Rich-poor divide affects development

In 2015, 193 governments across the world, including the Indian Government, made a commitment to reduce inequality and eradicate poverty through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) till 2030.

India has now produced its first National Voluntary Report that tracks the progress made on attaining SDG promises. Unfortunately, the government chose not to report on progress against Goal 10, which commits to reducing inequality within and among countries. Civil society, too, released its own report tracking the progress in key goals, one of them being Goal 10.

Inequality is bad for us all and there is sufficient evidence to prove it. The good news is that the inequality crisis is not inevitable and that governments are not powerless in the face of it. The bad news is that few governments are actually committed to doing anything about it. How do we hold governments accountable for the promises that they have made in the SDGs?

Oxfam and Development Finance International are attempting to do just that. We have released a new global index ranking 152 governments across the world on their commitment to reducing inequality (CRI). The CRI index measures government’s efforts in three policy areas: social spending, taxation and labour. These were selected because of widespread evidence that strong positive progressive actions by governments in these three areas have played a key part in reducing the gap between the rich and poor. 

Sadly, India ranks a low 132 out of 152 countries. In other words, it is a country with high inequality combined with a low commitment to doing anything about it. On social spending, which includes health, education and social protection, India has a dismal ranking of 149. Several African countries, like Mozambique and Central African Republic, continue to spend more and achieve a higher ranking despite being poorer than India.

On labour rights and respect for women in the workplace, India ranks at 86 while neighbour Nepal ranks 71. Majority of the labour force in India continues to remain employed in the agricultural and informal sectors, which lack union organisation. The Government of India is now preparing a new 15-year Vision Document till 2032. It needs to demonstrate its commitment to reducing poverty and inequality by battling inequality in all its myriad forms in India — income, regional, gender, caste, religion. 

The author is CEO, Oxfam India