New Delhi: A new index that measures countries by their commitment to reducing inequality has ranked India 132 out of 152 countries.
India's rank is 21st from the bottom and the country is ranked between Lebanon and Cameroon in its efforts to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
The inaugural “Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index” was released on Monday by international NGO Oxfam in association with Developmental Finance International to measure the efforts of sovereign governments which pledged to reduce inequality in 2015 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The report states that: "India also fares very badly, ranking 132 out of 152 countries in its commitment to reducing inequality – a very worrying situation given that the country is home to 1.2 billion people, many of whom live in extreme poverty."
Oxfam said that government spending on health, education and social protection is "woefully low" and that a majority of the labour force is employed in the agricultural and informal sectors, which lack union organization. The NGO calculated that if India were to reduce inequality by a third more than 170 million people would no longer be classified as poor.
Sweden comes out on top with the next four positions being filled by European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Germany. China's rank is 87 while the bottom slot is taken by Nigeria.
The CRI Index measures government efforts in three policy areas: social spending, taxation and labour. These were selected because positive action by governments in these three areas have played a key part in reducing the inequality gap.
India's spending on health, education and social protection is ranked 149; its taxation system is ranked 91 and its labour market policies are 86, giving it an overall rank of 132. Pakistan fares even worse at 146 while Bangladesh is 148.
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