The basket begins full.
₹1 lakh is the reference. Every later value asks how much of this purchasing power remains.
Independent visual journalism
Sources open by default
India Over Time · Prices
Is Your ₹1 Lakh Still Worth ₹1 Lakh?
Take the same money to the market in 2004, move forward one year at a time, and watch what disappears from the basket.
Meet the shopper
This is Ravi. His wallet will not grow.
Ravi is a fictional guide—not a surveyed individual. He represents the same experiment in every year: enter the June market with exactly ₹1,00,000 and try to buy the broad household basket that money covered in 2004.
Food, housing, fuel, health, education and travel all compete for that fixed wallet. Ravi stays the same. The money stays the same. Only the market moves forward.
₹
- Guide
- Ravi
- Wallet
- ₹1,00,000
- Starting point
- June 2004
- Mission
- Buy the same life
Watch his trolley, posture and expression change as you scroll.
THE MARKET · JUNE 2004
Your wallet₹1,00,000
₹
FoodRentFuelHealthSchoolTravelFoodRentFuelHealthSchoolTravelFoodRentFuelHealthSchoolTravelFoodRentFuelHealthSchoolTravel
2004
A comfortable startMost of the 2004 basket still fits.
2004 basket now costs₹1,00,000
Your ₹1 lakh still buys100.0%
Inflation from previous JuneBaseline
Prices rose 3.32% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹1,03,321; the fixed wallet covered 96.8%.
Prices rose 7.65% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹1,11,229; the fixed wallet covered 89.9%.
Prices rose 5.69% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹1,17,559; the fixed wallet covered 85.1%.
Prices rose 7.69% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹1,26,602; the fixed wallet covered 79.0%.
Prices rose 9.29% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹1,38,358; the fixed wallet covered 72.3%.
The fastest jump in this journey.
June-to-June inflation reached 13.73%. The original basket now cost about ₹1,57,348.
Prices rose 8.62% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹1,70,912; the fixed wallet covered 58.5%.
Prices rose 10.05% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹1,88,094; the fixed wallet covered 53.2%.
The series changes here.
We join the CPI-IW historical extension to CPI Combined at the June 2013 overlap. The break is disclosed, not hidden.
Prices rose 7.46% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹2,24,473; the fixed wallet covered 44.5%.
Prices rose 5.40% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹2,36,591; the fixed wallet covered 42.3%.
Prices rose 5.77% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹2,50,248; the fixed wallet covered 40.0%.
Inflation slowed. Prices did not rewind.
The rate fell to 1.46%, but ₹1 lakh still bought only 39.4% of the 2004 basket.
Prices rose 4.92% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹2,66,406; the fixed wallet covered 37.5%.
Prices rose 3.18% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹2,74,869; the fixed wallet covered 36.4%.
A pandemic-era checkpoint.
The June 2004 basket was approaching ₹2,91,988—almost three times its starting cost.
Prices rose 6.26% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹3,10,262; the fixed wallet covered 32.2%.
Prices rose 7.01% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹3,31,997; the fixed wallet covered 30.1%.
Prices rose 4.87% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹3,48,155; the fixed wallet covered 28.7%.
Prices rose 5.08% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹3,65,851; the fixed wallet covered 27.3%.
Prices rose 2.10% over the previous June.
The original basket cost ₹3,73,545; the fixed wallet covered 26.8%.
The same basket crosses ₹3.89 lakh.
₹1 lakh now covers about 25.6% of what it covered in June 2004.
Read the year-by-year figures as a table
| June | 2004 basket cost | ₹1 lakh still buys | Inflation from previous June |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ₹1,00,000 | 100.0% | Baseline |
| 2005 | ₹1,03,321 | 96.8% | 3.32% |
| 2006 | ₹1,11,229 | 89.9% | 7.65% |
| 2007 | ₹1,17,559 | 85.1% | 5.69% |
| 2008 | ₹1,26,602 | 79.0% | 7.69% |
| 2009 | ₹1,38,358 | 72.3% | 9.29% |
| 2010 | ₹1,57,348 | 63.6% | 13.73% |
| 2011 | ₹1,70,912 | 58.5% | 8.62% |
| 2012 | ₹1,88,094 | 53.2% | 10.05% |
| 2013 | ₹2,08,893 | 47.9% | 11.06% |
| 2014 | ₹2,24,473 | 44.5% | 7.46% |
| 2015 | ₹2,36,591 | 42.3% | 5.40% |
| 2016 | ₹2,50,248 | 40.0% | 5.77% |
| 2017 | ₹2,53,903 | 39.4% | 1.46% |
| 2018 | ₹2,66,406 | 37.5% | 4.92% |
| 2019 | ₹2,74,869 | 36.4% | 3.18% |
| 2020 | ₹2,91,988 | 34.2% | 6.23% |
| 2021 | ₹3,10,262 | 32.2% | 6.26% |
| 2022 | ₹3,31,997 | 30.1% | 7.01% |
| 2023 | ₹3,48,155 | 28.7% | 4.87% |
| 2024 | ₹3,65,851 | 27.3% | 5.08% |
| 2025 | ₹3,73,545 | 26.8% | 2.10% |
| 2026 | ₹3,89,901 | 25.6% | 4.38% |
A common misunderstanding
Lower inflation does not mean lower prices.
Inflation is the speed at which the price level changes. When the rate falls, prices may still be moving upward—only more slowly.
8% inflation
₹
Prices move forward faster4% inflation
₹
Prices still move forwardSlower inflation→not→old prices
Five market visits
What an earlier ₹1 lakh would need to become in 2026.
Each figure preserves the purchasing power measured by the linked June price series.
₹1 lakh in 2004 needs to become ₹3,89,900
in June 2026
100.0% of the 2004 basket
Try your own amount
What would your old salary need to be today?
Enter an amount and choose a year. This calculator adjusts it to June 2026 using the same linked series as the story.
Your turn→Enter the amount on the right
Equivalent purchasing power in June 2026 ₹1,73,698
Multiplier: 1.74×
How to read this result
This is a linked index, not one unchanged official basket.
India’s CPI Combined does not extend unchanged to 2004. We use CPI-IW for the 2004–2013 historical extension, join it to CPI Combined at the June 2013 overlap, and use MoSPI’s published link between the 2012 and 2024 CPI bases for the latest period.
That choice makes the long comparison possible, but it also introduces uncertainty. The individual goods in the trolley are illustrative of broad household spending; they are not literal item-price quantities.
The final receipt
₹1 lakh did not disappear. What it could pay for did.
₹3.90 lakh2026 cost of the 2004 basket 25.6%of the 2004 basket left ₹25,6472026 ₹1 lakh in 2004 purchasing power
Inflation did not rise every year. Its rate accelerated and slowed. But the price increases accumulated—and the meaning of ₹1 lakh changed with them.