Behind India’s GDP growth lies a disturbing truth. Why do corporates get tax breaks while common people struggle for basics? This blog exposes the system that favours the few and leaves the many behind—with a human story you won’t forget.It’s Not Hard Work. It’s a Game. And the Rules Are Written by the Winners.
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment.
We hear it all the time—“India is the fastest-growing economy.”
“Our GDP is soaring.”
“We are becoming a global superpower.”
And yet, if you step out of the boardroom and into the real India—the India of railway platforms, ration shops, and one-room tenements—the story sounds completely different.
Because here, growth doesn't mean dinner. GDP doesn't fill your gas cylinder. And all those grand promises about jobs and development? They feel like echoes from a world that doesn't care if you eat or not.
So, let’s ask the question that no one in power wants to answer:
Why are the rich getting richer in India—and why does the system seem to be designed just for them?
The Illusion of Meritocracy
We are raised to believe that if you work hard, you will succeed. That wealth is a reward for effort, intelligence, and sacrifice. But look closer at India’s wealth distribution, and you’ll find a very different formula at play.
Today, just 1% of the population controls nearly 40% of the country’s total wealth. The remaining 99%—over a billion people—are left fighting over crumbs. Not because they are lazy. Not because they don't dream. But because the game is rigged from the start.
Hard work alone doesn't buy you a seat at the table. What buys you that seat is access—to capital, to policy makers, to tax loopholes, and to the very machinery of governance.
Corporates Get Rebates. Citizens Get Rations.
Here’s the irony that cuts deep:
While a daily-wage labourer pays GST on every packet of biscuits and every litre of cooking oil, large corporations are gifted tax rebates worth thousands of crores.
Why? Because they promise jobs.
They promise investment.
They promise to uplift the nation.
But the ground reality is brutally different.
After receiving those rebates, many corporates don't create employment—they automate. They don't boost wages—they cut costs. They don't build schools or hospitals—they build gated townships for their own executives.
Meanwhile, the common citizen is left with a ration card that barely covers 5 kg of rice per month. Not a choice—a compromise.
Public Infrastructure, Private Profits
Let’s talk about the crown jewels of India—our ports, our airports, our railways, and our seaports.
These were built with public money. With your taxes. With my taxes. With the sweat of generations.
And yet, one by one, they are being handed over to private players—not to run better, but to profit better.
These corporate giants now operate our busiest airports. They manage our largest shipping ports. They earn billions in revenue—revenue generated from the movement of goods and people that we paid to build.
And what do they get in return?
More tax rebates. More policy support. More government contracts.
It’s a beautiful loop, really—if you’re on the inside.
The state builds. The private sector profits. The state then rewards them for profiting. And the public? We just watch.
The Silent Exchange: Campaign Funds & Favorable Policies
Now, here’s where it gets uncomfortable—but it needs to be said.
There is an unspoken agreement in Indian politics today. Corporates fund election campaigns—openly or through convoluted routes—and in return, they get policies that serve their balance sheets.
Not policies that serve the nation.
Not policies that lift the poor.
But policies that ensure their quarterly reports look stellar.
Think about it:
When was the last time a tax break was given to a small farmer?
When was the last time a subsidy was designed for a street vendor?
When was the last time an infrastructure project was planned around the needs of a slum dweller?
Almost never.
Because those people don’t fund campaigns. They don’t sit in air-conditioned rooms with bureaucrats. They don’t have lobbyists. They have nothing but their vote—and even that, they are told, is their only weapon.
The Ground Reality: Jobs That Don’t Exist
Corporates love to talk about job creation.
It’s their favourite defense.
“We are hiring thousands.”
“We are building India.”
“We are the engines of growth.”
But step onto the ground and ask a young graduate in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, or Jharkhand how many jobs they see.
Ask a woman in rural Maharashtra if she feels the wave of development.
Ask a skilled IT professional in Tier-2 city if their salary has kept pace with inflation.
The answer will be a quiet, tired no.
Because the jobs being created are either low-paying, contractual, or simply non-existent. The promise of employment is used to justify tax breaks—but the reality of employment is used to keep wages low and unions weak.
What About the Middle Class?
The middle class—once the backbone of India’s democratic dream—is now squeezed from both ends.
On one side, inflation eats into their savings.
On the other, taxes eat into their income.
They pay for everything—income tax, GST, fuel cess, education fees, healthcare bills. And yet, they see little in return. No world-class hospitals. No reliable public transport. No safe streets. No clean air.
Meanwhile, the super-rich pay a lower effective tax rate than their chauffeurs—because they can hire top accountants who know every corner of the tax code.
A System That Rewards Access, Not Effort
Let’s call it what it is:
This is not a free market.
This is a captured market.
A system where the rich don't just win—they write the rules of winning.
A system where policy is designed not for the common good, but for the corporate good.
A system where the common person is told to be grateful for 5 kg of rice, while the elite are given entire airports to manage and profit from.
But Here’s the Flip Side…
Not all is lost.
Because despite everything, India’s common people are resilient. They are aware. And they are asking questions—loudly, on social media, on news platforms, and in the streets.
The conversation is shifting.
People are no longer accepting the old narrative of “growth will trickle down.”
They are demanding accountability. They are asking for transparency in tax policies. They are questioning the privatization of public assets. They are looking at the wealth gap and saying, “Enough.”
And that, my friend, is where hope lies.
What Needs to Change?
We don’t need to dismantle capitalism.
We don’t need to hate success.
But we do need to build a system that is fair—one where:
•Tax rebates are linked to actual job creation, not promises.
•Public infrastructure remains public or is leased with strict social clauses.
•Election funding is transparent and audited.
•The common person gets access to quality education, healthcare, and dignified work.
•Wealth is taxed fairly, not hoarded behind legal loopholes.
A Personal Note
I wrote this blog not as an economist, but as a citizen.
Someone who has stood in ration queues with my grandmother. Someone who has seen relatives migrate to cities for jobs that never paid enough. Someone who has watched friends with engineering degrees drive cabs because there were no other options.
This isn’t abstract data. This is life.
And when the system treats life so cheaply for 99% of its people, something is profoundly broken.
Final Thoughts
India is not poor.
India is unequal.
We have the resources. We have the talent. We have the democracy.
What we lack is the will to use them for everyone—not just the 1%.
The rich are getting richer not because they are smarter or harder working.
They are getting richer because the system is tilted in their favour—and because the rest of us are too exhausted, too distracted, or too divided to push back.
But that can change.
It starts with conversations like this.
It starts with asking the right questions.
It starts with refusing to accept that 5 kg of rice is all you deserve.
Because you deserve more.
And so does India.
We don’t need to hate success.
But we do need to build a system that is fair—one where:
•Tax rebates are linked to actual job creation, not promises.
•Public infrastructure remains public or is leased with strict social clauses.
•Election funding is transparent and audited.
•The common person gets access to quality education, healthcare, and dignified work.
•Wealth is taxed fairly, not hoarded behind legal loopholes.
A Personal Note
I wrote this blog not as an economist, but as a citizen.
Someone who has stood in ration queues with my grandmother. Someone who has seen relatives migrate to cities for jobs that never paid enough. Someone who has watched friends with engineering degrees drive cabs because there were no other options.
This isn’t abstract data. This is life.
And when the system treats life so cheaply for 99% of its people, something is profoundly broken.
Final Thoughts
India is not poor.
India is unequal.
We have the resources. We have the talent. We have the democracy.
What we lack is the will to use them for everyone—not just the 1%.
The rich are getting richer not because they are smarter or harder working.
They are getting richer because the system is tilted in their favour—and because the rest of us are too exhausted, too distracted, or too divided to push back.
But that can change.
It starts with conversations like this.
It starts with asking the right questions.
It starts with refusing to accept that 5 kg of rice is all you deserve.
Because you deserve more.
And so does India.
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