Breakpoint : the Crisis of the Middle Class and the Future of Work

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?