With 97, Indian ranks third on the list of countries with the largest number of billionaires, behind only the US and China. Currently, the wedding industry in the country stands at some Rs 100,000 crore, and a person is said to spend one-fifth of their accumulated wealth on weddings.
In 2011, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister KV Thomas had proposed a bill to curb the amount of food served to guests, because he estimated that 15 per cent of India's food grains are lost at such events. In Bengaluru alone, 943 tonnes of food, which could feed 2.6 crore people one meal, is wasted at ostentatious weddings
But none of this is stopping India's billionaires.
Mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, a former MP from Karnataka, who has spent three years in jail and is currently out on conditional bail, sent out an invitation (video above) for his daughter's wedding that came in a box with an LCD screen. On the screen, members of his family can be seen lip-syncing to a Kannada song specially composed for the wedding.
This is not the first big wedding in the family.
There were reports that the baron, whose wealth has been accumulated from his allegedly illegal mining empire, had previously spent Rs 20 crore on a wedding for which guests were flown in via helicopter. Oh, and he used to own a 15-kg throne.
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