Rising inequality is one among the top four global risks and reducing the inequality is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, said Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari in Bengaluru today. Delivering the inaugural address of the three day Huddle Conclave organised by The Hindu newspaper, Mr. Ansari said that inequality breeds economic inefficiencies and limits productivity. <br/><br/>He said, research by IMF has shown that income inequality slows growth, causes financial crisis and weakens demand. The Vice-President said, rising inequality is seen as a contributing cause for the rise of authoritarian leaders, often with a divisive agenda fueled by sectarianism, xenophobia and nationalism. He said, some studies have concluded that ethnic groups with incomes much lower than a country's average per capita income are more likely to engage in civil war. <br/><br/>Referering to India, he said, the growing threat of left extremism, which has been repeatedly acknowledged as the gravest security threat to Indian state, has its roots in economic deprivation and inequality in access to resources.