1% of the population in India owns more than half the country’s wealth. 10% of the population owns more than three-fourths of the country’s wealth. The poorest of the poor people have access to just 4.1% of national wealth. This gap is widening every year.
Oxfam India is working to reduce this widening gap and inequality. We do this by working with alliances of poor and marginalized people, especially women, to ensure that they realise their rights, influence decision-making processes and transform power structures. To end the cycle of inequality, we urge the government to ensure universal and quality healthcare and education for all, in particular children and women. To make funds available for this, we campaign for the introduction of progressive tax reforms and for corporations to pay fair taxes owed to the country.
Our work aims to ensure that the poorest communities have equal opportunity, equal wages for work, and equal right over resources. We also build the resilience of communities to disasters and reduce vulnerability, particularly for women and children.
We campaign to make violence against women socially unacceptable. We also campaign to secure 50% representation of women in public institutions so that women have an equal say in decisions that affect their lives.
Oxfam India is also engaging with the public to promote active citizenship, and with the private sector to encourage responsible business.
