New Delhi, March 21 -- An international study has pointed to extreme levels of inequality in India compared to international standards which is higher than even during the inter-war colonial period. In 2022-23, 22.6 per cent of the national income went to just the top 1 per cent, the highest level recorded since 1922, concludes a century-long examination of inequality in India by The World Inequality Lab.

The paper titled "Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj" says inequality fell in the post-Independence period, but began rising in the early 1980s, and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s, with the wealth share of top 1 per cent population rising to 40.1 per cent in 2022-23.

'Extreme dispar...