India’s development narrative today is a combined effort of ambition, acceleration and achievement. We are on track in many areas, such as access to drinking water, school connectivity and electricity coverage, which have reached record highs. Yet, according to the government’s Sustainable Development Goals – National Indicator Framework (NIF) Progress Report 2025, there is a quieter truth: while averages improve, inequality remains, and in some areas it is established so firmly within the system that change is difficult though not impossible.

The report tracks 284 indicators across all 17 SDGs. For SDG 10: Reduce Inequality, the data shows that while the income of the bottom 40% of the population is rising faster than the national average (13.6% in 2023 versus 9.4% in 2024), the difference is marginal. At this pace, it might take decades to close the wealth and opportunity gap. The labour share of GDP, which is a measure of how much national income goes to workers, has not shown a sustained upward trend. Without a significant increase, wage stagnation will continue to weaken economic mobility, even in the years of high GDP growth.

Adding to this picture is the Gini Coefficient of Household Expenditure, the national indicator for SDG 10. For 2023-24, it stands at 0.237 for rural areas and 0.284 for urban areas, on a scale where 0 denotes perfect equality and 1 denotes perfect inequality. These relatively low values compared to many developing countries such as Brazil (0.533) and South Africa (0.625) suggest moderate inequality in consumption expenditure, but they also reveal a persistent urban-rural gap. The higher coefficient in urban areas signals greater disparity in income or consumption distribution, even in spaces where economic opportunities are assumed to be more accessible. This metric is critical for assessing economic disparity and informing policies aimed at reducing inequality.

These findings echo global inequality trends. The World Inequality Report 2022 reveals that by 2022-23, India’s top 1% captured about 22.6% of the national income and 40.1% of the country’s wealth, while the top 10% together hold a disproportionately large share of resources; in contrast, the bottom half continue to struggle with stagnant wages and limited access to quality education and healthcare. The Oxfam Inequality Kills report (2022) further shows that 84% of Indian households saw their incomes fall during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring how crises worsen disparities. Taken together, these global findings suggest that even though the NIF data show some improvement in income growth for the bottom 40%, income growth alone may not capture the full picture of widening wealth inequality (Chancel & Piketty, 2019).

Political participation remains unequal. Women’s representation in Parliament has improved, but stands at just over 14% (Election Commission of India, 2024 General Election Report) which is far from parity. At the professional level, the ratio of female to male workers is around 49% (Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Annual Report 2022-23), reflecting near parity numerically but masking the fact that women remain concentrated in lower-paying sectors with limited career advancement opportunities. Social groups like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes continue to face structural barriers. While budget allocations for their welfare are tracked under Targets 10.4.2 and 10.4.3, the report offers no assurance that these funds translate into measurable, lasting change in employment, income, or access to services.

The NIF data also emphasizes regional disparities. While tap water coverage is now at 99.6% nationally, states and districts with large tribal and rural populations still report lower service quality and irregular supply. In education, 78.8% of schools have internet access, but the concentration of this access in urban and better-off districts risks creating a second-generation digital divide. According to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023, India lifted approximately 415 million people out of multidimensional poverty between 2005-06 and 2019-21. However, as of the latest estimates, 16.4% of the population remains multi-dimensionally poor, with deprivations concentrated in nutrition, sanitation and housing. These intersecting disadvantages often overlap with income inequality, amplifying the impact of economic disparities captured in NIF indicators.

Government programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) for financial inclusion, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for rural employment and National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for pensions are aimed at bridging these gaps. Under PMJDY, over 51.6 crore accounts have been opened as of July 2025, with 56% belonging to women and 67% in rural and semi-urban areas, signaling wide outreach but still facing issues with dormant accounts. MGNREGA provided 3.1 billion person-days of work in FY 2023-24, with women constituting 54% of the workforce, yet average wage rates in many states remain 15-20% below the state minimum wage. The NSAP currently supports around 2.4 crore beneficiaries, but pension amounts remain as low as ₹200-₹500 per month, far below subsistence needs. Similarly, Stand Up India has sanctioned over 1.8 lakh loans to women and SC/ST entrepreneurs since 2016, and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has disbursed ₹27.6 lakh crore to 40 crore borrowers since inception, yet only a small proportion of these loans have gone to first-time entrepreneurs from the most disadvantaged groups.

For millions of Indians, mobility is both a survival strategy and an economic opportunity. The NIF report tracks migration recruitment costs and remittance transaction charges, in line with Targets 10.7.1 and 10.c.1. While global benchmarks suggest remittance charges should be below 3%, many low-income migrants still pay significantly higher rates. These hidden costs drain the money that could have gone to household consumption, education, or small business investment in home communities.

India’s NIF report is one of the most detailed SDG monitoring systems in the world, but the progress in reducing inequality will only come when numbers turn into action. While the income of poorer households is growing, it must be supported by fairer taxation and strong social protection so the benefits last. Funds for disadvantaged groups should be tracked through impact audits to make sure they actually reach the people who need them. The labour share of GDP needs to rise through wage policy reforms and better enforcement of labour rights. Around the world, countries that have successfully reduced inequality, such as those in Northern Europe, have done so through fair taxation, high-quality public services for all and strong job market policies. India’s route will be different, but the principle remains the same: a fair distribution of growth’s benefits, an inclusive safety net, and structural investments in disadvantaged communities.

Closing India’s inequality gap will require more than incremental policy gains. ORF’s 2024 report warns of a USD 564 billion annual shortfall to meet the SDGs by 2030, funds that must come from stronger domestic mobilization, deeper private sector engagement, and innovative financing tools. Inequality is a lived reality and not just a mere economic statistic. It determines whether a tribal girl completes school, a dalit entrepreneur secures a loan, or a migrant worker sends money home without losing a week’s wages. Every year of slow progress compounds the disadvantage. India cannot afford to treat inequality reduction as a peripheral goal. Without equity, gains in health, education, and infrastructure will be undermined. SDG 10 is the thread that binds the entire development agenda, and if it wears out, then the promise of sustainable growth would too. The 2025 NIF Progress Report is clear: we are making strides, but need to close the inequality gap. The next phase of India’s development must turn those incremental gains into structural change because sustainable growth without inclusion is simply growth with a ticking time bomb beneath it.

References: 
•    Sustainable Development Goals- National Indicator Framework (NIF) Progress Report 2025
•    Chancel, L., &Piketty, T. (2019). Indian income inequality, 1922–2015: From British Raj to Billionaire Raj? Review of Income and Wealth, 65(S1), S33–S62. https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.12439
•    World Inequality Report 2022
•    Inequality Kills- India Supplement 2022
•    MoF- PMJDY Progress Report (as of July 2025)
•    MoRD- MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS), FY 2023-24
•    MoRD- NSAP Portal (Beneficiary and Scheme Reports)
•    Stand Up India MIS Dashboard- SIDBI
•    MUDRA Ltd.- PMMY Performance Reports
•    https://hdr.undp.org/content/2023-global-multidimensional-poverty-index-mpi
•    Bridging the Financing Gap for the SDGs- ORF

Ishita Verma is a research assistant with Pahle India Foundation.