Diapers, doctors, schooling: know the costs of raising a child in India

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₹25 -50 lakh, depending on the type of school and the course offered. be it state, central or international boards. Higher education, though, depends on the stream that children decide to pursue after school: engineering, medicine, law, or accountancy.

The fees for this could range from ₹15 lakh to as much as ₹50 lakh. And then there are specialization courses, including postgraduation. That means more fees! If inflation is factored in, the costs will soar.

For example, a five-and-a-half-year MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) course could today easily cost around ₹50 lakh. By 2030, it could touch ₹80 lakh. Similarly, a four-year engineering degree which costs around ₹15 lakh today can go up to ₹37 lakh by 2030.

If international education comes into the equation, the cost could rise significantly. Some people start investing for their child’s higher studies soon after they become parents. Mint caught up with a few of them to find out how they are managing their children’s education, both present and future studies.

Raising a single child Delhi-based Vaibhav Aggarwal, 38, and his wife Neha spend ₹1.56 lakh annually on school fees for their six-year-old son who is in class II. This includes tuition and school bus fees, besides the costs on uniforms and books. Aggarwal, assistant professor (accounting and finance) at Jindal Global Business School, says the fee is less compared to other schools in Delhi.

Neha is an assistant professor (engineering department) at a college in Delhi. The couple have also enrolled their son in dance (fees of ₹26,400 annually) and swimming classes ( ₹12,000 annually). They also send him to summer camps during the school vacation every year.