system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Inequality in India in 2021 and in the 1980s.

According to statistics I read online, the top 1% of India takes up about 22% of the national income- the highest it has ever been since 1922 when India was under the British rule. This figure dropped drastically in the 1980s where the top 1% took up 6% of the national income. What happened in the 1980s that caused this decrease in inequality?
gpt
(1) Trends in reported vs unreported income. Half a century ago it was much easier to manipulate the books and hide the profits, esp by the upper middle and the upper class
(2) Widening of the upper-middle class because of much improved education rates and totally new industries like IT and outsourced services
(3) More detailed tracking and reporting of lower class by encouraging free to open and operate bank accounts and other services. The only standardized identification system arrived in the past decade

Also while reading these numbers please remember median annual income in India is $1600, while someone with decent education and working on a decent middle class job earns around $10000 per year. In contrast median income in the US is $31000.

So see the numbers as improved reporting and statistics.