One out of every three Indians 'middle class'; to double by 2047: Report

The report released by PRICE added that the share of middle class in the total population rose from 14 per cent in 2004-05 to 31 per cent in 2021-22

One in every three Indians is "middle class" in India with income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 30 lakh per annum. This number of expected to double by 2047, placing two out of every three Indians in the category, a new survey quoted by the Times of India (TOI) showed. 

"By 2047, if political and economic reforms have their desired effect, the Indian income pyramid will have a smallish layer at the bottom, a huge bulge of the middle class and a big creamy ‘rich’ layer on top," says Rajesh Shukla, MD and CEO of People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE), that released the "The Rise of India’s Middle Class" report, said. 

The report added that the share of the middle class in the total population rose from 14 per cent in 2004-05 to 31 per cent in 2021-22. 

The number of "super rich", on the other hand, has risen from 98,000 in 1994-95 to 1.8 million in 2020-21. Maharashtra was India's richest state, followed by Delhi and Gujarat. 

Under the report, the population has been categorised into seven categories, due to a lack of a clear definition. The poorest of these "destitute" has an annual income under Rs 125,000. For the richest "super rich", the annual income is over Rs 2 crore. 

Surat and Nagpur saw the fastest growth in the high-income segment between 1994-95 and 2020-21.

In the "rich" category, with an income over Rs 30 lakh, every household has a car. In the category of "crorepatis", there are three cars per family. 

The survey covered 63 cities with a population of over 1 million.