India now has 576 billionaires, fourfold rise in 5 years:Govt says it doesn’t know their wealth, claims poverty and unemployment have fallen

In the country, the number of billionaires has increased more than four-fold in the last five years. In the year 2021-22, there were 142 billionaires. In 2025-26, the number of billionaires has increased to 576. The government has stated the number of billionaires, but has not provided details of the total income of individual billionaires. In response to a question by Congress MP Murari Lal Meena from Dausa, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha that there is no statutory definition of the term billionaire in the Income Tax Act. However, details have been provided of those showing annual income of 100 crores or more in their Income Tax Returns (ITR). Government does not have details of total wealth of billionaires The government does not have details of the total wealth of billionaires. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that the government does not have any official or compiled data on the total wealth of taxpayers. The reason for this is that the Wealth Tax Act, 1957 was abolished from April 1, 2016. Gap between rural and urban areas in household expenditure reduced According to the answer, the gap in household expenditure between rural and urban areas is decreasing. According to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24, the Gini coefficient (inequality of income or wealth among people) was recorded at 0.237 for rural areas and 0.284 for urban areas. This is lower than the 2022-23 figures, which shows that the gap between rural and urban areas is reducing. 13.5 crore people rose above the poverty line According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report, labor markets in both urban and rural areas are in better condition than pre-COVID levels. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 years and above has decreased from 3.6% in 2022 to 3.1% in 2025. The findings of NITI Aayog’s National Multidimensional Poverty Index indicate that between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the proportion of multidimensional poverty in the country decreased from 24.85% to 14.96%. During this period, approximately 13.5 crore people rose above the poverty line. Surcharge imposed on higher income earners to reduce inequality The Minister of State for Finance said in his reply that the government has taken corrective measures on several fronts to reduce inequality and create employment in the country. A surcharge has been imposed on individuals with very high incomes in addition to the normal tax.