'None of us are middle class,' says Edelweiss Mutual Fund CEO Radhika Gupta
For many urban professionals, however, even seven-figure salaries feel inadequate. Skyrocketing rents, rising costs of urban living, lifestyle inflation, and endless social media comparisons fuel the sentiment that no salary is enough.
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The definition of "middle class" in India is being holy debated again - this time over a controversial income marker: Rs 70 lakh a year.
The spark came from a recent podcast, where the CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund Radhika Gupta dismissed the idea that such an income could still be called middle class.
"What we now like to call middle class is almost cool," she said during her conversation with Jain. "The reality is - none of us are middle class. The technical definition of middle class cannot be Rs 70 lakh of income. Rs 70 lakh is upper class."
For many urban professionals, however, even seven-figure salaries feel inadequate. Skyrocketing rents, rising costs of urban living, lifestyle inflation, and endless social media comparisons fuel the sentiment that no salary is enough. But the Edelweiss CEO framed this as an identity crisis. Indians who are statistically in the top income percentiles often cling to a “middle class” tag because of their family histories.
"All of us come from middle class roots. We have middle class psychosis, middle class thinking, grandparents who were middle or lower middle class," she said in the podcast. "We hold that word very dear to us. But let’s be real—most of us are not middle class anymore."
She pegged the true Indian middle class income at just ₹5–8 lakh a year, far below the ₹70 lakh benchmark often used in conversations. In a country of 140 crore, averages mask extremes: around 10 crore Indians earn per capita incomes of $12,000–$14,000, while over 100 crore live on under $2,000 annually.
The conversation also turned to the role of social media in shaping modern aspirations—and dissatisfaction. "I spoke to a Gen Z kid and asked why they’re resistant to 60–70 hour work weeks. He said, 'We have to go to the gym, maintain fitness, take vacations—because we’re competing on social media.'"
That relentless comparison, she noted, intensifies financial anxiety. "The conflict between saving and spending always existed. But today, it’s exaggerated."
