Ben Ezra Archives - Angry Meta Traders

India Insider: Real Story Behind the Rupee’s Weakness

July 29, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Behavioral Sentiment Ben Ezra Central Banks Economy Exclusive Content Featured Highlights Financial Institutions India Investing Speculators Uncategorized World

Change of Policy Could Create a Stronger INR

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra says, Rupee depreciation doesn’t reflect weaknesses in the underlying economy. He says that the external factors due to geopolitical tensions induced by oil prices rising has created a Dollar demand and created Rupee weakness.

While it’s true the Rupee has depreciated because of foreign capital fleeing and oil importers’ persistent demand for USD when buying oil and gas, this doesn’t answer the entire issue regarding INR vulnerability.

Questions surrounding the Rupee’s weakness should also focus on fundamental causes for depreciation. For instance, the Rupee has largely depreciated the past 5 years from 2021 – from 74.50 per Dollar – and into 2026, where its trading around 95.72 per the USD/INR now. Why?

USD/INR Five Year Chart as of 29 July 2026

Nominal depreciation has been 28%, and this is despite service exports growing healthier, and remittances flows that have been good in the last few years. Can the RBI governor say anything related to it?

Why Does the Rupee Remain Weak?

Economists point to the widening gap between India’s foreign inflows and outflows as a structural flaw that’s weighed on the Rupee and growth. A reason for this is India’s struggle to attract long-term capital through Foreign Direct Investment. Net FDI has declined from $28 billion in 2022-23 year to just $7.7 billion in the financial year that ended in March.

Foreign multinationals, venture capitalists and private equity titans have been taking advantage of high valuations to cash out. Despite recent pro-business reforms by Narendra Modi’s government, India’s shabby infrastructure and a bureaucracy that reduces Byzantium schemes to shame, puts off new arrivals. This is also a reason why tradable exports are not growing compared to India’s vast import needs. India’s exchange rate remains relatively overvalued, even though in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, Indian products are inexpensive compared with those of the United States.

India could have allowed the Rupee to reflect it’s underlying market fundamentals in order to make it’s exports more competitive and restore external balance. Given the high supply of skilled India’s labor force and opportunities in small and medium scale businesses, especially in agricultural value added products where India holds competitive advantages, it’s not impossible to improve tradable export volumes. Instead, the Reserve Bank of India went in the opposite direction by managing the Rupee at 83/USD and made it overvalued, especially when Shaktikanda Das was the Governor of RBI.

If the RBI truly believes in India’s economic fundamentals story, then why did it intervene aggressively during the 2023-2024 period? Critics argued these known interventions may also have had the effect of supporting India’s GDP when measured in USD, although the RBI maintains that its objective was to reduce excessive volatility and preserve financial stability.

Even with respect to headline GDP growth numbers, many economists in India and around the world still believe that Indian statistical numbers overstate the actual strength of the underlying economy. To generate better growth data in India, the government has expanded it capital expenditures to compensate against relatively weak private investment. However, creating jobs and opportunities for linkages – opportunities in sector related industries, and enhancing India’s trade competitiveness via high value exports are important and urgent, rather than depending on foreign capital flows. In this regard, private capital expenditures still need to increase substantially.

Relying on short term capital flows for managing the current account deficit is a difficult strategy. Even if the RBI believes a de-escalation in the US and Iran War will occur, and believes that global liquidity conditions will allow the RBI to accumulate higher Forex reserves, risks remain skewed negatively to the upside without meaningful changes to improve long-term net Foreign Direct Investment.

David Lubin of Chatham House argues that countries should not rely only on high Forex reserves to protect themselves from volatile capital flows. The best strategy in his view is to reduce the potential problems at its source by discouraging unstable, short term inflows, and ensuring banks do not accumulate excessive foreign currency risks.

However, this is exactly what India is doing by mobilizing leveraged foreign currency deposits from non-resident Indian’s and offering hedging for these inflows until September 2026. Reserve Bank of India Governor Malhotra has stated that the RBI has attracted around $32 billion worth of USD inflows via this route.

Arguably, another side of the equation should be examined. If central banks were to accumulate FX reserves for the sake of paying for their imports, without meaningful reforms in their own economy and not creating conditions for capital to be deposited long-term, no capital controls can ably solve the underlying deficits or surplus nature for those respective economies.

In India capital account surplus has created deficits because the net Foreign Direct Investment has been weak resulting in funding costs for transactions in current accounts to increase. Apparently, this dilemma goes beyond the RBI balance sheet capabilities and exposes flaws in the fundamental reality of economic internal policies. The ensuing crisis hits the Rupee faster as capital leaves and damages the exchange rate.

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India Insider: What Do Rural Areas Say About the Nation’s Fast Growing Economy?

July 22, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Behavioral Sentiment Economy Featured Highlights India Uncategorized World

Reflections on a Disappearing Workforce and a Long-Term Strategy

Tamil Nadu is one of the fastest growing States in India with an impressive Gross State Domestic Product result of 11.9% in financial year 2024-2025. Despite the former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) government being unseated by the new party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) in State elections recently, Tamil Nadu has continued to attract billions of USD. Automobiles, information technology (IT), electronics, and high-end engineering from global investors continues to be alluring.

As a student of economics, I have looked at and questioned how far this growth has helped raise wages and create jobs. In other words, will these investments help create linkages across the Tamil Nadu economy and generate deeper opportunities? Tamil Nadu may have higher GDP growth than any other State economy in India, but its growth is highly skewed towards a relatively small number of sectors.

India Insider: What Do Rural Areas Say About the Nation’s Fast Growing Economy?

As noted, some of these sectors that attract investment generate high output, but employ a relatively small share of the workforce. As a result the gains are not spread evenly across the labor force.

Since the informal workforce constitutes a large share of employment in Tamil Nadu, many companies rely on contract labor that has created limited individual bargaining power. This is evident in many automobile, textile, and mobile phone assembly plants in Chennai.

I knew a friend who worked in a mobile phone assembly plant in 2019 and despite completing a Bachelor of Engineering degree, he earned only around USD 150 per month. Since employees have weaker bargaining power, wages do not rise even as inflation increases every year.

Many people leave these companies within one or two years. However, companies do now worry, because these firms can recruit replacements because the supply of educated workers remains high relative to demand. Tamil Nadu produces a higher number of graduates every year, and it knocks down the wage bargaining power of workers, allowing the formal economy to employ a multitude of people without having to raise wages

In the 1990’s these conditions weren’t prominent because there were fewer people who had accomplished university studies and graduation. Getting into the formal economy became easier and capital started to flow after the end of the License Raj era controls in 1991, this when India opened up it’s economy for foreign direct investment.

In the last two decades, Tamil Nadu’s industrialization has become heavily concentrated in cities such as Hosur, Chennai, Tiruppur and Coimbatore. Despite strong outbound trade, the State records an overall trade deficit. This also means some districts are performing well, while others remain heavily dependent on agriculture or services to generate Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP).

Pudukkottai District as a Case Study

I was doing some field surveys in Pudukkottai district, especially in the town and surrounding rural areas. And since we have no clear up-to-date Census numbers, we have to rely on the 2011 Census to understand the composition of Pudukkottai district’s economy.

According to the 2011 Census, Pudukkottai district is heavily dependent on agriculture, accounting for roughly 45–55% of employment. An important parameter to examine in the next Census will be whether this composition has changed.

Because the census is not giving us clear answers, we need to conduct random surveys across multiple villages to understand the reality. And during my visits around Pudukkottai, I consistently saw people mainly below the age of 20 and above the age of 50. Why?

This was the case in numerous villages around Pudukkottai. Still, we need stronger evidence. I repeated this exercise across different time periods to understand whether the pattern remained the same. The result was remarkably similar regarding ages.

Interestingly, the predominant working age population of India – between 25 and 40 years old – is largely absent from villages and even from Pudukkottai town, although I did see some from this age group employed in the service sector.

Where Did These Missing Workers Go?

The single reason lies in Pudukkottai district’s relatively high agricultural productivity. Since the service sector accounts for only around 30–35% of employment, the district still relies heavily on agriculture and allied activities for income generation.

That model has weakened over the last fifteen years. Lack of small scale manufacturing industries has crippled employment opportunities. Unlike Coimbatore or Tiruppur, Pudukkottai has attracted relatively few large manufacturing or technology investments. Economic growth has therefore remained dependent on agriculture, small businesses, and government employment.

Another important aspect is that many small businesses in the service sector are struggling or have closed altogether in Pudukkottai compared to 2016 because of weak local consumption. This is because people are migrating. That is clearly visible, and businesses cannot survive without a sufficient working age population. While Pudukkottai’s district’s population may have grown, much of the increase may have occurred in rural areas and been offset by outward migration of working age adults to Chennai, Bengaluru, Singapore, Malaysia, the Gulf countries and other employment centers.

The difference is also reflected in income levels. Recent district estimates place Coimbatore district per capita income at around ₹4.1 lakh, while Pudukkottai’s is approximately ₹2.4 lakh. The gap reflects differences in industrialization, labor productivity, and the availability of high value employment rather than population alone.

The next Population Census and the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) will be important in determining whether outward migration and changes in employment composition support these observations. Indicators such as graduate unemployment, labor force participation, regular salaried employment, and sector wise employment will provide a clearer picture of whether Tamil Nadu’s growth is creating quality jobs.

Limited industrial growth will become a much bigger challenge for Tamil Nadu over the coming years if unemployment among educated youth continues to remain high. Pudukkottai district is a classic example of that challenge.

India’s fast growing economy needs proactive business policies in small towns, together with the infrastructure needed to attract manufacturing and private investment. Depending primarily on IT hubs or remittances from the Gulf and Southeast Asia is not a sustainable long-term strategy.

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India Insider: A Giant Bureaucracy Needs an Urgent Reset

July 16, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Assets Ben Ezra Central Banks Corporate Equities Exclusive Content Featured Highlights Financial Institutions India Investing Uncategorized World

Paperwork Cyclones and Slow Pace Confront Indian Citizens and Corporate Investment

Almost every single day Indians are confronted by massive bureaucratic problems when they have to approach the government for basic services. When this will change?

For example if you apply for an Aadhaar card (which is used for proof of identity and address in India), birth certificate or ration card (used primarily for getting subsidized groceries in government run stores), or want an electricity connection or passport, you have to move through a myriad of unnecessary bureaucracy in many government offices.

Recently, I went to renew my passport which was authorized and overseen in a regional passport office in Tiruchirappalli of the Tamil Nadu State. To my astonishment, there were no single chairs or any other type of sitting amenities for visitors carrying their applications. Visitors had to sit down on the floor outside the passport office.

India Insider: A Giant Bureaucracy Needs an Urgent Reset

Also applicants inside the premises had no access to office drinking water or restroom facilities. And the waiting hours were too long. The authorities there treat people like teachers treating students, making normal people wonder why they have to apply for their passports by undergoing this giant bureaucracy as if it were a psychology test of some sort. Many people pour their anger and frustrations onto online forums complaining about the mistreatment.

Some of these people likely wondered how India despite showcasing it can send satellites to space and the Chandrayaan to the moon, doesn’t seem to have a stable, nor easier services for the day to day needs of the people regarding government affairs.

The government may argue that due to large numbers of people constantly applying for various forms and certificates, and a lack of adequate staff, things are more than a little complex in many overburdened government departments. But the fact the government seems to miss and a critical point people are driven to anger about, is that the nation collect taxes from its citizens to insure adequate services which are not fulfilled comfortably in most cases.

Indian citizens are not applying empty handed for a passport and expecting charity or miracles from the government, rather they pay an accepted fee to the passport office. Thus, it’s the duty of the government bureaucracies to be held accountable.

In government run local panchayats (rural government assemblies), there is always rampant corruption. An example can be given regarding the simple renewing of a business license. Corruption is a common thing. Vishalini (name changed) told me that she had to pay a 5000 Rupees fee ($51 USD) in 2019 in order to bribe a local panchayat to get her father’s death certificate

Imagine what would happen if some officers from the government or its employees, went to a restaurant and they were treated badly and charged $20 instead of $2 for a Dosa or Vada Pav. Would they silently pay the bill with cash not resisting, or would they fight back and ask questions?

As a former Forex broker working in the Indian financial markets and servicing retail clients, I have witnessed how this bureaucracy has worked. In April 2024, the authorities simply banned the exchange traded currency derivatives market that allowed retail speculators, small scale exporters and importers to hedge their exposure, wagering on the direction of the Rupee against 4 currencies – the EUR, GBP, Yen and USD. Many clients lost money, because they couldn’t sell at the available market price and some of the trades were liquidated by brokers’ risk management systems when the directive was put into force. The authorities neither compensated, nor took responsibility for these actions. The government action was decisive and swift.

Almost everyone in India knows that we have ‘missed the boat’ by making small manufacturing detrimentally hard due to red tape, poor infrastructure and giant bureaucracy. Free enterprise and entrepreneurship create innovation, less government intervention and greater economic freedom could allow small scale manufacturing to flourish.

Not Only Indian Citizens Suffer, So Do Investors

India has huge gaps to fill, but even if someone injects capital for an infrastructure project, makes money, and is creating jobs, there are still many things to be done about the burden of bureaucracy. The results of government inefficiency and corruption also creates hurdles and disadvantages for investors who would like to participate in India’s growth story with much needed foreign money.

India’s enormous bureaucracy needs urgent improvement and progress in order to facilitate and revitalize its approval system to receive Aadhaar cards, marriage certificates and even death certificate in a more timely manner. Everything can and should be digitized, so people don’t have to wait in long cues to verify or get new documents.

A lack of effective and transparent services in government offices have to be dealt with effectively. Standards need to be created, upheld and checked on regularly, a host of problems need to be eradicated. Indian citizens would benefit.

India is a current account deficit country and it needs foreign direct capital to help finance its deficit. Investment opportunities need to be made easier for financial institutions abroad to facilitate capital inflows into India so it is less reliant on its own domestic borrowing and savings. Weak frameworks and institutional voids create problems. For India to reverse the weakened foreign direct investment being demonstrated and attract meaningful capital, fundamental changes need to take place, we cannot rely on mere hope for more favorable diversification cycles from abroad. With better policies implemented by the government, India can attract global investment funds easier and help foster improvements for all.

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India Insider: Foreign Investors and Their Selective Choices

July 8, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Assets Behavioral Sentiment Ben Ezra Business Commodities Economy Equities Exclusive Content Featured Highlights India Investing Major Global Equity Indices Uncategorized World

Return of Global Investors into the Indian Marketplace

Global investors are gradually returning to Indian assets after months of persistent outflows as risk appetite sentiment has been ignited by an extended ceasefire between the U.S and Iran. Energy prices have moved in India’s favor, sparking favorable conditions.

Despite recent flare ups in the Strait of Hormuz, Brent Crude has dropped about 30% in the past quarter, easing India’s fuel concerns as the world’s third largest Crude Oil buyer. AI trade rotation is gathering pace in Asia also, this as investors pull money from chipmakers that powered this year’s rally and hunt for cheaper ways to deploy their cash.

NIFTY 50 One Year Chart as of 8th of July 2026

Indian equities beat its emerging markets peers in June by its biggest margin in seven months. The Reserve Bank of India’s measures to attract foreign currency deposits and overseas capital have eased funding concerns for lenders, record foreign inflows into government bonds have helped stabilize the Rupee and improve liquidity conditions. According to Bloomberg, “Goldman Sachs favors 30-Year government bonds as lower oil prices allay inflation and fiscal risks”.

Combined with resilient credit growth and improving asset quality, India’s banking sector is once again attracting global investors, this after trading at meaningful discounts to historical valuations for quite a while.

Second Opportunity May Be Information Technology

Indian IT companies have undergone a sharp valuation correction over the past two years. Unlike the post pandemic period, when large Indian technology firms traded at substantial premiums to global peers such as Accenture. These premiums have now narrowed considerably after earnings growth slowed, and enthusiasm surrounding Artificial Intelligence shifted investor attention towards US technology companies.

As highlighted in Business Line magazine, the sector is undergoing a healthy valuation reset, with investors increasingly questioning whether premium valuations remain justified without a corresponding acceleration in earnings growth.

However, the discussion extends beyond valuations. Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the enterprise software industry. For decades, Software as a Service (SaaS) companies dominated enterprise technology by offering standardized cloud based solutions that were cheaper and easier than developing software in-house. That advantage is now beginning to erode.

Large AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic are building AI agents capable of operating across multiple enterprise applications through a single conversational interface. Rather than competing within individual software categories, these horizontal AI platforms could reduce the importance of stand alone enterprise applications by seamlessly connecting them. At the same time, AI native startups are targeting specialized business functions, while advances in generative AI are encouraging enterprises to revisit the traditional ‘build versus buy’ decision as they develop customized software internally at significantly lower costs.

For Indian IT services companies, this represents both a disruption and a new opportunity. Routine application development and maintenance may become increasingly automated, placing pressure on traditional outsourcing revenues. Yet demand for AI integration, cloud migration, cybersecurity, enterprise transformation, and customised AI deployment is likely to create an entirely new investment cycle. The winners will be firms that evolve from conventional software service providers into strategic AI implementation partners.

Risks ahead for Indian Markets

The near term outlook is not without risks for India. A weak monsoon could push food inflation higher. Elevated Crude Oil prices may widen India’s external balances. And a stronger USD with elevated U.S interest rate yields could moderate foreign capital inflows. The technology sector also faces a structural challenge as Artificial Intelligence reshapes the traditional software business model, requiring companies to adapt more quickly than in previous technology cycles.

Even so, the broader macro backdrop appears to be improving. Policy measures have eased liquidity conditions, corporate balance sheets remain healthy, and valuations across several sectors have become considerably more attractive after an extended correction. Rather than chasing expensive momentum trades elsewhere in emerging markets, global investors may increasingly look toward Indian sectors where fundamentals are strengthening while expectations remain relatively subdued.

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India Insider: Systematic Investment Plan Boom

June 26, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Assets Behavioral Sentiment Ben Ezra Corporate Economy Exclusive Content Featured Highlights Financial Institutions India Investing Uncategorized World

Liquidity, Valuations and the Limits of Domestic Capital

India’s equity market has surprised many investors over the past two years. Despite persistent foreign institutional investor selling, weak net foreign direct investment (FDI), subdued private capital expenditures and a depreciating Rupee, the broader markets have not fallen and proven remarkably resilient. But risks abound.

Many observers point to the rapid growth of Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), which millions of retail investors invest regularly via mutual funds in India. Monthly SIP inflows into the Indian equity market has reached record highs at the tune of 32,087 Crore Rupees ($3.38 billion USD) in March, 2026 per AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds India) data.

Nifty 50 Five Year Chart as of 26th June 2026

Before COVID-19, the stock market industry in India was a boring business. Accounts were opened via paperwork, and demat (the account in which the digital shares were held) in a bureaucratic manner with multiple paperwork requirements. Clients who liked to participate in the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) had to go to their broker or issue a cheque to participate in the bidding process. As of 2019, the total demat accounts in India stood at 40 million. Sophisticated retail investors would go to their local branches of associated brokers and trade stocks, derivatives or commodities. They sometimes would use telephone or online orders.

All this changed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when equity market valuations became depressed and people were forced to stay at home. This ushered a wave of new retail traders who had time to master the game and wanted to capitalize on the falling valuations of many companies and take advantage of opportunities they believed in. Astonishingly, demat accounts opened between 2020-2026 totaled around 180 million, almost quadrupling pre-Covid levels. Due to digital penetration and the rise of discount brokers, young retail traders were able to quickly allocate substantial portions of their monthly income into SIPs.

SIPS have strengthened the financial market resilience of India, compared to the previous decade when it was the domestic institutional investors who helped market stability. Yet concerns are now arising whether domestic household savings are supporting fundamentally stronger companies, or are creating systematic inflows which help tenuous companies to have higher valuations?

For instance, a famous financial markets journalist recently argued that India’s SIP boom has fueled expensive stocks. Thus, enabling insiders and institutions to exit at favorable prices, reduced future return potential, has weakened the Rupee, and exposed the limitations of crowd-driven investing.

As the AMT India Insider columnist, I decided to investigate these considerations and talked with some people in the financial markets who offered different perspectives regarding the issue.

Mr. Mahalingam, an IIM alumnus noted, “it is difficult to generalize like that. Total SIP inflows should be viewed relative to the total market capitalization of listed companies, not in absolute terms. If the Nifty delivers around 12% returns, it roughly doubles every six years. SIP inflows must also increase over time, simply to purchase the same proportion of shares.”

Arguably, the SIP flows into the Nifty Index some 15 years back are not comparable to today. Considering the higher capitalization of Nifty listed companies (which means greater share values), and given the Nifty index has delivered 12% returns in the last few years, and that it took 6 years for it to double at this rate, it’s important that investors look at higher share prices values arising out of company earnings while considering their investment decisions.

Mr. Prasath, who taught economics and finance to students during his tenure at a private educational institution, argues, “I think there are many dimensions. In stock markets, everything comes down to valuations, the continuous SIP flows may diminish future returns if the earnings don’t grow. But comparing SIP flow with 2005 numbers exaggerates the issue. The Indian economy has grown bigger since 2005 and naturally inflows will also grow accordingly. India has one of the lowest public participation in the capital markets, even with current SIP numbers.”

Mr. Prasath continued, “currently the world is going through turbulent times with the Russia-Ukraine war, the Trump Presidency including tariff actions, the Iran situation and energy crisis, and supply chain disruptions, etc., which are effecting economic growth. The Indian government is also not taking some required steps. Indian companies also have low R&D and failed to participate in emerging themes like AI and semiconductor development. These turbulent times will continue for awhile and Indian markets will underperform its peers. So we have to wait for better times or for world leaders to come to their senses. I think we have to remain both optimistic/realistic and plan our investments accordingly”

If India grows at 7.7% during the 2025-2026 annual year, and foreign capital (especially foreign portfolio investment) is leaving, while private capital expenditures are weak and government capital expenditures are increasing, then what’s the point of higher stock prices for many of these companies? Is it due to steady retail SIP inflows? Does it really help institutions and insiders to cash out, and make retail investors vulnerable? Foreign investors have sold $29 billion USD worth of equities so far this year, and the Rupee has taken a hit, yet we have not see drastic changes in companies’ share or indices values.

In 2022, when the U.S Federal Reserve was raising interest rates, the Nifty 50 Index lost around 3000 points, but this did not happen in 2026. The SIP retail crowd and domestic institutional investors have absorbed the foreign investors’ outflows and provided a cushion for share prices.

Even if some people in the financial markets argue that the foreign investors’ selloff off did not result in poor corporate performance or themes becoming weak, given that the growing market capitalization and the past earnings has justified the higher share prices, it’s significant to note that the Net FDI remains weak. Indian and foreign corporations are repatriating cash at a faster pace, and capital is flowing out of India. That’s ironically what hit the Rupee this year, along with higher oil prices due to the Iran war. In my opinion, private capital expenditures of listed corporations has to grow to justify higher earnings multiples.

Kotak Mahindra Bank director Paritosh Kashyap, while talking to Business Line said that private capital expenditures in India has been subdued for the last 10 years. Higher interest rates, expensive oil and lower equity valuations has dampened sentiment. India’s government Capex (capital expenditure strategy) remains the primary driver.

To summarize and conclude, weak foreign direct investment, subdued private investment, and inflated valuations of Indian assets along with a lack of AI related development is a large underlying issue and concern. For foreign investors to return with greater force again into Indian equities, either the Rupee has to depreciate or equity prices have to decline to generate investor confidence and create an appealing landscape. Retail investors may soon have to face drawdowns in their portfolios as returns dwindle and headwinds move against them.0

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India Insider: Growth Matters, Development Matters Even More

June 5, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Assets Behavioral Sentiment Ben Ezra Commodities Exclusive Content Featured Highlights India Investing Uncategorized World

Participation of Women in the Workforce and Advancing Progress

There is more poverty in this world than many of us realize and would like to comprehend when confronted by the facts, and this is also true with India.

Recently, I visited several villages in Tiruvannamalai District in Tamil Nadu State on behalf of Angry Meta Traders to survey household capital formation, wage growth and labor market dynamics. To my astonishment, in many homes, people still use rice and palm oil purchased through ration shops. The important observation is their consumption basket appears narrow and heavily dependent on subsidized essentials. I saw simple aluminum utensils in kitchens, when higher income households often use silver-plated utensils. Things that many middle-class families consider normal like energy drinks, snacks, or packaged foods were often absent.

What struck me even more was the number of women managing families alone. In some households, the husbands had died due to excessive alcohol consumption. Children attended government schools and depended on nutritious meal schemes provided by the State.

Growing up, I have seen people wear torn uniforms in school because their family could not afford new uniform every year. Some did not wear shoes, and many students stood outside the class because the fees in private schools in India are several times higher than what government schools would charge and their families could not pay on time. Yet, through education and perseverance, many people have succeeded.

However, the poverty I witnessed in Tiruvannamalai District is different. These observations reminded me of a study published in the Lancet Regional Health Center. Researchers followed 251 children in Vellore District (closer to Tiruvannamalai District) and found that poor children living in urban areas were often exposed to calorie-rich but nutrient poor food environments.

If such conditions exist in parts of Tamil Nadu State, one of India’s more developed states, then we should think carefully about the situation across the country.

Another Transformation is Taking Place

For generations, many women carried the burden of childcare, household work, elder care and agricultural labor simultaneously. In many families, they sacrificed their own aspirations for others. Are women born to carry everyone’s burden?

Interestingly, across the globe especially in Southeast Asia, education and economic opportunities have expanded women’s choices. Researchers such as Stanford University’s visiting Professor Alice Evans argue that many women choose marriage only when their partner’s own goals align with their own. If not, remaining single becomes a reasonable choice for them

Female Labor Participation Rates Comparing India and China from 2011 to 2024

As shown in the above chart, India has certainly made progress, but female participation in the workforce remains below that of many East Asian economies. A society that fully allows women to participate in economic life is likely to become more prosperous and productive.

Economic realities are also shaping family decisions. Housing is expensive. Job markets are uncertain. Inflation remains a challenge. Asset prices have risen significantly.

Yesterday, a college friend called me. He recently built a new house in his town. He is 33 years old, unmarried, and works in Oman. Years of overseas employment and remittances have helped him to achieve his goals. I sometimes wonder whether the same outcome would have been possible had he stayed and earned entirely in India, especially outside the software and technology sectors.

India still has demographic advantages, but a demographic does not bear fruit automatically. It requires healthy, educated and economically secure citizens.

We often speak about India becoming a developed nation. However, the real question is whether growth can and will improve the lives of ordinary people, especially women, children and underprivileged. Growth matters, development matters even more.

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India Insider: Growth without Prosperity, Thoughts and Comparisons

May 28, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Ben Ezra Business Central Banks Commodities Corporate Data Exclusive Content Featured Highlights India Investing Uncategorized World

Growth and Prosperity Data Meet India and China's Realities

Economic growth is important for generating prosperity. India as well as China has helped millions be lifted out of poverty using separate development trajectories. Still, questions about income distribution remain a difficult topic that policy makers in both nations often are unwilling to look at with deeper persistence because plenty of inequalities still exists and the subject remains potentially divisive.

China’s low income population is extremely large. Professor Li Shi’s research argues that nearly 300 million people in China are earning less than 1000 Yuan ($149 USD) per month in 2021, while nearly 98 million had monthly incomes below 500 Yuan ($75 USD).

The same is true for the majority in India. As per the Pahle Foundation research shows nearly 91% of India’s workforce remains in the informal sector where their annual per capita incomes are below ₹2.5 lakh Rupees or ₹20,800 Rupees per month ($217 USD per month).

Although industrial and wage models are different comparatively, for instance in China the industrial sector includes 32% of the total working age population and produces an estimate of 36 to 37% of the GDP. And 22% of China’s workforce are employed in agriculture and produce close to 7% of GDP. In India a higher share of the people are in agriculture – close to 45%, and generate roughly 15-18% of the nation’s GDP.

However, there are still problems in both countries regarding inequality via wage disparities of citizens. When income growth is stagnated or not growing, fixed assets capital formation is difficult. People save less and invest less, which in turn makes the economic consumption story difficult. This is happening in China and in India.

Regarding growth, Professor Li listed a series of mounting pressures: China’s growth rate has fallen from its high-speed era of 8 to 10% to around 5%. Household income growth has slowed sharply and the weakest gains are among the poorest groups. Urban wage growth has also softened. Consumption remains structurally weak. Fixed-asset investment, especially private investment has lost momentum. Unemployment, particularly among young people remains elevated. These are not separate problems. Taken together they raise a harder question, whether China can still generate the level of growth needed to meet its 2035 and 2050 prosperity targets?

India between 2015–2016 experienced significant growth driven by consumption, investment and services expansion. After Covid-19 its growth has stabilized around 6 to 7%, yet higher levels of prosperity are not clearly visible for many and inequality has widened.

The unemployment rate among those aged 16 to 24 in China has remained around 16% for an extended period, fluctuating during seasonal reasons. Unemployment among other age groups have also risen gradually, indicating clear pressure in the labor markets.

In India the unemployment for youth aged between 16 to 25 of age is 42%, per a Azim Premji University Surveys and State of Working India report in 2023. This unemployment rate is double the ratio of what we are witnessing in China.

While in China the education departments have shifted towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine). India still focuses on Social Science curriculums and students who study within these fields often cannot find job opportunities in the labor market.

India for many years hasn’t invested a substantial amount of energy and commitment to build a vibrant manufacturing sector. Yet, studies have shown that every job created by manufacturing exports creates two additional jobs in related sectors like transportation and logistics.

China’s wealth inequality via income has risen sharply, Professor Li Shi estimates the wealth Gini coefficient above 0.7 in 2023. India’s wealth inequality may be even more concentrated. Various estimates place India’s wealth inequality/income distribution per the Gini coefficient above 0.80, indicating an extremely unequal distribution of assets and accumulated capital.

However, the structures of inequality differ between the two economies. In China inequality emerged alongside rapid industrialization, urbanization and export, and led to manufacturing growth. A large industrial economy generated substantial wealth – but distributed it unevenly between labor and capital.

In India inequality is shaped not only by a wealth concentration at the top, but also by the persistence of low productivity via employment, informal labor markets, weak wage growth, and limited human capital investment across large sections of the population. Thus, while China faces the challenge of emphasizing prosperity within a middle income industrial economy, India continues to struggle with the deeper structural problem of trying to create broad based household income growth in the first place. The differential also sheds light on industrial sector based employment and those in agricultural jobs comparatively between the two nations regarding wage context.

Hard questions that China should ask include if their employment force – who are without many social protections and suffer a lack of higher wages, will allow China to attain competitive advantage over the rest of the world? While its manufacturing products are in demand, it doesn’t help the average Chinese person see realized wages go up and nor creates a dignified life. And China’s trading partners do not benefit, because a lack of competitive advantage destroys industries and makes unemployment problems even worse in other nations. It’s not a question about advantage only, it’s also about why this surplus and deficit competitive problem is growing rapidly and makes stable prosperity unachievable over the long term.

In India despite being proclaimed as the fastest growing global economy, if the young population don’t get jobs and cannot create income for their families, then what’s the purpose of this high GDP growth? Yes, the nation gets to show good growth numbers while hoping to achieve additional investment, but problematic results still occur.

Economic growth without wage growth leads to widening inequality, social unrest and sometimes political backlash. For growth to be inclusive, wages need to rise along with GDP. This requires not just distribution, but a transformation like raising the average productivity of every worker and ensuring they receive their fair share of the economic pie.

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India Insider: Capital Formation in Rural Areas and Distress Hill Terrain

May 21, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Assets Commodities Featured Highlights India Uncategorized World

Income Comparison via Two Distinct Districts: Tiruvannamlai and Madurai

India is a vastly developing economy, but its national accounting frequently relies on formal sector performance to extrapolate the conditions of the informal economy. Despite official statistics continuing to rise, the economic reality of rural India remains largely unchanged.

Recently, I was travelling extensively across villages in the Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu State in South India, trying to understand how capital formation works in rural and semi-rural areas.

For more than 50 kilometers, there were barely any shops related to consumption activity. There is no absolute poverty in these areas, but income levels are clearly not standard enough to support strong consumption patterns.

Many people in Tiruvannamalai district villages work in neighboring cities liken Tiruppur, Bengaluru or Chennai and send cash back to their families. Apart from these remittances, agriculture and related seasonal income add to household earnings.

The second observation based on my extensive survey with about 55 women, was that I hardly saw anyone wearing gold chains or ornaments in villages. In other words, household income is often not sufficient enough for families to consistently accumulate gold or jewelry, which traditionally act as a form of savings in Tamil Nadu households.

Evidence suggests the reason for weak savings and low capital formation in Tiruvannamalai is due to low household income generation. And the reason for low household income can be attributed to a lack of local opportunities which offer weak wage growth, plus dependence on migration and the seasonal nature of agriculture sector. Education also plays a decisive role, but the broader issue demonstrates inadequacy of stable income generation.

We do not have sufficient recent district level data to fully validate many of these observations. Tamil Nadu State GDDP data (Gross District Domestic Product) exists, but it often lags. RBI remittance data does helps, but that is largely available at the State level rather than district level.

However, these observations do find relevance in prior surveys conducted by the Tamil Nadu Government before COVID-19. Districts such as Tiruvannamalai were often catagorized as relatively backward compared to more industralized districts where consumption pattern improved dramatically through manufacturing and urbanization.

Instability via MNREGA’s Distress Hills Data

One interesting way to study this phenomenon is from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) employment data. MGNREGA data is measured in lakh person-days. (A lakh equals 100,000). In simple terms, it measures the amount of labor generated through a combination of workers and days worked under the scheme.

Say for example, if 100,000 people work for 10 days, or 50,000 people work for 20 days, then: lakh person-days per 100,000*10 equals 10 lakhs person-days. And conversely 50,000*20 equals 10 lakhs person-days.

Sometimes, fewer workers, often work for many days or many workers work for fewer days. Thus, economists use person-days instead of counting only people.

In Tiruvannamalai the pattern of MGNREGA demand reveals a strikingly seasonal and distress driven rural labor cycle. Person-days generated surged to nearly 19.8 lakhs during May, before falling sharply toward November as agricultural activity resumed. The peak compared to it low variation is close to 5:1, creating what can be described as a steep “distress hill” in rural employment demand.

Such a dramatic fluctuation suggests that a large share of rural households rely on MGNREGA not as supplementary employment, but as an emergency income stabilizer during periods of agricultural inactivity and cash flow stress. The intensity of the spike indicates the absence of diversified rural income sources, exposing the structural vulnerability of the local informal economy.

Tiruvannamalai District: FY monthly 2024-2025, from MGNREGA person-days shows sharp seasonal distress, peaking near 19.8 lakh person-days during May before collapsing toward November.

In contrast, the Madurai district in Tamil Nadu State presents a far more stable rural employment profile under MGNREGA. Peak demand was comparatively lower, reaching around 11.4 lakh person-days, while the decline across the year was considerably less severe than in Tiruvannamalai. The peak to low ratio was closer to 3:1, indicating significantly lower seasonal volatility in rural wage dependence.

Madurai District: FY monthly 2024-2025 displays a smoother MGNREGA employment curve with lower seasonal volatility, indicating stronger economic continuity and more diversified income generation.

Rather than exhibiting a sharp distress hill, Madurai’s smoother employment curve suggests a more diversified local economy. This because households may have greater access to non-farm income sources including urban linkages or more stable agricultural activity. The reduced fluctuation implies that MGNREGA functions more as a supplementary employment buffer than as a critical survival mechanism in Madurai compared to Tiruvannamalai.

Seemingly it is evident that consumption oriented businesses may struggle to scale in districts such as Tiruvannamalai, where disposable income growth and household surplus remain weak.

Industrialisation changes this dynamic because stable wage growth improves consumption depth and household savings. Without stable income growth, retail expansion and capital formation remain structurally weak.

The distress hill therefore represents far more than a simple employment fluctuation. The steep seasonal dependence on MGNREGA highlights how large sections of the rural economy remain vulnerable to agricultural cycles, with insufficient diversification, weak consumption resilience, and limited avenues for sustained wealth creation.

Notes:

Chart Sources: Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, MGNREGA Dashboard (District level monthly person-days generated data).

Distress hills refers to my analysis of seasonal MGNREGA employment patterns to measure rural income instability and economic vulnerability. When plotted month-by-month, districts experiencing severe seasonal stress tend to exhibit a steep hill shape, characterized by sharp spikes in person-days generated during agricultural lean periods, followed by rapid declines once farm employment resumes. The steeper the hill, the greater the dependence of rural households on emergency wage employment for income stabilization.

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India Insider: Rupee Under Pressure as Oil Prices Surge and Import Bills Rise

May 15, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Assets Ben Ezra Business Central Banks Commodities Exclusive Content Featured Highlights Financial Institutions Forex India Investing Speculators World

Iranian War and Implications for India as Energy Prices Cause Vulnerability

India is currently facing mounting external economic pressures as rising global crude oil prices weaken the Rupee, widen the current account deficit, and increase the risk of imported inflation. As one of the world’s largest energy importing nations, India remains highly vulnerable to fluctuations in global oil markets. The recent surge in energy prices, combined with geopolitical tensions and volatility in currency markets, has intensified concerns among policymakers, economists and investors.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stepped up its intervention in the foreign exchange market to stabilize the Rupee, while the government is evaluating measures to reduce pressure on import billing. Rising fuel prices, weakening currency conditions and growing external imbalances have combined to create a challenging macroeconomic environment that may test India’s economic resilience in the coming years.

USD/INR Six Month Chart as of 15th March 2026

Gold and consumer electronics imports are increasingly being viewed as non-essential imports, and policymakers may consider restricting these categories in order to reduce stress on the current account deficit. Officials are concerned that a widening trade imbalance could place further downward pressure on the Rupee and increase dependence on foreign capital inflows.

The Rupee on Thursday fell to a record low near ₹95.95 per USD, making it one of Asia’s weakest performing currencies this year. The currency has erased most of the gains achieved following earlier RBI intervention measures aimed at curbing speculation in the Forex market. Analysts expect the Rupee to remain under pressure through 2026, especially if global crude oil prices continue to rise and significantly increase India’s import billings.

The impact of rising crude oil prices is becoming increasingly visible across the Indian economy. Private fuel retailers have either reduced diesel sales or raised prices in response to the rally in global oil markets, leaving state owned refiners to absorb a larger share of domestic demand. Long queues at fuel stations and rising transportation costs have intensified concerns over inflationary pressures.

Earlier today, State-owned fuel retailers raised fuel prices for the first time in nearly four years as New Delhi adjusted domestic pricing to reflect higher international crude prices following escalating tensions in Western Asia. Diesel and gasoline prices increased by more than 3%, even though Brent crude prices had risen by nearly 50% over the same period.

In New Delhi, diesel prices climbed to around ₹90.67 per litre, while gasoline prices rose to approximately ₹97.77 per litre. These are among the highest levels recorded since 2022 and reflect the growing burden of imported energy costs on the Indian economy.

Economists argue that the rise in fuel prices signals a gradual shift toward market based pricing rather than extensive government controls. Policymakers increasingly recognize that artificially suppressing fuel prices could worsen fiscal pressures and create larger external imbalances over time.

Currency Weakness and Monetary Policy Challenges

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra recently remarked at an event in Switzerland that continued currency weakness may be “only a matter of time” if global energy prices remain elevated and capital flows become increasingly volatile.

Foreign outflows during the year have already exceeded previous levels, while a sustained rise in crude oil prices above $100 per barrel could significantly widen the trade deficit and push India towards another period of pressure on balance of payments.

In this climate, attracting foreign capital via various tax cuts or raising the interest rates is paramount to reduce the pressure on the currency. It’s already been seen that New Delhi is working on reducing taxes for foreigners investing in Indian bonds.

Rise of Inflationary Pressures

Although India’s headline inflation remains relatively contained and below the RBI’s 4% medium term target, imported inflation risks are steadily increasing.

Economists also believe the RBI may eventually be forced to maintain tighter monetary conditions or raise interest rates further if energy prices continue to accelerate.

The central bank has already raised interest rates to around 5.25% this year, but several economists argue that further tightening may still become necessary.

Historical Perspective and Structural Risks

Economic historians often compare the current situation with the oil shocks of the 1970s. During that period, the United States was heavily dependent on imported oil. The oil crises of 1973 and again in 1979 contributed to inflationary pressures, balance of payments stress, and periods of USD weakness.

However, economists note that today’s global environment is significantly different. The United States has become one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, reducing its dependence on imported energy. As a result, rising oil prices no longer weaken the U.S Dollar in the same way they did during earlier oil shocks.

For countries like India, the impact remains severe. India imports the majority of its crude oil requirements. Higher global oil prices directly increase India’s import billing and create additional demands for USD.

As Economist Philip Verleger was quoted by Bloomberg, “when you are a major oil importing nation, you are not only paying more for crude itself, you are also paying more for the dollars required to purchase it.” India is now facing this realization again.

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India Insider: How a Film Star is Reshaping Politics in Tamil Nadu

May 7, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Behavioral Sentiment Featured Highlights Financial Institutions India Social Media World

Vijay: A Stunning Victory by an Actor Turned Politician in India

When the Tamil Nadu state election results were announced this Monday, many people were stunned that a party with barely two years of political existence had managed to unseat parties that had dominated the state for more than 75 and 50 years respectively.

TVK (Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam), founded by actor turned politician Vijay, used his charismatic presence in Tamil cinema along with the power of social media to attract Gen Z voters and women.

This came despite the incumbent DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) government under Chief Minister M.K. Stalin being widely credited for stable governance and helping Tamil Nadu remain one of India’s fastest growing state economies, with a GSDP( Gross State Domestic Product) growth rate of 11.9%.

Voting Results in Tamil Nadu and TVK Topping the Results

The two major Dravidian parties – DMK and AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kalagam) were originally built on the foundations of social justice, welfare, and development. For decades, they shaped Tamil Nadu’s political identity and succeeded in winning the trust of the people.

However, despite the DMK government’s governance record, allegations of corruption, nepotism, and cash for votes politics continued to surround both DMK and ADMK. These criticisms have become deeply embedded in public perception over the years.

Today’s Gen Z voters appear to want change. Many were looking for a fresh political face capable of reshaping Tamil Nadu’s political landscape.

Vijay’s party reportedly secured around 1.67 crore votes, or approximately 34.3% of the total vote share, one of the strongest performances ever recorded by a newly formed political party contesting its first major election.

India’s political landscape has also been evolving rapidly in recent years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have successfully consolidated much of North India politically and are now working aggressively to expand their influence in southern states such as Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

For Modi, strong regional opposition leaders such as M.K. Stalin in Tamil Nadu and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal have remained major political challenges. Any significant political shifts in states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal could reshape India’s national political dynamics in the years ahead.

While corruption, nepotism, and vote buying are important issues to consider, it is also necessary to distinguish between political allegations and governance outcomes.

In many ways, the DMK government performed better during the last five years than several previous ADMK and DMK administrations. Social indicators are impressive while Tamil Nadu State has attracted billions of USD investment for iPhone and automobile manufacturing.

During the election results, I was driving through Tiruvannamalai in northern Tamil Nadu and noticed that the streets were unusually silent. There were hardly any people celebrating openly.

If another traditional Dravidian party had won, the roads would likely have been filled with supporters distributing sweets and celebrating publicly.

For the first time, it felt as though a major electoral victory had been shaped more by social media influence and public perception than by traditional ground level welfare based political desires.

On my way back home on Monday, I saw an elderly man sitting at a bus stop equipped with fans that helped ease the intense summer heat.

That moment made me wonder: in the next five years, will political change alone truly improve the lives of ordinary people?

Or will charisma and digital influence matter more than governance, infrastructure, and social-welfare in the long run?

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India Insider: Water Crisis Has Turned From Severe to Critical

April 30, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Assets Commodities Featured Highlights Financial Institutions India Investing Technology World

India Needs Sustainable Water Security With Improved Infrastructure

India’s population has been expanding at a rapid pace and stands at 1.4 billion. Due to the urbanization process, industrialization in cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi must continue to emphasize improving public infrastructures in order to maintain vital growth.

The growing population and urbanization adds noteworthy stress to the nation’s water bodies. With more people living in increasingly congested areas and pumping large amounts of water via borewells, groundwater levels are rapidly diminishing.

For instance, India consumes roughly 761 billion cubic meters of water per year, making it the largest water consumer in the world, ahead of China and the United States. 85% of rural India is dependent on ground water for agriculture and consumption, this because lake and pond water are not accessible. Rural India suffers from a lack of maintenance and sewage water that often contaminates these important sources.

Tap Water via Total Dissolved Solids Comparison in Various Cities Worldwide

Only a few years ago, water facilities provided by municipalities and urban systems were relatively accessible in India. Low and middle income households relied on pipelines, wells and tap water for their daily usage. However, with sharp rises in population, government capital expenditures on water pipelines and sanitation has not kept pace and often fails to meet needs.

For example, rainfall in Chennai City always ends up staying on roads and platforms in the last few years, this despite the city’s infrastructure which has expanded multifold. In many parts of Chennai, water contamination has become severe with high levels of iron, hardness, turbidity and nitrate levels visible. The government has been inefficient when addressing the contamination. As I witnessed in 2019, many parts of Chennai cannot use ground water due to inadequate rainfall, storage and lack of proper municipal supplies.

And due to excessive extraction of ground water and an inability to channel rain water into the ground, many parts of Tamil Nadu now report total dissolved solids (TDS) ranging from 500 to 1000 parts per million, reaching extreme levels of 3000–5000 ppm in some areas. The World Health Organization recommends much lower levels for safe and palatable drinking water.

Water treatment for households using reverse osmosis plants, which were not normal a few years back have become essential for people seeking safe drinking water. Despite being a coastal region , cities like Chennai cannot rely solely on seawater desalination to meet their drinking water needs. While desalination plants contribute to supply, they account for only a fraction of total demand.

Desalination is an energy intensive and expensive process, making it difficult to scale for universal, affordable access. More importantly, producing water is only one part of the solution and delivering it efficiently remains a major challenge.

India endures 3 to 4 crore (30–40 million) waterborne disease cases every year, mostly from contaminated drinking water. As borewells go deeper, they draw water containing high concentrations of fluoride, arsenic, nitrates, and heavy metals. This creates significant health risks, especially for low income households that cannot afford advanced purification systems. The depletion crisis and contamination crisis are increasingly converging.

Due to rapid urbanization and high population with inefficient audits, many water bodies such as lakes and ponds have been encroached upon by the real estate sector or contaminated by waste disposal by surrounding settlements. This is quite visible in Chennai.

Experts claim that many water officials do not have a clear understanding of how pipeline networks are laid out across cities. As Frontline magazine columnist Vedaant Lakhera wrote in April 2026, India’s water crisis stems less from hydrological scarcity and more from a failure of governance.

The absence of water sensitive designs have allowed cities to expand unchecked, almost freely, contaminating local water sources such as lakes and ponds. This has led to a significant depletion of groundwater availability, which were supposed to act as reserve water reserves.

Addressing this crisis requires a multi-dimensional approach. Rainwater harvesting must be scaled to improve groundwater recharge and long-term availability, while modern purification systems remain essential to ensure safe consumption in the short term. At the same time, systemic reforms such as regular pipeline audits, mandatory replacement of ageing infrastructure, and better urban water management are critical to prevent contamination at its source.

Without such integrated efforts, cities will continue to face a paradox of water scarcity amid abundance. Sustainable water security in India does not depend only on how much water is available, but on how effectively it is managed, protected and delivered.

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India Insider: Rising Hospitalization Costs a Growing Concern

April 21, 2026

by Ben Ezra with No Comment Ben Ezra Exclusive Content Featured Highlights India Regulations Technology & Science World

Indian Households Face Rising Expenditures for Hospitalization and Critical Care

Many households in India face unexpected hospital expenses that have become almost routine in today’s environment. Rapid urbanization, unclean drinking water, poor air quality due to carbon emissions and industrialization have hit low and middle income homes harder than upper income families. These households are increasingly exposed to diseases that require critical treatment, but the government institutions are ill-equipped to handle the growing patient loads. As a result, many Indians are forced to seek treatment in private hospitals, where costs are significantly higher.

Consider that a middle income household in Madurai earns roughly between 15,000 to 20,000 Rupees per month per person. This per the Periodic Labor Force Survey 2023-2024 Annual Report. So if two people are working in a family, it means empirically, we can estimate the income between 35,000 to 40,000 per month. We need to compute the family’s expenditures – if one member is hospitalized for critical illness or gets hospitalized treatment in private and public hospital.

Even if the income range for this family is better than median estimates, their capacity to absorb medical shocks are limited due to high baseline consumption and minimal household savings.

In the case of hospitalization in a government facility, out of pocket expenditures such as medicines, diagnostics, transport, and wage loss can amount to 12,000 to 40,000, effectively deducting one to two months of household income.

In other words, families need to spend out of pocket by borrowing to finance these gaps for consumption and medical expenses.

However, if a family is forced to take treatment in a private hospital, they would be spending 100,000 to 500,000 Rupees in critical cases, their total spending as a higher percentage of net income and is close to 1,250% in extreme cases.

The Role of Savings and Informal Safety Nets

As observed during Covid-19 and other crises, Gold has often acted as a financial buffer for Indian households.

Families that save during stable periods are able to pledge or sell gold in times of distress, helping them to manage medical expenses without relying entirely on high cost borrowing.

In contrast households without many buffers, often turn to informal lenders or personal loans, where interest rates can range between 36 to 60% compounding the financial distress.

Looking at Government Data for Clues

The most authoritative survey on household expenditures on hospitalization comes from National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) “Health in India” (2017-2018), and it showed the costs for those hospitalized in private facilities were eight times costlier than government facilitys.

An average hospitalization (excluding child birth) cost 4,290 Rupees in a rural government hospital, and 4,837 in an urban government hospital. The same scenario in a private hospital cost 27,347 in rural India and 38,822 in urban India. Out of pocket expenditures – the amount families pay themselves, follows the same pattern with families having to pay out about 4,000 Rupees in government hospitals, versus 26,000 – 32,000 Rupees in private ones.

Hospitalization Expenditure by Hospital Type and Sector, NSSO 75th Round (2017-2018). Source: MoSPI, Ministry of Statistics.

These were already catastrophic figures for a typical household in 2017-2018. A single private hospital admission cost more than a month’s wages for most Indian families, and it is getting worse.

Seven Years of 12-14% Medical Inflation

Since 2018, the cost of being hospitalized in India has risen at a pace that outstrips almost every other category of spending: Millman’s 2025 medical inflation report pegged the rate at 12% in 2024, more than triple the general CPI inflation of 4.2%.

An urban private hospital admission that cost 38,822 Rupees in 2017-2018 now is in a 76,000 – 91,000 price range, this while real wages are stagnant and not growing. Recent RBI Household surveys conclude that Indians absorb higher debt in order to manage their household expenses.

Critical Illness Can Wipe Out a Household’s Future

Critical illness like heart attacks, a cancer diagnosis, renal failure, kidney transplants costs even more in India – and the problems grow unbearable for Indian families after they are forced to take on more debt. For example, a heart angioplasty with stent that costs 100,000 in 2018 now costs between 200,000 – 300,000 Rupees in private hospitals. A kidney transplant which costs 400,000 – 600,000 a decade ago now costs 1 million to 1.5 million Rupees. A full course of chemotherapy ranges from 250,000 for early stage diseases to 2.5 million Rupees for advanced cases requiring targeted biologics.

Cost ranges for major critical illness in India, 2024-2025, green bars show public hospital costs, orange bars show private hospital costs. Sources: ACKO India Health Report 2024, HCG Oncology, Hospital Quote Data from Apollo, CARE and others.

Where the Indian Household Stands

As per periodic labor force surveys, the median Indian worker earns 10,000 Rupees a month. The Economic Survey in 2024-2025 recorded average monthly earnings of 13,279 for self-employed workers, 20,702 for salaried workers, and 12,750 for casual laborers. Crucially, only the top 22% of the India’s labor force earns more than 15,000 Rupees per month.

Monthly household income distribution, rural vs urban India (2023-2024). Sources: Periodic Labor Force Surveys, Azim Premji University Income Distribution Study 2019-2024.

Statistically, the household we have taken for the reference is not a poor household by national standards. It is comfortably above the rural and urban median, sitting in the top fifth of the country, and this is what makes the rest of the story so troubling. If this household cannot afford a critical illness, almost no household outside the urban upper middle class can afford rising hospitalization costs.

The Insurance Gap

The government of India has expanded insurance schemes for low income households since 2018 via the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY with 500,000 Rupees coverage. But the scheme which was set many years ago, does not match the current medical costs scenarios. Income eligibility is an another problem where a majority of people who earn in the middle, slip out of the government insurance schemes and have to take private insurance to cover their health risks. Health insurance penetration in India is low at 3.7% of GDP, well below global statistical standards of 7%.

Across much of India, a single critical illness can effectively destroy years of household income accumulation and trigger debt dependence. In the absence of stronger public healthcare delivery, and without deeper insurance penetration at affordable costs providing better claims services, and lacking robust risk sharing mechanisms – escalating medical costs could act as a drag on India’s economic growth trajectory by weakening household balance sheets.

Notes: 1 USD = 93.24 INR