India might still have a GDP per capita of just around $2500 (Rs. 2 lakh), but some Indians are doing very well for themselves.
As many as 1.18 lakh Indians had declared a salary income of more than Rs. 1 crore in AY 2023-24, data from the Income Tax Department reveals. Of these, 19 individuals declared a salary income of more than Rs. 100 crore. In comparison, 4.17 crore Indians had declared a salary income of zero in their income tax returns.
In AY 2023-24, 4.72 lakh Indians declared a salary of more than Rs. 50 lakh in the previous financial year. Of these, 1.18 lakh people had a salary of more than Rs. 1 crore. The number of people with salary above Rs. 5 crore was 5,333, while 1,577 people declared salaries of more than Rs. 10 crore. 317 people declared incomes of more than Rs. 50 crore, while 19 declared their salary of more than Rs. 100 crore. There was no one in India who declared a salary of more than Rs. 500 crore in AY 2023-24.
Here is the number of Indians who with their declared salaries:
| Income | Number of IT Returns |
| > Rs. 50 lakh | 4.72 lakh |
| > Rs. 1 crore | 1.18 lakh |
| > Rs. 5 crore | 5,333 |
| > Rs. 10 crore | 1,577 |
| > Rs. 25 crore | 317 |
| > Rs. 50 crore | 87 |
| > Rs. 100 crore | 19 |
| > Rs. 500 crore | 0 |
These are pretty impressive numbers — there are more than 1.18 lakh people with a salary of 1.18 lakh in India, while there are 5,333 people with a salary of more than Rs. 5 crore. These people not only contribute disproportionately towards the total tax bill which funds many of the government’s welfare schemes for those less fortunate, but likely also lead in the consumption of high value goods and services, which provide jobs and employment to millions. And if India has to grow to become a developed country, it needs to increase the number of these citizens who not only earn high levels of income, but also legitimately declare them in their tax returns to contribute to the country’s overall progress.