The silent squeeze: rising costs crushing India’s middle class

India’s middle class is increasingly feeling the strain of rising living costs and stagnant wages, with many silently struggling to keep up, warns Madhav Kasturia, a Delhi-based startup founder, in a LinkedIn post.

Kasturia shared the example of a friend working at a leading IT company earning ₹30 lakh annually and living in Whitefield.

“On paper? Doing well, but in reality, he’s quietly losing ground,” Kasturia wrote.

He broke down his friend’s monthly expenses to highlight the pressure: ₹47,000 on rent, ₹29,000 EMI for his parents’ home, ₹18,000 on daycare and transport, ₹10,000 on groceries, and ₹8,000 minimum credit card payments. “This isn’t rare. It’s becoming the norm.”

Kasturia pointed to troubling economic trends, highlighting that salaries between ₹5 lakh and ₹1 crore have only grown by 0.4% annually over the last decade.

At the same time, food prices have surged 80% since 2013, and India’s personal debt has reached 43% of GDP.

“It’s not like we’re struggling in the traditional sense,” he wrote. “But there’s this constant hum of pressure and no real safety net.”

He criticized government policies for neglecting the salaried middle class, despite their significant contributions to tax revenues and consumer demand.

“You’re not poor enough for help. You’re not rich enough for wealth creation. And you’re definitely not top-of-mind when policies are being designed,” he added.

Kasturia continued, “We are spending more to feel stable and slipping deeper into debt to maintain the illusion.”

Describing the middle class as a “silent contributor,” he warned of the risks if reforms are not introduced.

He called for predictable taxation, better social safety nets, and policies that support long-term affordability.

“We'll end up scaling a nation where the most productive people are also the most anxious,” Kasturia said. “That’s not the India we want to build.”