There has been a cumulative 74.2% decline in income disparity coverage for those earning up to Rs 5 lakh in India, showing that the continuous efforts of the government are reaching the bottom of the pyramid, leading to an increase in the income of 'lower income group' people, as indicated by a new report.
Economic department of State Bank of India in a comparison of disparity in income during AY15 and AY24 pointed out that there is clear rightward shift in income distribution curve in India. This implies that people belonging to lower income brackets are increasing their income to converge toward their share in population.
As "declining income inequality mirroring upward transition of lower income people along with their income is evident as 43.6 per cent individual ITR filers, belonging to the income group of less than Rs 4 lakh in AY15 (FY14), have left the lowest income group and shifted upwards," findings said. Also, 26.1 percent of the gross income of the lowest income group of lower than Rs 4 lakh has shifted upwards in the intermittent period, the study noted.
Female labour force participation is seen rising from 23.3 in 2017-18 to 41.7 in 2023-24, even as the maximum spurt was witnessed in Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Gujarat. With continued convergence toward the progressive taxation regime, the direct taxes constituted a record 56.7 per cent of total tax revenues in AY24; they stood at 54.6 per cent in AY23.
The growth rate of PIT collections has been rising faster than in the case of CIT collections since FY21, with PIT growing at 6 per cent, while CIT grew by only 3 per cent, noted a study conducted by SBI. ITRs filed for AY24 saw a phenomenal rise, reaching 8.6 crore (as against 7.3 crore in AY22). A total 6.89 crore or 79 per cent of the returns were filed on or before the due date while the share of returns filed after the due date - with fine - declined in the process from a high of 60 per cent in AY20 to merely 21 per cent in AY24.
We think that the total number of ITRs could swell more than 9 crore by end March 2025 inducting more discipline amongst the filers," said the SBI study.
Read also| India's Foreign Exchange Reserves Reach $688 Billion as Gold Reserves Increase
