India records 576 taxpayers earning ₹100 cr+ in 2025-26

The number of Indians declaring an annual income of 100 crore rupees or more has reached a new high, with 576 individuals reporting that level of income for the 2025-26 assessment year, according to official data presented to Parliament on Monday, July -. This figure represents a more than fourfold increase over five years, rising from 142 such individuals in the 2021-22 assessment year.

The data was shared by the Ministry of Finance in response to a parliamentary question regarding the country's billionaire population and the impact of wealth concentration. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary clarified that there is no statutory definition of the term "billionaire" under either the current Income Tax Act or its predecessor. The figures instead reflect the number of people who reported a gross total income of at least 100 crore rupees in their filed income tax returns.

The ministry emphasized that the government has implemented several measures aimed at reducing income inequality. Chaudhary cited the latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, noting that the Gini coefficient, a statistical measure of inequality, had declined in both rural and urban areas between...