‘Gurgaon gives you Dubai bills but Delhi air’: Banker explains why ₹70L a year won’t buy you dignity in India

Inflation in India may officially be near record lows but for the urban middle class, life in metro cities is starting to feel as expensive as San Francisco or Dubai. 

Investment banker Sarthak Ahuja says it’s time to stop relying on national averages to understand the real cost of living.

Ahuja, writing on LinkedIn, shared that friends from global cities like San Francisco, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Switzerland are stunned at how expensive Gurgaon has become. 

“Whenever they visit India, they end up spending the same amount eating out, ordering in, or visiting salons,” he wrote.

It seems counterintuitive at a time when India’s CPI inflation for October 2025 is just 0.25%—possibly the lowest in history. But as Ahuja explains, these numbers are deeply skewed by how subsidies and rural dynamics affect the index.

“Almost 79 crore Indians receive subsidised food grains. Over 55% of students are in free government schools. And 86% of Indians own their homes, avoiding rent entirely,” he noted. These realities depress headline inflation but barely reflect the lived experience of urban Indians.

In India’s top cities, a very different inflation story is unfolding:

Private schools have raised fees by 10–20% in just a year—and by 169% over the last decade.

Quick commerce services have added over 20% to grocery prices through delivery and convenience markups.

Healthcare costs in private hospitals have quietly inflated by over 10%.

And a wave of premiumization has created restaurants, homes, and products targeting only the affluent.

Yet, for many urban Indians, maintaining that lifestyle feels non-negotiable—especially when it is constantly broadcast across social media.

“If you live in Gurgaon or Mumbai today, you live in a city with international costs, and deplorable infrastructure and air to breathe,” Ahuja wrote. For NRIs returning home, this sticker shock is now routine.

His conclusion: even at a ₹70 lakh annual salary in a metro city, your experience and happiness levels are still “middle class.”

As India’s macroeconomic data paints a picture of stability, it masks the growing disconnect between urban living expenses and what the average professional can afford.