However, even though it may seem as if Delhi is the most developed yet cheap city to live in, it is not entirely true since the specific study actually portrays a dismal picture of the region.

This study, published on August 9, was conducted by UBS, the world's largest wealth managers. Amongst the 71 cities covered, the most expensive cities in the world are Oslo, London, Copenhagen, Zurich and Tokyo and ranks Delhi appears much later as the fourth least expensive city in the world. (Mumbai is the second least expensive).

The study, however, should not propel Delhities to rush to the nearest shopping mall for a shopping spree since the cost of goods needs to be studied in comparison with the earning's chart.

To corroborate this, the same study puts the gross hourly average wage of Delhiites at $ 6.1, which works out to less than 10% of the wages in top ranked cities. These wages are probably among the lowest in the world. Consider this - an average Delhitie would have to toil hard for 59 minutes to earn enough in Delhi to buy a large sized "Big Mac burger from McDonald's.

The study and its findings provoke one to try to find reasons behind this anomaly. Affluence is usually associated with development while earnings are generally expected to rise in commensurate with the city's developmental progress. Why has it not been so in the case of Delhi?

One of the reasons that seem quite apparent is the migration of a large number of people from the nearby states of UP and Bihar that has resulted in an abundant and more-than-required supply of cheaper labour. This restricts the growth in earnings possible in the city.

On the other hand the development of the city has been enforced since it is the seat national governance in India and not necessarily due to a natural economical progression. Undeserved capital has probably been infused into the city to maintain its status as the Capital of the largest democracy in the world.

The development and infrastructure of the city without counterbalancing adequate earnings is meaningless. It is not to be seen whether the earnings grow in tandem with the forced development or whether the lag shall increase due to the availability of cheap labour.