Is ₹2.5 lakh the new ₹1 lakh? Viral Bengaluru founder’s claim ignites India’s cost-of-living debate
Think back to a decade ago. A monthly salary of ₹1 lakh was the kind of figure people spoke about with admiration. Parents proudly mentioned it to relatives. Fresh graduates dreamed of reaching it before turning 30. It was more than just a pay cheque—it was proof that you had made it.Fast forward to 2026, and that same number doesn’t carry quite the same confidence, at least not in India’s biggest cities. Ask anyone paying rent in Bengaluru, juggling school fees in Mumbai or watching grocery bills creep up month after month, and you’ll probably hear the same refrain: everything feels more expensive than it used to.That everyday frustration spilled onto social media this week after Bengaluru entrepreneur and Medial founder Niket Raj Dwivedi wrote on X that “₹2.5 lakh per month is the new ₹1 lakh,” adding that the comparison was especially true for cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai. His remark quickly snowballed into a heated debate. Some called it wildly out of touch in a country where earning ₹1 lakh a month is still beyond the reach of most workers. Others argued he had simply said out loud what many urban professionals have been quietly feeling for years.The discussion, however, is about much more than one viral post. It reflects a growing unease over how inflation, soaring housing costs and changing lifestyles are redrawing the boundaries of what financial security actually looks like in urban India.
One post, hundreds of opinions
Dwivedi’s post was brief, but the reactions were anything but. Within hours, people from different walks of life had joined the conversation. Some agreed almost instantly, saying they could relate to the pressure of managing expenses in cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai. Others felt the comparison ignored a simple reality: for millions of Indians, earning even ₹1 lakh a month is still an aspiration.One X user described the remark as “genuinely impressive how detached from reality some people are,” arguing that such statements overlook the financial struggles of most households.Yet another user looked at it from a completely different angle. According to them, inflation, lifestyle changes, and an uncertain job market have steadily chipped away at the value of a six-figure salary. “₹1 lakh felt rich in 2015. ₹2.5 lakh feels survival in 2026,” the user wrote.The sharply divided responses revealed that the argument wasn’t really about one salary figure. It was about where people live, how they live and what they expect their income to cover.When rent eats away at your salary. Perhaps the strongest support for Dwivedi’s argument came from people pointing to housing costs.One X account noted that renting a three-bedroom apartment in neighbourhoods such as Bellandur, HSR Layout or Koramangala in Bengaluru can cost anywhere between ₹80,000 and ₹1 lakh a month. Once rent consumes such a large portion of income, the remaining salary has to cover transport, groceries, utilities, healthcare, children’s education, insurance, taxes and savings.For many professionals, that arithmetic feels increasingly difficult. Another user simply remarked, “Yes, inflation keeps raising the bar for everyone.”That sentiment may explain why conversations around salaries today sound very different from those a decade ago. The focus is no longer just on how much someone earns, but on how much purchasing power that income actually delivers.
Inflation is only part of the story
At the same time, several users argued that inflation alone cannot explain the changing perception of what counts as a comfortable salary.Financial experts have often pointed out that higher incomes are usually accompanied by higher spending. As careers progress, people tend to move into larger homes, dine out more often, travel more frequently, and spend more on convenience. Economists describe this as lifestyle inflation or lifestyle creep.That does not mean concerns over rising costs are unfounded. Rather, it suggests that today’s spending patterns are shaped by both necessity and changing aspirations.The debate on X reflected exactly that tension. While some users focused on the soaring cost of essentials, others argued that what is now described as “survival” may still represent a relatively privileged urban lifestyle.
A metro problem, not an India problem?
Some participants in the discussion tried to bridge the two viewpoints. One user acknowledged that Dwivedi’s statement might sound unrealistic to most Indians, but added that living costs in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru have risen dramatically over the years.The user even remarked that dining out in Tokyo can sometimes feel cheaper than eating at restaurants in Delhi, using the comparison to highlight how expensive metropolitan India has become.Whether everyone agrees with that comparison is another matter. But it reflects a growing perception among many urban professionals that their salaries no longer buy the lifestyle they once expected.
The real takeaway
The debate sparked by Dwivedi’s post is unlikely to end anytime soon because it touches on something deeply personal: people’s relationship with money.For someone living in a Tier-II city with modest housing costs, ₹1 lakh a month can still provide a very comfortable life. For a family paying high rent, school fees, and commuting expenses in Bengaluru or Mumbai, even a salary two or three times higher may not feel as secure as it once did.Perhaps that is why the post resonated so widely. It wasn’t merely about whether ₹2.5 lakh is the new ₹1 lakh. It was about how quickly expectations, expenses, and definitions of financial comfort are changing anda how those changes look very different depending on which part of India you call home. It raises a larger question of whether these questions are being taken into consideration by the employers?
