Skip to main content

How much more does Narendra Modi earn in comparison to average Indian citizen?

By Jasmine Gearie*
Income inequality is on the rise in India, according to an Oxfam report released last month. The greater amount of national income going to an increasingly smaller percentage of individuals in both developed and developing countries has contributed to the political upheaval in recent years.  With the general election approaching, job search engine Adzuna analysed how much more Prime Minister Narendra Modi earns in comparison to the average Indian.
The website also compared the salaries of 45 world leaders (click HERE) to that of their country’s gross national income (GNI) per capita to uncover which countries have the greatest income disparity between the politicians and the people they govern.

India makes the top 10

With an annual salary of an estimated Rs 20 lakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earns 15 times more than the average citizen in India, where the GNI is ₹1,33,055. This places India among the top 10 countries with the greatest income disparity between the leader and their people, coming in at ninth place.
The findings are in line with the Oxfam report, which claims that while India is an emerging economy experiencing rapid growth, rates of income inequality are high, and among the most unequal in the world.
The salary gap between Prime Minister Modi and the average Indian worker is higher than that of most nations - the average world leader’s salary is seven times higher than that of their citizens.

Wide pay gaps in South Africa, Indonesia and Singapore

The countries that occupy the top of the table, with the greatest income disparity between leader and citizen, are South Africa, Indonesia and Singapore.  South Africa comes in at first place with President Cyril Ramaphosa earning a staggering 41 times more than the national average.
Ranking second place is Indonesia, where President Joko Widodo earns 35 times the national average. While Cyril Ramaphosa and Joko Widodo make an estimated Rs 1.6 croreand Rs 90 lakh respectively, both South Africa and Indonesia have a GNI of under Rs 4.7 lakh.
Finally, rounding out the top three is Singapore. While the country has a GNI of ₹39,85,382 – roughly 10 times greater than that of South Africa and 15 times greater than that of Indonesia – Halimah Yacob, President of Singapore, still earns 30 times more than her average citizen with an estimated salary of Rs 11 crore.

Nordic countries and China

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Finland, Iceland, Norway and China sit together at the bottom of the table, where their leaders’ annual salaries are just three times that of the national average. While China’s GNI is just over Rs 5.5 lakh, Finland, Iceland and Norway sit between ₹31,56,396 and ₹55,70,111.
---
*PR India and Singapore, Adzuna. Contact: jasmine@adzuna.com
 A search engine for job ads, Adzuna claims to provide smarter search options and powerful data about the job market, giving job seekers the information they need to take control of their career. It operates in 16 countries and was chosen by the UK government to run their Find a Job service. Website: www.adzuna.in, www.adzuna.sg

Comments

TRENDING

Gujarat's high profile GIFT city 'fails to attract' funds, India's FinTech investment dips

By Rajiv Shah  While the Narendra Modi government may have gone out of the way to promote the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), sought to be developed as India’s formidable financial technology hub off the state capital Gandhinagar, just 20 km from Ahmedabad, a recent report , prepared by Tracxn Technologies suggests that neither of the two cities figure in the list of top FinTech funding receiving centres.

Why Ramdev, vaccine producing pharma companies and government are all at fault

By Colin Gonsalves*  It was perhaps Ramdev’s closeness to government which made him over-confident. According to reports he promoted a cure for Covid, thus directly contravening various provisions of The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. Persons convicted of such offences may not get away with a mere apology and would suffer imprisonment.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Malayalam movie Aadujeevitham: Unrealistic, disservice to pastoralists

By Rosamma Thomas*  The Malayalam movie 'Aadujeevitham' (Goat Life), currently screening in movie theatres in Kerala, has received positive reviews and was featured also on the website of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The story is based on a 2008 novel by Benyamin, and relates the real-life story of a job-seeker from Kerala tricked into working in slave conditions in a goat farm in Saudi Arabia.

Decade long Modi rule 'undermines' people's welfare and democracy

By Ram Puniyani*  Modi has many ploys up his sleeves when it comes to propaganda. On one hand he is turning many a pronouncements of Congress in the communal direction, on the other he is claiming that whatever has been achieved during last ten years of his rule is phenomenal, but it is still a ‘trailer’ and the bigger things are in the offing as he claims to be coming to power yet again in 2024. While his admirers are ga ga about his achievements, the truth lies somewhere else.

Belgian report alleges MNC Etex responsible for asbestos pollution in Madhya Pradesh town Kymore: COP's Geneva meet

By Our Representative A comprehensive Belgian report has held MNC Etex , into construction business and one of the richest, responsible for asbestos pollution in Kymore, an industrial town in in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh. The report provides evidence from the ground on how Kymore’s dust even today is “annoying… it creeps into your clothes, you have to cough it”, saying “It can be deadly.”

Plagued by opportunism, adventurism, tailism, Left 'doesn't matter' in India

By Harsh Thakor*  2024 elections are starting when India appears to be on the verge of turning proto-fascist. The Hindutva saffron brigade has penetrated in every sphere of Indian life, every social order, destroying and undermining the very fabric of the Constitution.

Can universal basic income help usher in sustainable egalitarianism in India?

By Prof RR Prasad*  The ongoing debate on application of Article 39(b) in the Supreme Court on redistribution of community material resources to subserve common good and for ushering in an egalitarian society has opened new vistas wherein possible available alternative solutions could be explored.

Press freedom? 28 journalists killed since 2014, nine currently in jail

By Kirity Roy*  On the eve of the Press Freedom Day on 3rd of May, the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) shared its anxiety with the broader civil society platforms as the situation of freedom of any form of expression became grimmer in India day by day. This day was intended to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of press and to pay tribute to pressmen who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Ahmedabad's Muslim ghetto voters 'denied' right to exercise franchise?

By Tanushree Gangopadhyay*  Sections of Gujarat Muslims, with a population of 10 per cent of the State, have been allegedly denied their rights to exercise their franchise in the Juhapura area of Ahmedabad.