Richer Than India? The Meme Kavya Almost Forwarded
Kavya is nineteen, a second-year economics student in Kolkata. On Sunday night the family WhatsApp group explodes. A cousin posts a meme: a sad map of India beside a smiling map of Bangladesh. The caption screams, "Neighbour is now richer. Thank the government." Ten minutes later, an uncle fires back with his own forward. "India's economy is eight times bigger. More cars. Higher PPP. Anti-nationals can cry." Kavya's thumb hovers. She has an exam on national income next week. She wants to win the argument. Both memes have numbers. Both feel true. So she does something rare. She opens the source. The IMF's October 2026 outlook does estimate Bangladesh's GDP per person at $2,886 and India's at $2,749, at current prices in US dollars. The gap is about $137. But at purchasing power parity, which adjusts for what money actually buys at home, India stands at about $12,998 and Bangladesh at about $10,884. The same outlook projects India moving ahead ...
