'We are highly unequal society': Sanjaya Baru rejects tax cuts to stop rich from fleeing India
Baru also pointed to the pressing need for improvements in India's education and skills ecosystem.
- Jul 7, 2025,
- Updated Jul 7, 2025 6:23 PM IST
Noted policy analyst Sanjaya Baru has opposed the idea of offering tax breaks to India's wealthiest individuals in a bid to prevent them from migrating abroad. "I am not in favour of tax breaks because we are a highly unequal society," Baru said while responding to concerns that high taxations is driving the country's elite to relocate. "If you are in the top 1% of the populations and you are leaving the country because you don't want to pay tax, that's not the Indian I want to attract back by giving a tax break."
"we are an unequal society. The top 1-5% must pay taxes to support the government's responsibilities. The focus should instead be on building institution that attract and retain talent," he said while speaking to Shoma Chaudhary on his new book 'secession of the successful'
Baru also pointed to the pressing need for improvements in India's education and skills ecosystem."If you improve scholling and ensure better basic skill training, individuals will be more inclined to stay," he noted.
He further criticised the current trend where India's best-trained minds are increasingly choosing to leave. "We have a warped system in which we actually create a lot of talented people but we have not been able to utilise them. They are leaving because their talent is not getting absorbed here," he said.
"We are actually training people, educating people to go out and not doing enough to get them back. The ability to retain talent or at least get talent back is something we need to focus on. And I'm hoping that the one impact of my book would be for the government - not just in Delhi but across the country - to ask the question, how do I bring talent back? What is it that I need to do at home to make Indians feel - let's go back home? That's a policy challenge."
Baru said the shift from "study to migrate" was now evident. "Earlier you migrated to study, now you study to migrate," he noted, arguing that India has become a source of both human capital and spending power for other nations.
In December 2024, a financial planner said that tax-payers are "bandhu majdoor" in India and unless some drastic measures are taken, "these tax payers will continue to leave India." "Time that they are assured of higher tax slabs, higher income tax deductions under 80C, their kids are given reservations at higher universities and they get subsidised loans and free medical insurance to start with."
Noted policy analyst Sanjaya Baru has opposed the idea of offering tax breaks to India's wealthiest individuals in a bid to prevent them from migrating abroad. "I am not in favour of tax breaks because we are a highly unequal society," Baru said while responding to concerns that high taxations is driving the country's elite to relocate. "If you are in the top 1% of the populations and you are leaving the country because you don't want to pay tax, that's not the Indian I want to attract back by giving a tax break."
"we are an unequal society. The top 1-5% must pay taxes to support the government's responsibilities. The focus should instead be on building institution that attract and retain talent," he said while speaking to Shoma Chaudhary on his new book 'secession of the successful'
Baru also pointed to the pressing need for improvements in India's education and skills ecosystem."If you improve scholling and ensure better basic skill training, individuals will be more inclined to stay," he noted.
He further criticised the current trend where India's best-trained minds are increasingly choosing to leave. "We have a warped system in which we actually create a lot of talented people but we have not been able to utilise them. They are leaving because their talent is not getting absorbed here," he said.
"We are actually training people, educating people to go out and not doing enough to get them back. The ability to retain talent or at least get talent back is something we need to focus on. And I'm hoping that the one impact of my book would be for the government - not just in Delhi but across the country - to ask the question, how do I bring talent back? What is it that I need to do at home to make Indians feel - let's go back home? That's a policy challenge."
Baru said the shift from "study to migrate" was now evident. "Earlier you migrated to study, now you study to migrate," he noted, arguing that India has become a source of both human capital and spending power for other nations.
In December 2024, a financial planner said that tax-payers are "bandhu majdoor" in India and unless some drastic measures are taken, "these tax payers will continue to leave India." "Time that they are assured of higher tax slabs, higher income tax deductions under 80C, their kids are given reservations at higher universities and they get subsidised loans and free medical insurance to start with."