New Delhi, July 15 -- Bengaluru: Jimit Bagadiya used to walk three kilometres to college to save Rs.2.50.

The bus from Tapovan to Law Garden in Ahmedabad wasn't expensive. But most days, if no friend offered a ride, he walked. No headphones. Just a backpack, the sound of traffic, and the question he still asks himself today: "Do I need to spend this?"

"That Rs.2.50 bus lives in my mind," he says now. Not fondly. Just plainly.

He doesn't remember what the coins were saved for. Maybe a chai. Maybe a photocopy. But the calculation stuck. Not to deny himself-but to be sure.

Back then, it was more than just a habit. His family couldn't afford to cover all his college expenses. The Rs.12,000 annual fees came partly from home. The rest he sc...