A new report by the Asian Development Bank says that only 1 million Indians earn in excess of Rs. 10354/month and are in the rich category. On the same day a news report says that Foreign Direct Investment, FDI in real estate has jumped by 80 times in the 5 years between 2005 and 2010. In 2005 it was just Rs. 1.71 billion while in 2010 it was Rs. 135.86 billion. Over the entire five year period a total of Rs. 379.86 billion equivalent to $ 8.492 billion had been invested in the real estate market by foreign investors. This is serious money for a developing country such as India. That these figures are probably true is reflected by the rise in property prices. A ground floor two bedroom DDA flat in south Delhi is fetching offers of Rs. 25 million. The same flat would have cost around Rs. 3 million in 2001. In India half the cost of any property is paid in cash or ' black money.' One may obtain a bank mortgage on the other half. So even if one is allowed 80% mortgage it amounts to just 40% of the total cost. So 60% of the cost has to be paid at the beginning. On a flat costing Rs. 25 million this would be Rs. 15 million. If only one million people are earning more than Rs. 10354 per month what is driving such prices. One would expect the prices of properties to be driven by demand and supply so if the prices are so high there must be demand in the market. Anyone earning Rs. 10000/month can barely survive let alone afford even a one square foot of land. Which brings us to the question- where did ADB get its figures? Did the bank cook up the figures on its own or did we give them such silly data to get preferential loans? Curiouser and curiouser.