Bangalore: Delhi and Mumbai are one of the least expensive cities in the world suggests the latest World Cost of Living 2012 Survey. It was noted that Arab city Muscat in Oman led the list of the least expensive cities also including Dhaka, Katmandu and Karachi.

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey is conducted twice annually and compares more than 400 prices across 160 products and services and it includes food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs. The survey compared living costs in 130 cities and crowned Zurich as the world's most expensive city for the first time in more than 20 years.  It is also noted that Western Europe still accounts for 24 of the most expensive cities in the top 50, with 14 hailing from Asia.

It was noted that although Asian hubs are making their presence felt at the top of the cost of living stakes, another kind is also making its presence felt at the bottom. Three of the four cheapest locations hail from the Indian subcontinent, stressing why India has been such a target of labor outsourcing, relocation and FDI over the last decade. There seems to be more structural basis, with cheap labor and land costs making India and Pakistan very attractive to those bargain hungry visitors or investors willing to be daring some of the security risks that accompany such low prices, especially in Pakistan.