Number of ‘super rich’ up from 98k to 18 lakh households in 26 years

NEW DELHI: Lack of a universally acceptable definition of the middle class, coupled with the well-known problems associated with survey data, have resulted in varying estimates of its numerical estimates, says Rajesh Shukla, MD and CEO of PRICE and author of the report titled: “The Rise of India’s Middle Class”, who has been tracking the issue.

“Given that estimates range from 50 to 400 million, many question their actual strength and thus the purchasing power of this category,” he says. The report has clubbed these groups into seven categories, ranging from the “destitutes” (those with an annual family income of under Rs 1,25,000 or$1,700 in 2020-21) to the “super rich” (annual family income of over Rs 2 crore or $270,000 in 2020-21) with the middle class in between.

“The reason for clubbing households like this is that distinct patterns of consumption can be observed for these categories,” says Shukla.

The survey results showed that the “destitute” household hardly buys a car. Less than five out of every 10 “aspirer” households had an automobile in 2020-21.

In the “seekers” category, with an income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh a year, almost three out of every 10 households have a car. Among the “rich”, or those with an annual household income of over Rs 30 lakh, every household owns a car. In the category of “crorepatis”, there are al-most three cars per family. Similarly, in the case of airconditioners, while the “destitute” households have none, the “aspirers” two out of every 100 and about half of the “super rich” have ACs, according to the survey.

The report showed that Maharashtra is the richest state with 6. 4 lakh super rich households earning over Rs. 2 crore per annum in 2021. Delhi was second with Rs 1. 8 lakh households, Gujarat third with 1. 4 lakh, Tamil Nadu fourth with 1. 3L and Punjab fifth with 1. 01 lakh households, according to the survey.
It showed that the number of “super rich” has risen from 98,000 in 1994-95 to 1. 8 million households in 2020-21. Surat and Nagpur have the highest growth in the high-income segment.