit for basics like school fees, groceries, and healthcare, while contract workers, without fixed incomes, struggled to repay even the smallest dues.
Household debt rose to 43% of GDP by FY23 — highest ever.Credit card debt and personal loans grew fastest — signs of consumption borrowing.Many are now stuck in EMI traps — spending a large chunk of income repaying loans.(Source: RBI, SBI Research, Financial Times)
Despite headlines of “growth” and “infrastructure boom,” most Indians—especially salaried workers and small business owners—did not see an improvement in real income after 2018.
In fact, many got poorer when adjusted for inflation, leading to higher borrowing, lower consumption, and fragile financial health.
The middle class didn’t borrow because they were thriving — they borrowed because they were surviving in an economy where growth was visible at the top, but not felt at the bottom.
The India Employment Report 2024 (ILO & IHD) paints a grim picture:
Only 51.25% of Indian graduates are considered employable.
In 2022, educated youth made up 65.7% of the total unemployed — a sharp rise from 54.2% in 2000.
Graduate unemployment stood at ~29.1%, compared to just 3.4% among those with no formal education.
Female graduates in states like Kerala faced up to 47% unemployment.
Youth unemployment (15–29 years) remained stubbornly high: Urban: ~18.8% and Rural: ~13.8%.
