Billionaires' wealth exceeds India's consumption expenses

The collective networth of 48 billionaires in India at about Rs 10 lakh crore exceeds the government's total consumption expenditure for the last fiscal, as also the entire fiscal deficit of the country.

The collective wealth of the 48 billionaires is also more than double the fiscal deficit amount estimated by the government for the current fiscal at Rs 4.12 lakh crore.

As per the latest Forbes list of billionaires, released yesterday, there are 48 persons in India with a networth of one billion dollar or more and their collective wealth stands at $194.6 billion (about Rs 9.73 lakh crore).

This puts the average wealth of Indian billionaires at about $4.05 billion (Rs 20,271 crore).

In comparison, the latest government data pegs India's per capita income Rs 53,331 in the year 2010-11, while it is estimated to grow to Rs 60,972 in the current fiscal.

Also, the collective wealth of all 48 billionaires in India is higher than the Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) of Rs 9.11 lakh crore in 2010-11, and is only a shade below the estimated figure of Rs 10.24 lakh crore for the current fiscal ending this month.

As per the government data, the GFCE at current prices is estimated at Rs 10,23,829 crore in 2011-12, up from Rs 9,10,719 crore in the previous fiscal.

The GFCE is the total government expenditure on goods and services used for the individual and collective consumption of the people.

Global business magazine Forbes in its annual list of billionaires for 2012 has put the number of such people in India at 48, while it has also named nine other persons Indian -origin living abroad in the global rankings.

Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani has retained his title of being the world's richest Indian, despite an erosion of $4.7 billion in his wealth in the past year. The 54-year-old Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, with a networth of $22.3 billion is ranked 19th richest globally.