[Reader-list] Rediff Article: 'India's wealthiest are the least generous'

[Chandni Parekh]

Excerpts from http://z.pe/4ZPQ -

This is the great Indian
paradox. The country's economy is booming, with the number of
millionaires and billionaires rising by the day. According to a
research by Bain & Co, there are over 115,000 high-networth
individuals in India.


While this may be good news, here is the other side of the India growth story.
Today, more than 400 million people live below the poverty line in
India. The global meltdown has pushed an additional 25 million to 40
million citizens below the poverty line.

"The wealthiest have the lowest level of giving at 1.6 % of
household income. While the 'high class', which is ranked one level
below the 'upper class' on the income and education scale, donates 2.1%
to charity, the middle class gives 1.9% of household income to
philanthropy," says Arpan Sheth, partner, Bain & Company.
Nearly 40 per cent of the
nation's wealth is controlled by the top 5 per cent of India's
households. So about 1 per cent controls about 16 per cent of the
national wealth, says the Bain study.
The charitable initiatives in India accounted to about $7.5 billion
in 2009, according to the study, equivalent to about 0.6 per cent of
the country's GDP.

There are three major factors that curb philanthropy in India.