Vegetarian thali cost falls to lowest in over a year in April: Crisil

Vegetable price decline brings down thali cost

The cost of a preparing a home-cooked meal declined to its lowest in over a year in April, as prices of kitchen staples such as tomato and potato continued to fall, Crisil has said in its latest report.

A vegetarian home-cooked meal cost Rs 26.3 in April, down from Rs 26.6 in the previous month and Rs 27.4 in the year-ago period.

“The on-year decline in the cost of a vegetarian thali was because of a sharp fall in the prices of vegetables,” Crisil said.

Tomato at Rs 21 a kg was 34 percent lower from the previous year, while potato prices were down 11 percent.

A non-vegetarian meal, on the other hand, also was cheaper during the month on low demand amid fears of bird flu and oversupply.

Inflation is likely to cool further in April from previous month. The reading is expected to remain around 4 percent for the better part of the year.

The Reserve Bank of India delivered its second consecutive rate cut in April, cutting the key repo rate by another 25 bps to 6 percent.

Economists believe there is another rate cut in the offing in the June review, as India’s growth dips due to global uncertainties and inflation settles lower.

In its April meeting, the RBI said it expected inflation to settle at 4 percent in FY26, lower than 4.2 percent projected earlier.

In its latest outlook, Moody’s Ratings pegged inflation at 4 percent for 2025 and 4.3 percent in 2026.