Lakh, Crore, Million, Billion: Converting Between the Indian and International Number Systems
A salary quoted as "12 LPA", a company valued at "₹4,500 crore" and a foreign fund of "$2 billion" all describe money, but they use two different ways of grouping digits. Mixing them up is one of the most common sources of error when people compare figures from Indian and international sources.
Two ways of grouping digits
The international system groups digits in threes after the first comma:
- 1,000 (one thousand)
- 1,000,000 (one million)
- 1,000,000,000 (one billion)
The Indian system groups the first three digits from the right, then groups in twos:
- 1,000 (one thousand)
- 1,00,000 (one lakh)
- 1,00,00,000 (one crore)
The number itself does not change. Only the comma placement and the names change.
The conversions worth memorising
| Indian | International | Digits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 lakh | 100 thousand | 1,00,000 = 100,000 |
| 10 lakh | 1 million | 10,00,000 = 1,000,000 |
| 1 crore | 10 million | 1,00,00,000 = 10,000,000 |
| 100 crore | 1 billion | 1,00,00,00,000 = 1,000,000,000 |
| 1 lakh crore | 1 trillion | 1,00,000 crore = 1,000,000,000,000 |
Two shortcuts follow from the table:
- crore to million: multiply by 10 (₹4,500 crore = ₹45,000 million = ₹45 billion)
- million to lakh: multiply by 10 (2.5 million = 25 lakh)
Worked examples
A salary of 12 LPA. "LPA" means lakh per annum, so 12 LPA is ₹12,00,000 a year, or ₹1.2 million. Divided by 12 months, that is ₹1,00,000 a month before deductions.
A budget figure of ₹48 lakh crore. One lakh crore is one trillion, so this is ₹48 trillion.
A foreign deal of $750 million. 750 million is 75 crore, so the deal is $75 crore. To get a rupee figure you still need the exchange rate on the relevant date; the number system conversion and the currency conversion are separate steps.
Where the mistakes happen
- Dropping a zero between lakh and million. Ten lakh, not one lakh, makes a million.
- Treating "billion" as 100 crore in one place and 1,000 crore in another. In modern usage, a billion is 1,000 million, which is 100 crore.
- Copying figures into a spreadsheet with Indian commas. Some software reads "1,00,000" as text. Enter the plain number and apply an Indian number format afterwards.
- Rounding too early. Convert first, then round, especially when the figure feeds a tax or loan calculation.
Writing numbers in words
Cheques and invoices in India often need the amount in words. ₹2,45,650 is written as "Rupees two lakh forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty only". The same amount in the international style is "two hundred forty-five thousand six hundred fifty". Pick one style and use it consistently in a document.
A set of free Indian calculators and converters is available at Tools of India.