things are indeed a lot cheaper.

but Rs21,000 is below the bottom of the barrel for engineering graduate.

Rs 25,000($340) per month would be bottom of the barrel, with Rs 50,000 ($680) per month a decent amount for engineering graduate.

Source: Am engineering graduate from india

Is that the going rate for the area where this factory is? In the US pay varies wildly by geographic location. Someone in Silicon Valley can easily make 5-10x as much as someone doing the exact same work in the middle of Iowa, for example.

when i say "bottom of the barrel" i mean literally the bottom. Anything less is exploitation and abuse, the article says it is located in industrial area [1] near bengaluru, which is one of the major cities of india.

I don't think location should play a negative role here, as factory is located in industrial area, where engineering grads would really not prefer going without a premium (or desperation as is the case here)

If anything, sheer proximity to bengaluru should drive salaries up.

the general verdict here is that the company was offering piss poor salaries to desperate students, and then decided to go lower.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narasapura_Industrial_Area