New Delhi, May 10 -- A kilo of apples at Nature's Basket, a retail chain associated with well-off shoppers, costs Rs.499. At a modest local vendor, these would cost Rs.200-250 per kg. Admittedly, their quality and source of origin may differ.

A visit to a shopping mall shows that there are shoppers at branded outlets like Vero Moda, Uniqlo, M&S, Zara and others who could be running up bills of Rs.10,000 or more on each visit.

The number of high-end cars being sold, going by data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, has risen from around 17,000 units in 2020-21 to over 41,000 in 2025-26.

Newspaper advertisements have real estate developers selling luxury apartments with starting prices of Rs.7 crore per unit, often wi...