Parliament proceedings | Number of billionaires in India stands at 136 in FY21

The number of billionaires in India came down to 136 in 2020-21 from 141 in 2019-20, based on the gross total income declared in the income tax return

The number of billionaires in India came down to 136 in 2020-21 from 141 in 2019-20, based on the gross total income declared in the income tax return, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on August 10. The number of individuals disclosing a gross total income of more than ₹100 crore (one billion rupees) in a year in their return of income filed with the Income Tax Department during 2018-19 stood at 77, she said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha. "As per the information available with Central Board of Direct Taxes [CBDT], there is no legislative or administrative definition of the term billionaire under direct taxes. Wealth tax has been abolished with effect from 01.04.2016 and, therefore, CBDT does not any more capture information about complete wealth of an individual taxpayer," she said.