The average cost of preparing a thali at home is calculated based on input prices prevailing in north, south, east and west India. The monthly change reflects the impact on the common man’s expenditure. The data also reveals the ingredients (cereals, pulses, broilers, vegetables, spices, edible oil and cooking gas) driving the change in the cost of the thali.

The TOP spoiler

On-year, the cost of a representative homecooked veg thali rose 10% in June, while that of the non-veg thali declined 4%, as per CRISIL MI&A Research estimates:

• The cost of the veg thali increased due to a surge of 30%, 46% and 59% on-year in prices of tomato, onion and potato (TOP), respectively, largely due to low base of last fiscal
• TOP prices surged because of lower onion arrivals due to significant drop in rabi acreage, decline in yield for potato crop due to unseasonal rainfall in March, and virus infestation in tomato summer crop due to high temperatures in key growing regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh that tamped tomato arrivals down 35% on-year