Inflation
✓ Last verified 14 Sep 2026
The short version
Inflation is the rate at which prices generally rise over time, which means the same amount of money buys less in the future than it does today.
If inflation runs at a given annual rate, something costing ₹100 today costs more next year, even though nothing about the product changed - only what a rupee is worth did. This is why a savings goal set in today's rupees needs to be adjusted upward for a future date, and why an investment return has to be compared against inflation, not just against zero, to judge whether it's actually growing your wealth in real terms. See our article on how inflation quietly erodes savings for the practical implications of this on where money should - and shouldn't - sit long-term.
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