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Prof. Arun Kumar: India's black economy undermines 97% of the population

Prof. Arun Kumar · Does Higher GDP Mean Better Jobs, Housing & Income? w/ Economist Prof. Arun Kumar · Oct 7, 2025 · at 22:41

Economist Prof. Arun Kumar argues that illicit economic extraction and bribery degrade living standards for 97% of Indians.

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“So this black economy, you know, is causing stress to them because whatever work they have to do, they have to pay a bribe. So their formal income that they're getting is not reflective of their standard of living. So this black economy undermines the 97%. Three percent earn a lot of black incomes, ok, because they're in the position to be able to extract it. But the 97% are suffering, and the 97% includes the poor, the low middle class, and the middle class.”

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