A comparative analysis was done on the different cities and metros in India by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The report suggests that Hyderabad has a huge cost advantage over Bangalore and other Indian cities.

Welcome to Hyderabad, the second most inexpensive metro in India after Delhi. A comparative analysis of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in RBI’s monthly bulletin shows that Bengaluru is costlier than the other metros, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad.

While Delhi is the cheapest thanks to Central government subsidies, Hyderabad fares better than others due to lower power costs, house rents, etc. Even food items in the City of Pearls are cheaper than the other cities.

However, the cost of living in overall urban Andhra Pradesh is higher than Hyderabad if one takes into account local income and expenditure levels. Compiled by the Shimla-based Labour Bureau, the CPI is used to measure cost of living and rise in retail prices.

Hyderabad, however, does not fare very well when it comes to price rises. According to CPI numbers, in January 2012, prices in the city were 5.2 per cent higher than those in July 2011. The only other top city where the prices rose higher was Chennai with a consumer price inflation of 11.3 per cent.

During the same period, prices went down by 1 per cent in Kolkata while they rose by 1.7 per cent in Delhi, 2.3 per cent in Bengaluru and 2.6 per cent in Mumbai.

City-Wise Index:

METROS

Delhi:             181
Hyderabad:   182
Kolkata:         184
Chennai:        187
Mumbai:        199
Bengaluru:    200

COSTLIEST CITIES

Nagpur:          229
Jamshedpur:  221
Asansol:         217
Solapur:         212
Rourkela:       211
Bhopal:           211