India’s Rising Prosperity

Recently, I came across two insightful research pieces, which would interest all those passionate about India’s economy: one from SBI Research and another by Anil Padmanabhan, a noted journalist.

These analyses shed light on something that should make us very happy — that India is making remarkable progress on achieving equitable and collective prosperity.

I thought of sharing some interesting snippets from these research works:

The research by SBI has pointed out (based on ITR returns) that the weighted mean income has made a commendable leap in the last 9 years, from Rs 4.4 lakh in AY14 to Rs 13 lakh in FY23.

Padmanabhan's study of ITR data suggests a widening tax base, across various income brackets.

Each bracket has seen a minimum threefold increase in tax filings, some even achieving a nearly fourfold surge.

Further, the research highlights the positive performance, in terms of increase in income tax filings, across states. When comparing ITR filings between 2014 and 2023, the data paints a promising picture of increased tax participation across all states.

For instance, ITR data analysis shows the state of Uttar Pradesh has emerged as one of the top-performing states when it comes to ITR filings.

In June 2014, Uttar Pradesh reported a modest 1.65 lakh ITR filings, but by June 2023, this figure had skyrocketed to an impressive 11.92 lakh.

The SBI report also brings forth an encouraging note, highlighting that our smaller states and that too from the North East, namely Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland, have exhibited an admirable growth of over 20 per cent in ITR filings in the last 9 years.

This shows that not only have incomes risen but so has compliance. And, this is a manifestation of the spirit of trust which the people have in our Government.

These findings not only reflect our collective efforts but also reiterate our potential as a nation. Growing prosperity augurs well for national progress.

Undoubtedly, we are standing at the cusp of a new era of economic prosperity and are on course towards fulfilling our dream ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

This piece was first published on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's LinkedIn page.