Slow climb up: The time it takes the poor to become middle class in India

Religion, region, caste and education determine social mobility in the country

Henry Ford grew up on a farm, studied in a one-room school and went on to become one of America’s best-known industrialists.

While there have been concerns over whether the US still offers such opportunities for upward mobility, data shows the move from poverty to relative abundance is far harder in India. The average Indian in a low-income household would take seven generations to reach median income levels, according to data from the Paris-based Organisation for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is five generations for the US, and around three for countries like Norway and Finland as