The number of individual taxpayers in India reporting an annual income of 100 crore rupees or more surged by over 300 percent over five years, reaching 576 individuals in assessment year 2025-26, according to Union Finance Ministry data presented to Parliament on July 27, 2026.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary provided the figures in a written response to parliamentary questions regarding the growth of billionaires in the country.
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The figure grew from 415 in assessment year 2024-25 and 142 in assessment year 2021-22.
The ministry clarified that the Income-tax Act does not contain a statutory definition for a billionaire, utilizing taxpayers earning 100 crore rupees or more as a operational proxy for the top income tier.
The ministry added that it does not track aggregate wealth following the abolition of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 in April 2016.
Addressing questions regarding wealth inequality, MoS Chaudhary cited government survey data indicating improvements in consumption distribution and poverty reduction across the country.
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"The Wealth-tax Act, 1957 was abolished with effect from 01 April 2016, and the Government does not maintain data on aggregate wealth of taxpayers," Chaudhary said.
The Finance Ministry highlighted that rural Gini coefficient metrics fell from 0.266 to 0.237, while urban figures dropped from 0.314 to 0.284 in the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24.
Government estimates further indicated that unemployment among individuals aged 15 and above declined to 3.1 percent in 2025, alongside multidimensional poverty reductions lifting 24.82 crore people out of poverty over the past decade.
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Income Tax Return data for assessment year 2024-25 previously revealed that only 19 individuals reported salary incomes exceeding 100 crore rupees, with the broader expansion driven predominantly by equity appreciation, business profits, and property value growth.
