“The ‘Inequality Kills’ briefing shows how deeply unequal our economic system is and how it fuels not only inequality but poverty as well. We urge the Government of India to commit to an economic system which creates a more equal and sustainable nation,” Amitabh Behar, CEO, Oxfam India said in a statement. Further, Behar said that Oxfam’s global briefing points to the stark reality of inequality contributing to the death of at least 21,000 people each day, or one person every four seconds. Moreover, the pandemic set gender parity back from 99 years to 135 years. Women collectively lost Rs 59.11 lakh crore in earnings in 2020, with 1.3 crore fewer women in work now than in 2019, the report showed.

“It has never been so important to start righting the wrongs of this obscene inequality by targeting extreme wealth through taxation and getting that money back into the real economy to save lives,” Behar said. “India can show the world that democratic systems are capable of wealth redistribution and inclusive growth where no one is left behind.