Cost of vegetarian thali increased by 24.26% to Rs 33.8 and Non-vegetarian thali cost rose by 12.54% to Rs 67.3.
Additionally, monthly cost for a family of five: Rs 1,980 for vegetarian thali, Rs 2,250 for non-veg thali.

Thalinomics” refers to the economics of a plate of food in India, which aims to quantify the cost of a common person’s meal (Thali) across the country.
Thali meals consist of:
Vegetarian thali: roti, vegetables (onion, tomato, potato), rice, dal, curd, salad.
Non-vegetarian thali: same items, with chicken replacing dal.

Tomato prices surged 176%, contributing to a 21% increase in vegetarian thali cost.
Other factors include an 8% rise in onion prices, 20% in chilli prices, and 158% in cumin prices.

Expected retail inflation in August around 7%, well above the RBI’s 4% comfort level.
Tomato, onion, and potato prices, while individually having low CPI inflation weights, collectively contribute significantly to inflation variability due to inelastic demand and susceptibility to supply shocks.
Vegetable price fluctuations influenced by factors like rainfall, heatwaves, mandi strikes, speculation, and hoarding.
Tomato price volatility impacts overall inflation but is typically short-lived, with considerable seasonal price variations.