The Middle Class in India

Lili just sent me a great article on the Indian Middle class... See, we got into an argument recently on whether India has a middle class.

I said that of course it did, because obviously an upper class exists (like the crazy people who drive BMWs during Bombay rush hour), and so does a really low class, composed of the millions of people in the slums (40% of Bombay lives in "Informal Housing," like this cozy roadside dwelling).

So obviously everyone else, in the middle, must be the middle class. But to Lili's point, this article shows that this "Middle Class" is only 6%-20% of India, echoing the government statistics which show that 77% of India lives on less than 20 rupees a day. That leaves 3% for the super wealthy (since India apparently has more Billionaires than any other country, other than the US and Russia).

http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9776

The article also gives an explanation of the caste system in India, with regards to economic success. Worth a read.