Breakpoint: the crisis of the middle class and the future of work

By:

Mukherjea, Saurabh

Contributor(s):

Rajhansa, Nandita & Bhavsar, Sapana

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: New Delhi Juggernaut Books 2026Description: 260 pISBN:

9789353452254

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

305.55 MUK

Summary: India’s middle class – 40 million income-tax filers earning between `5,00,000 and `1,00,00,000 annually – has reached a critical inflection point. The consumption-driven growth model that powered India’s post-1991 economic rise is collapsing under the weight of three simultaneous shocks: technological disruption eliminating white-collar employment faster than new jobs emerge, wage stagnation eroding purchasing power as inflation for several essential products and services ramps at double digits, and explosive household debt levels now exceeding those of the US and China. Graduate unemployment stands at 29 per cent – nine times higher than for illiterates. India’s IT sector is shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs as AI reshapes work. Real wages have flatlined while nine million Indians have lost over $35 billion in speculative trading. FMCG volume growth has collapsed from 10 per cent to 3 per cent. With consumption accounting for 60 per cent of GDP, India’s growth story is at risk. Drawing on extensive data, this book from the acclaimed author of Coffee Can Investing reveals how India reached this breaking point – and charts the path forward. Amidst the crisis lies an entrepreneurial revolution, aided by policy changes and changing social attitudes, that could reshape the Indian economy. The middle-class mutiny has begun. Will it end in collapse or transformation?

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Books	Gandhi Smriti Library	305.55 MUK (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		185912

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Previous	305.55 Mis The Indian middle classes	305.55 MIS Indian middle classes : their growth in modern times	305.55 MIS Indian middle classes : their growth in modern times	305.55 MUK Breakpoint: the crisis of the middle class and the future of work	305.55 PRA Socio-economic study of urban middle classes	305.55 SAA Middle-class moralities: everyday struggle over belonging and prestige in India	305.55 SHA Sociology of law and legal profession	Next

India’s middle class – 40 million income-tax filers earning between `5,00,000 and `1,00,00,000 annually – has reached a critical inflection point. The consumption-driven growth model that powered India’s post-1991 economic rise is collapsing under the weight of three simultaneous shocks: technological disruption eliminating white-collar employment faster than new jobs emerge, wage stagnation eroding purchasing power as inflation for several essential products and services ramps at double digits, and explosive household debt levels now exceeding those of the US and China.

Graduate unemployment stands at 29 per cent – nine times higher than for illiterates. India’s IT sector is shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs as AI reshapes work. Real wages have flatlined while nine million Indians have lost over $35 billion in speculative trading. FMCG volume growth has collapsed from 10 per cent to 3 per cent. With consumption accounting for 60 per cent of GDP, India’s growth story is at risk.

Drawing on extensive data, this book from the acclaimed author of Coffee Can Investing reveals how India reached this breaking point – and charts the path forward. Amidst the crisis lies an entrepreneurial revolution, aided by policy changes and changing social attitudes, that could reshape the Indian economy. The middle-class mutiny has begun. Will it end in collapse or transformation?

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