IITian in Bengaluru raises alarm over rising cost of living: ‘India is getting really expensive'

Hindustan Times

05-05-2025

An IIT Bombay graduate has raised alarm over the rising cost of living in India, saying it has not spared even the smaller cities. Bengaluru-based Monali Dambre took to the social media platform X to share her concerns.
Monali, a member of the founding team at Agno, said that she is genuinely worried about how the middle and lower classes will survive in the coming years. Drawing from her personal experience, the IITian said her grocery bills in Bengaluru are starting to feel 'unusually high'.
'I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that the cost of living in India is getting really expensive—even in smaller, tier-3 cities,' she wrote on X. 'And honestly, I'm starting to feel genuinely worried about how the lower and middle class are managing to survive… or how they're going to survive in the next few years.'
Monali, who graduated from IIT Bombay with a BSc in Economics, added that despite living in a relatively well-paying tech hub like Bengaluru, her grocery bills are skyrocketing.
'Even in Bangalore, my grocery bills (which include only absolute staples—nothing fancy or luxurious) are starting to feel unusually high,' she wrote.
And this increase is not limited to exotic fruits and imported items - even buying staples and essentials is beginning to feel unaffordable. 'Just basic fruits, veggies, and daily essentials—and it still feels like thing have got expensive than they should have,' said the Bengaluru-based woman.
Her post has sparked a spirited discussion about life and cost of living in India.
In the comments section, some suggested she step out to shop instead of relying on quick commerce apps. Others, however, countered this argument by saying in-person shopping is as expensive – if not more – than ordering groceries online.
'Initially we used to go to a local market to shop but it's the same price as Qcomm , and inconvenient,' Monali agreed.
'Rupee is collapsing compared to gold. Its showing this in all hard assets. Anything plastic or digital will remain at same price but anything that takes real energy to produce and distribute is increasing in cost. Add to it ultra high tax burden and speculative real estate,' an X user named Harsh opined.
'Yes the inflation on food and groceries is way too high. In general cost of living has increased bar above the usual 5-6% annual year on year limit,' another X user added.