Deeply Unequal World: Today, 44% of the world's population lives below the World Bank's poverty line of $6.85 (PPP). Meanwhile, the richest 1% control 45% of global wealth.
- Age of billionaire colonialism: In 2024, billionaires' wealth increased by a rate three times faster than 2023.
- Most billionaire wealth is taken, not earned: 60% of billionaire wealth comes from inheritance, cronyism and corruption or monopoly power.
Colonial Inheritance: Unearned nature of much of extreme wealth of ultra-rich is arguably a result of colonialism which is both a historical and a modern-day phenomenon.
- Historical colonialism: It is the period of formal occupation and domination by rich countries that largely came to an end with the national liberation struggles waged in the decades after World War II.
- Modern-day Colonialism (Neo-colonialism): Predominantly the rich countries of the Global North continue to exercise power and control over the countries of the Global South. Colonial Legacy in Contemporary Times
  - Digital colonialism: By controlling digital ecosystem, Big Tech corporations from north control computer-mediated experiences, giving them direct power over political, economic and cultural domains of life.
  - Exploitative corporate structures: Multinational corporations (MNCs) of Global North dominate global supply chains, benefitting from cheap labour and the continued extraction of resources from the Global South.
    - Between 1995 and 2015, US$242 trillion (in 2010 US$) was extracted by the Global North in this way.
  - Unequal power in institutions that govern our world: Global governance institutions are informally dominated by Global North.
    - E.g., G7 countries still hold 41% of the votes in the IMF and World Bank, despite having less than 10% of the world's population
Impact of Historical Colonialism on Present-day Inequality:
- Exploitation and Profound economic Inequality, Border Conflicts due to arbitrary colonial partitions etc.
  - Lower-income countries' tax losses (US$47bn) due to global tax abuse are equivalent to half (49%) of their public health budgets.
  - Low- and middle-income countries spend 48% of their budgets on debt repayment, mostly to wealthy creditors north.
- Social Divisions (E.g. Racism), concentration of landholdings in the Global South, Poor health Indicators in global south, global disparities in research and funding etc.
- Gender Inequality: Colonialism disrupted traditional gender roles, diminishing women's economic autonomy.
  - The introduction of cash crops marginalized women's agricultural contributions, relegating them to unpaid labor and excluding them from the global marketplace.

Economic Inequality in India

Wealth Inequality: In India, the richest 1% control more than 40% of total wealth, while the bottom 50% own merely 3% (Oxfam's Report - Survival of the Richest: The India Story)
Income Inequality:
- Rural-Urban Divide: Average Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) is Estimated Rs. 4, 122 (Rural) and Rs. 6,996 (Urban) (Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24).
- Gender Pay Gap: In India, men earn 82 % of the labour income, whereas women earn 18 % of it (World Inequality Report 2022).
Wealth Drain during Colonial Period: Between 1765 and 1900, UK drained $64.82 trillion from India, with $33.8 trillion going to the top 10%.

Drain of Wealth from India During Colonial Period

Dadabhai Naoroji first highlighted in 1867 in his paper 'England's Debt to India', that Britain was bleeding India by extracting and appropriating more than one-fourth of India's revenue.
- He developed his arguments further in a paper on the 'Poverty of India' in 1873 and in 1901 he wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.
According to Dadabhai Naoroji's "Drain of Wealth" theory, followings were components of drain of wealth from India:
- High Taxes: Excessive land revenue drained agricultural income.
- Trade Exploitation: India supplied raw materials and bought British goods, collapsing local industries.
  - In 1750, India contributed 25% to global industrial output, but by 1900, this fell to 2%.
- Other components: Home Charges (Indian revenue funding British administration), sending profits back to Britain, Currency Manipulation etc.
At the beginning of the twentieth century R.C. Dutt estimated the drain at twenty million pounds a year.

Way Forward (Recommendations of the report)

National Targets: All Countries should establish National Inequality Reduction Plans with specific timelines to decrease economic disparities.
- Formerly colonized countries should work to reform or remove inherited institutions that have a colonial history and perpetuate inequality.
Reformation of Global Governance: Changing voting powers in institutions like World Bank and IMF, allowing Global South countries more influence over policies that directly affect them.
- The IMF & World Bank should avoid imposing economic conditions based on fiscal consolidation, or deregulation when issuing loans and grants.
Abolition of UN Security Council Veto Power & restructuring its membership: To include permanent seats for Global South nations can promote equity.
Taxation of the Super-Rich: Governments need to implement reforms to tax the income and wealth of ultra-rich individuals.
- It's essential to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, and eliminate tax havens that enable elites and large corporations to evade taxes.
Dismantling Monopolies: Breaking up private monopolies and regulating corporations ensures they pay living wages and commit to climate and gender justice.
- Democratization of Knowledge (ending monopolies over knowledge) by reforming trade and patent rules, such as those exploited by Big Pharma, can reduce inequality.
Promotion of Global South-South Cooperation: Countries should foster collective development in Global South nations by sharing knowledge, technology, and resources.
- Strengthening Global South Institutions enables these countries to play a more active role in implementing policies aimed at reducing inequality.
Former colonial powers should pay reparations and support the cancellation of unsustainable debt, actively working to dismantle the Global North's dominance of the global economy.