There have been some significant policy changes in recent times – including the new Labor Code replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the implementation of the Developed India-Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Bill, 2025 – which have raised serious concerns regarding the welfare of informal workers and people belonging to rural India. These changes are accompanied by the official understanding that inequality is of much less concern today than it was in the early 2010s, even though data comparability itself remains an issue.

The analysis of inequality demands clarification on certain issues, among others.