'Worse than Sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan': Financial planner warns of income crisis in India

India’s economic divide is far starker than it appears, with the bottom 90% of the population earning just 43% of the national income—and surviving on less than half the national per capita GDP, according to Chennai-based financial planner D Muthukrishnan.

In a post on X, Muthukrishnan highlighted a deep structural inequality in India’s economic fabric. While the national per capita GDP stands at $2,700, the figure plummets to just $1,300 for the bottom 90% once the top 10% of earners are excluded.

“That’s worse than even Sub-Saharan Africa and Pakistan,” he wrote. “If you are not among the top 150 million but part of the balance 1.3 billion, every day is a literal hell.”

Muthukrishnan pointed to the illusion of prosperity created by India’s relatively large wealthy class. With 150 million high earners, “the country appears prosperous than what it actually is,” he noted. But for the remaining 1 billion, the lived reality is grim.

Citing the Indus Valley Report, he underscored that around 1 billion Indians have “absolutely zero purchasing power,” spending only on bare necessities and surviving largely through government support. “As a country, we’ve a very long way to go,” he wrote.

The post has sparked renewed concern over the sustainability of India's growth narrative, especially as policymakers tout rising GDP figures while poverty and purchasing power gaps persist across rural and urban areas.