Shifting classes, shifting culture

One area that needs more study is how the entry of the hundreds of millions into low-income status has affected entertainment content

A survey a couple of years ago showed that 95 per cent of Indians were poor or low income by global standards. Only 3 per cent were middle class. The poor were those earning less than $2, meaning about Rs 135 a day, and those of low income earned under Rs 680 a day (Rs 20,000 a month).

If you employ a maid or a driver, they are probably in the low-income band. Of course if you live in a city, as Business Standard readers mostly do, being low-income is not very different from being poor, because higher expenses on transport