What Did Things Cost the Year You Were Born?
Pick your birth year and travel back: the price of 10 grams of gold, a dollar, a litre of petrol, and what ₹100 from that year is worth today. Then make your own share card for the family WhatsApp group. Works as an inflation calculator for India too.
India inflation calculator: any amount, any two years
Prices in India by year: 1970 to 2025
A quick look back, every five years. Gold is the average price of 10 grams of 24K gold; the dollar is the yearly average exchange rate.
| Year | Gold (10 g) | ₹ per $1 | Petrol, Delhi (₹/litre) | ₹100 then = today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | ₹184 | ₹7.50 | – | ₹5,069 |
| 1975 | ₹540 | ₹8.41 | – | ₹2,905 |
| 1980 | ₹1,330 | ₹7.89 | – | ₹2,393 |
| 1985 | ₹2,130 | ₹12.33 | – | ₹1,533 |
| 1990 | ₹3,200 | ₹17.49 | 9.84 | ₹1,016 |
| 1995 | ₹4,680 | ₹32.42 | 16.78 | ₹617 |
| 2000 | ₹4,400 | ₹45.00 | 26.07 | ₹429 |
| 2005 | ₹7,000 | ₹44.00 | 40.49 | ₹353 |
| 2010 | ₹18,500 | ₹45.65 | 47.93 | ₹233 |
| 2015 | ₹26,344 | ₹64.11 | 61.94 | ₹159 |
| 2020 | ₹48,651 | ₹74.14 | 76.94 | ₹127 |
| 2025 | ₹1,03,870 | ₹87.15 | 94.77 | ₹100 |
Petrol: official Delhi prices from 1989 (the year’s price in effect mid-year; yearly average from 2014). Gold and dollar for 1970–72 are from the fixed-rate era.
What the time machine tells you
10 grams cost ₹3,200 in 1990 and about ₹1,44,110 now: roughly 45× in 36 years, well ahead of inflation.
Prices rose about 10× since 1990. Money kept as cash for those years now buys around a tenth of what it did.
A dollar cost ₹17.49 in 1990 and ₹87 on average in 2025, which is why imported things and foreign trips keep getting dearer.
The lesson is old but true: money sitting idle loses to inflation. To see how much you need to grow your savings, try our SIP calculator (after inflation), compare safe options in PPF vs FD vs SCSS, and check today’s gold rate. For how petrol moved in the last decade, see petrol price 2014 vs 2026.
FAQs
What was the gold price in 1990 in India?
About ₹3,200 for 10 grams of 24K gold (yearly average). Today it is around ₹1,44,110.
What was the dollar rate in 1990?
The rupee averaged about ₹17.49 per US dollar in 1990. It fell sharply after the 1991 crisis, to ₹22.71 in 1991 and ₹28.16 in 1992.
What is the value of ₹100 from 1980 today?
About ₹2,393 in 2025 money, using India’s yearly consumer price inflation.
What was the petrol price in 1990 in Delhi?
₹9.84 a litre from March 1990, rising to ₹12.23 in October 1990 during the Gulf crisis. In October 2026 it is ₹102.12.
How accurate is this inflation calculator?
It uses the World Bank’s annual consumer price inflation for India, so it shows how average prices changed. Some things (like education and healthcare) rose faster, and others (like phones and electronics) got cheaper.
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Sources and how we checked
Last checked: 29 October 2026 (gold: Delhi 24K rate on 29 October). Inflation: World Bank consumer price inflation for India, 1970–2025. Dollar: yearly average of daily rates. Gold: average yearly price of 10 g of 24K gold. Petrol: official Delhi retail prices (PPAC / Indian Oil). Figures are rounded.
- Inflation: World Bank, Inflation, consumer prices for India (via FRED)
- Rupee–dollar rate: Indian Rupees to US Dollar, annual average (FRED)
- Gold: BankBazaar, gold rate trend in India
- Petrol: PPAC, Delhi petrol prices and freefincal historical data
For information and fun only. Not investment advice: past returns don’t predict future returns.
We write practical guides on money, tax, salary, wellness and India news. Rates, rules and dates come from official sources such as RBI, SEBI, the Income Tax Department, India Code and government notifications, linked in each article with the date we last checked them. We don’t accept payment to change what we write.
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