India, May 27 -- Rising rents, expensive housing societies, growing maintenance charges and increasing daily expenses have frequently sparked discussions online about the cost of living in Delhi-NCR. From Gurgaon to Noida, many residents say managing monthly expenses has become increasingly difficult, especially for middle-class families trying to balance rent, commute, groceries and savings. Amid this, a post by an IIT PhD scholar questioning how couples survive in NCR on salaries below Rs.1 lakh per month has gone viral on X.

"Cost of living in NCR is insane. I am not able to crunch numbers how a couple can live within 50-60k a month," wrote Mishra Dev, a PhD scholar at IIT.

Dev said that even while living a minimalist lifestyle, he e...