Why Raising Children in India Is More Expensive Than You Think

News18

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A marketing professional in a post explained just how expensive it has become, especially for parents who want to give their kids the 'best.'
Raising a child in India today goes beyond emotional investment; it's a significant financial commitment. From school fees and extracurricular activities to everyday living expenses, the costs add up quickly. A recent LinkedIn post by marketing professional Ankur Javeri has caught widespread attention for highlighting just how expensive it has become, especially for parents striving to provide the very best for their children.
In his post, Ankur shared a conversation with his cousin, a teacher at an international school.
'I never realised the real cost of raising kids in India, until I met my cousin last week," he wrote.
Ankur started by calculating the school fees. 'The fees of a typical international school is about Rs 7–9 lakhs a year. And that's just tuition fees," he said.
According to him, uniforms, books, private tuition and other expenses can add another Rs 2–4 lakh annually.
'That brings the total cost for education to about 12 lakhs a year," he said.
Then there are the monthly extras like extracurriculars, coaching, clothes, birthday parties and leisure costs. He estimated that these come to around Rs 8,000–10,000 per month or Rs 1 lakh per year.
'Totally, all of this comes to about Rs 13 lakhs yearly," he continued.
Ankur then calculated that if a parent spends roughly 30% of their income on their child, the net salary needs to be around Rs 43–44 lakh per year. And when you include taxes, the figure goes up further.
'But wait…Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost… The fun part is still left – Income Tax! Assuming you pay 20% of your salary as tax… your gross salary, to afford this lifestyle for your kids, should be about Rs 55 lakhs," he said.
This is for just one child. 'Have another one, and these numbers increase substantially," he added.
In the conclusion, Ankur wrote, 'I always used to wonder why people these days don't want to have kids. Now I know why…"
Take a look at the post here:
In the comment section, many people shared their varied opinions on Ankur's post.
One user commented, 'Two kids in ICSE, under 1.5 lakhs. Include books, transport and uniform, still under two lakhs. Hobby classes are separate, piano, carnatic vocals, cricket – 75K a year. We buy a ton of books, sketch books and pencils, still under 3L. The rest is lifestyle."
Another said, 'I would tag these schools as 'branded" schools. My school fees were less than Rs 15K a year, I believe it has not touched the lakh figure yet. So, choosing a good school vs a branded one is more important."
'If one goes by this calculation of income required, not even 0.5% of Bharat can afford education? It is a highly fancied outlook…meant for urban elite, corporate honchos, air-conditioned bodies!!!! We all are sending kids to schools…and they are competing and faring better than resort-type schools," someone else wrote.
In a note, Ankur responded to those suggesting that ICSE schools are more affordable. He pointed out that it may be true in some cases, but the best ICSE schools are highly competitive.
tags :
school viral news
Location :
Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 09, 2025, 11:28 IST
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