India’s ultra-rich club grows as 576 individuals earn over Rs 100 crore a year

The number of people in India declaring an annual income of Rs 100 crore or more increased to 576 in assessment year (AY) 2025-26, compared with 415 in AY 2024-25, indicating that the country’s ultra-rich club is getting more crowded, according to data shared by the Finance Ministry in Parliament.

In response to a question in the Lok Sabha on whether the government was aware that the number of billionaires in the country had increased significantly and that India was among the top countries in the world in this regard, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament about the income-tax data.

In a written response, Chaudhary said neither the Income-tax Act, 2025, nor the previous Income-tax Act, 1961, provides a formal definition of the term ‘billionaire’. However, 576 people reported a gross total income of at least Rs 100 crore in their income-tax returns (ITRs) filed for AY 2025-26. This represents a nearly four-fold increase from the 142 people recorded in AY 2021-22.

The department reported that there were 301 people with a gross total income of Rs 100 crore or more in AY 2022-23, 284 in AY 2023-24 and 415 in AY 2024-25.

When asked whether the government keeps track of the total wealth of Indian billionaires and how it had evolved over the previous five years, Chaudhary said no such official data was maintained.

The government does not keep track of the total wealth of taxpayers, and the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, was repealed with effect from April 1, 2016, he said. On the question of growing inequality, the Finance Ministry cited existing surveys instead of conducting a separate study.

In response to another query on whether the government had carried out any research on how the growing concentration of wealth and income affects investment, employment creation, income inequality and inclusive economic growth, Chaudhary said the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report showed that labour markets in both urban and rural areas had recovered above pre-COVID levels.

Furthermore, the unemployment rate among people aged 15 years and above fell from 3.6 per cent to 3.1 per cent between 2022 and 2025, he noted.