Excerpted from the India Career Guide

Despite the massive growth India has experienced in recent years, it is still very much a third-world country with a per capita gross domestic product of just under 850 USD. However, India’s purchasing power compared to the baseline United States is 4.66 to 1, meaning that, at least in theory, one’s earnings in India should go 4.66 times further than in the United States. If coming from Britain, Australia or Canada, a person’s money will go even further in India because purchasing power in those three countries is lower than the United States.

The actual cost of living in India is heavily influenced by lifestyle. Luxury and imported items are no cheaper – and frequently are more expensive – in India than in the West. Food and other products from India are, for the most part, inexpensive relative to their foreign counterparts. Simply put, the more one lives like a local, the more affordable India becomes.

This is just a sample of what you will find in the complete India guide.