Result: $100 in 1961 → $7,557.65 in 2020
Why a rupee today is worth only 1% of a rupee in 1961
Updated: July 14, 2020According to the World Bank consumer price index for India, today's prices in 2020 are 7,457.65% higher than average prices since 1961. This means that a rupee today only buys 1.32% of what it could buy in 1961. The Indian Rupee experienced an average inflation rate of 7.61% per year during this period, causing the real value of a rupee to decrease.
In other words, $100 in 1961 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $7,557.65 in 2020, a difference of $7,457.65 over 59 years. This inflation data is collected by the World Bank and is specific to India.
The 1961 inflation rate was 1.70%. The current year-over-year inflation rate (2019 to 2020) is now 7.66%1. If this number holds, $100 today will be equivalent in buying power to $107.66 next year.
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| Cumulative price change | 7,457.65% |
| Average inflation rate | 7.61% |
| Converted amount ($100 base) | $7,557.65 |
| Price difference ($100 base) | $7,457.65 |
| CPI in 1961 | 2.570 |
| CPI in 2020 | 194.257 |
| Inflation in 1961 | 1.70% |
| Inflation in 2020 | 7.66% |
Buying power of $100 in 1961
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1961 (price index tracking began in 1960).
For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $7,557.65 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When $100 is equivalent to $7,557.65 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Indian rupee decreases over time. In other words, a rupee will pay for fewer items at the store.
This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a rupee over time. By calculating the value in 1961 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 59 years.
According to the World Bank, each of these INR amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
This conversion table shows various other 1961 amounts in today's rupees, based on the 7,457.65% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| $1 rupee in 1961 | $75.58 rupees today |
| $5 rupees in 1961 | $377.88 rupees today |
| $10 rupees in 1961 | $755.76 rupees today |
| $50 rupees in 1961 | $3,778.82 rupees today |
| $100 rupees in 1961 | $7,557.65 rupees today |
| $500 rupees in 1961 | $37,788.23 rupees today |
| $1,000 rupees in 1961 | $75,576.45 rupees today |
| $5,000 rupees in 1961 | $377,882.26 rupees today |
| $10,000 rupees in 1961 | $755,764.51 rupees today |
| $50,000 rupees in 1961 | $3,778,822.57 rupees today |
| $100,000 rupees in 1961 | $7,557,645.14 rupees today |
| $500,000 rupees in 1961 | $37,788,225.71 rupees today |
| $1,000,000 rupees in 1961 | $75,576,451.42 rupees today |
How to Calculate Inflation Rate for $100 since 1961
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1961 and today:
CPI today
CPI in 1961
×
1961 INR value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The Indian CPI was 2.5703329702 in the year 1961 and 194.2566448485823 in 2020:
194.25664484858232.5703329702
×
$100
=
$7,557.65
$100 in 1961 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $7,557.65 in 2020.
To get the total inflation rate for the 59 years between 1961 and 2020, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2020 - CPI in 1961CPI in 1961
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (59 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
194.2566448485823 - 2.57033297022.5703329702
×
100
=
7,458%
News headlines from 1961
Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:
- A dog named Chernushka, frogs, and a guinea pig orbit the Earth in the Soviet flight Sputnik 9.
- Nelson Mandela is acquitted of treason after a four-and-a-half year trial.
Data Source & Citation
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “India Inflation Calculator: World Bank data, 1961-2020 (INR).” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 7 Aug. 2020, https://www.officialdata.org/india/inflation.
Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.
| Cumulative price change | 7,457.65% |
| Average inflation rate | 7.61% |
| Converted amount ($100 base) | $7,557.65 |
| Price difference ($100 base) | $7,457.65 |
| CPI in 1961 | 2.570 |
| CPI in 2020 | 194.257 |
| Inflation in 1961 | 1.70% |
| Inflation in 2020 | 7.66% |