How much do India’s richest earn and what do they spend their money on? Does a college education influence earnings significantly? How are Indians living in metros different from those living in other parts of the country?

In a 16-part data journalism series, Mint tries to answer these and many more questions on how India lives, thinks, earns and spends, based on fresh data from the ICE 360° survey conducted this year by the People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE), and shared exclusively with Mint.

The ‘Household Survey on India’s Citizen Environment & Consumer Economy’ (ICE 360° survey), covering 61,000 households, is the largest consumer economy survey in the country since the National Sample Survey Office conducted the last consumer expenditure survey in 2011-12.

The survey results show that India’s richest quintile accounts for 45% of aggregate household disposable income. The top decile earns 29% of aggregate household income, only a little less than what the bottom 60% households collectively earn. The top percentile earns 6% of the aggregate income, which is nearly equal to the share of the bottom 20% in the aggregate income pie.

The survey data shows that an overwhelming majority (87%) of people living in metros belong to the top two quintiles of India’s income pyramid. The data also suggests that a college education raises the likelihood of earning more.

Part 1 of ICE 360 Series: India’s richest 20% account for 45% of income

Part 2 of ICE 360 Series: How much the richest 1% earn and spend

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