ET reported that India's Gross Domestic Product registered an annual average growth of 6.6% between 1990 and 2010.

Mr Ashwani Kumar minister of state for planning said that "Based on the data of world development indicators, the GDP of India at 2000 prices increased from USD 270.5 billion in 1990 to USD 971.5 billion in 2010 registering an annual average growth rate of 6.6% in real terms.”

He said that there is no indication of any contraction in wealth in the country during the period 1990-2010.

Mr Kumar said as per the “Forbes' magazine, there are 55 Indians who feature in a list of billionaires.” He added that "The list of billionaires compiled and published by Forbes magazine on March 10th 2011, includes the names of 55 Indians as 'dollar billionaires', ie individuals with a total net worth of one billion dollars and above.”

The minister added that these 55 Indians account for roughly 4.5% of the total 1,210 billionaires across the world.

(Sourced from ET)