Nearly 100 million Indians to earn over $10k by 2027: Report

The number of "affluent" Indians - people with annual income of $10,000 (about ₹8.3 lakh) or more - has grown 12 times faster than the population in the past four years and is set to become 100 million by 2027, according to a Goldman Sachs report released on Friday.

The report, titled 'The Rise of Affluent India', said this growing affluent class is having a direct impact on consumption in segments like leisure, jewellery, out-of-home food, healthcare and premium brands across categories, with mid-teen growth expected over the medium term. Companies that address top end consumption grew faster than those targeting broad based consumption in the past four years, it said.

The report estimates the population of affluent consumers to have grown at a compounded annual rate (CAGR) of 12% between 2019 and 2023 to 60 million now. The country's population in this period had expanded at a CAGR of 1%.

The per capita income in India is estimated to be $2,100.

These 60 million affluent Indians, from 12-14 million households, included 44 million people in the working age. Within the working age population too, the growth of the "affluent" segment outpaced the total number at 12.6% to 1.4% since 2019, the report said.

About 4% of the working age population qualifies to be called "affluent", the report said.

Income tax filings during the 2017-22 assessment years increased at 8% CAGR. In this period, the number of people filing returns showing income of over ₹10 lakh grew at 19%, the report said.

In the years between fiscal 2019 and 2023, term deposits of ₹15 lakh and more in banks expanded at 45% CAGR, compared with just 3% growth in deposits in those below that.

There were 85 million credit cards and 960 million debit cards at the end of fiscal 2023 in India, recording a CAGR of 16% and 1% since fiscal 2019, the report said. Credit card spending has increased 2.5 times in the past 12 months compared with FY19, as per the report.

The report also listed 'Affluent India' stocks, comprising discretionary categories like leisure, jewellery, out-of-home food, healthcare and premium brands. This group of companies is projected to report a 7% increase in FY24 revenue as per consensus analyst estimates, compared with a 3% fall in revenue at the broad-based consumption companies, it said.