In this dispatch, we will closely look at the voting patterns of the Indian middle class in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections
Q regarding Lokniti survey - middle class shrinking from 36% to 22% seems a big deal.
Is this an artefact of how the data was collected or did a lot of Indians suddenly become a lot poorer?
Even I was surprised reading this in Sridharan's article. I think this drop in %age is the function of the class grouping of their sample of 20,000+ respondents. Also the grouping was done using a composite index of income, house type, occupation and occupational level and not typically just using income. Also the middle class grew at 6+% per year between 1995 and 2021 as per the PRICE ICE data- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/how-the-middle-class-will-play-the-hero-in-indias-rise-as-world-power/articleshow/101608682.cms?from=mdr
Q regarding Lokniti survey - middle class shrinking from 36% to 22% seems a big deal.
Is this an artefact of how the data was collected or did a lot of Indians suddenly become a lot poorer?
Even I was surprised reading this in Sridharan's article. I think this drop in %age is the function of the class grouping of their sample of 20,000+ respondents. Also the grouping was done using a composite index of income, house type, occupation and occupational level and not typically just using income. Also the middle class grew at 6+% per year between 1995 and 2021 as per the PRICE ICE data- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/how-the-middle-class-will-play-the-hero-in-indias-rise-as-world-power/articleshow/101608682.cms?from=mdr