21.3.16

India's Per Capita Income to Cross Rs.1 Lakh


Rs.1 lakh -that benchmark will be achieved in the next financial year when per-capita income crosses the six-figure mark for the first time. To be sure, it's the equivalent of just $1,500 but all the same a number that has some significance in a country of 1.2 billion where 12.4% in 2011-12 were living on less than $1 a day, according to the World Bank.
Per capita income at current prices was Rs.93,231 in FY16, up 7.3% from Rs.86,879 in the year before. It stood at Rs.71,050 and 79,412 in FY13 and FY14, respectively.
At that rate of acceleration, percapita income will exceed Rs.1 lakh in FY17. The Budget for next year, announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 29, assumed a nominal GDP growth of 11%. That would mean a similar rise in net national income and, adjusted for an increase of 1.2% in population, should yield an expansion of more than 8% in per capita income.
Per capita income broadly measures quality of life in a geographical region -country, state or city. It's arrived at by dividing the country's total income by its population. It also needs to be adjusted for inflation to see whether incomes are rising.
If the average amount crosses six figures, it would have taken India almost seven years to double its per-person annual income from Rs.46,492 in FY10.
The increases in per capita income have been driven by urban growth.

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