Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
After independence, the middle class ruled India. High-quality university education, good urban infrastructure, and law and order in metros: the government strove to meet white collar India's needs.
Today, however, argues investor Saurabh Mukherjea, that is not the case. He says the middle class lacks political leverage despite contributing the most towards taxes.
In a new book, Breakpoint: The Crisis of the Middle Class and the Future of Work, Mukherjea, along with Nandita Rajhansa and Sapana Bhavsar, argues that falling employment, stagnant wages and exploding debt driven by social media envy means the Indian middle class is facing an existential crisis.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
10:06 Why middle class is dying
28:07 Exploding debt
39:46 Rise of gig work
54:07 Should middle class leave India?
Host: Shoaib Daniyal
Producer: Priyali Dhingra
Editor: Hyder Habib
#middleclass #economy #indianeconomy #inflation #debt
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After independence, the middle class ruled India. High-quality university education, good urban infrastructure, and law and order in metros: the government strove to meet white collar India's needs.
Today, however, argues investor Saurabh Mukherjea, that is not the case. He says the middle class lacks political leverage despite contributing the most towards taxes.
In a new book, Breakpoint: The Crisis of the Middle Class and the Future of Work, Mukherjea, along with Nandita Rajhansa and Sapana Bhavsar, argues that falling employment, stagnant wages and exploding debt driven by social media envy means the Indian middle class is facing an existential crisis.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
10:06 Why middle class is dying
28:07 Exploding debt
39:46 Rise of gig work
54:07 Should middle class leave India?
Host: Shoaib Daniyal
Producer: Priyali Dhingra
Editor: Hyder Habib
#middleclass #economy #indianeconomy #inflation #debt
Subscribe to Scroll's YouTube channel and turn on your notifications, so you don't miss new videos.
For more explainers, and the web’s most interesting videos - scroll.in/video
For the latest news and analysis - scroll.in
Support our award-winning journalism by becoming a Scroll member - scroll.in/contribute
Follow Scroll.in here -
Facebook: facebook.com/scroll.in
Twitter: twitter.com/scroll_in
Instagram: instagram.com/scroll_in
Threads: threads.net/@scroll_in
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/scroll.in










