Is It Easy to Be Middle Class in India? Pune Start-Up Founder Highlights 'Silent' Struggles

“In India, being a middle class in more difficult than being poor”, Pune-based start-up founder Saurabh Mangrulkar has raised voice for median income group of the society. Middle class people are not qualified enough for aid, and not rich enough to escape from the grind.

In a LinkedIn post, Mangrulkar asked, “Why? No health benefits. No educational benefits. No subsidies of any kind. No government support of any kind”. According to him, the core issue is a threshold that leaves out millions.

H said if a middle class person earns more than Rs 2.5 lakh a year, which is around only Rs 20,000 per month, they don’t get anything at the end. He argued that this income is not enough to cover urban living.

“People earning Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 per month to struggle to afford good education, quality healthcare, or even a small house in a decent locality. They can’t afford  good hospitals, but can’t go to government ones either. They can’t afford private schools, but government schools won’t work for them,” his post read.

He further talked the subsidies which are “non-existent” for middle class. “They get no LPG subsidies. No food or electricity benefits. Nothing. They are not poor, so they get no help. They are not rich, so they can’t help themselves. They’re just stuck. Worse, they’re footing the bill. “They pay taxes. They get nothing back,” he said.

“Middle-class people spend 10–15 years of their lives saving for their children’s education or a small house — all on loans and EMIs. If they lose their job, no one helps. If they fall sick, no one helps. There is no support system. They’re expected to survive on their own,” the start-up founder added.

Last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah listed initiatives taken for the middle class in India. These include 12 industrial corridors with an investment of Rs 28,600 crore, metro projects worth Rs 30,700 crore, implementation of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, revision of one rank-one pension scheme, new income tax regime, etc.

Tax reforms introduced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the past decade have aimed to ease the financial burden on middle-class earners with incomes below Rs 20 lakh. At the same time, Outlook Business had earlier reported that stricter, non-intrusive enforcement measures have significantly increased tax compliance among individuals earning over Rs 50 lakh.