How much lumpsum do you need to invest today to reach ₹1 crore in 15 years?

A lump-sum investment grows through pure compounding — no fresh contributions, just time and rate. To reach ₹1 crore in 15 years at 12% equity returns, you need to invest about ₹18.3 lakh today. That’s a fraction of the ₹1 crore target because compounding does most of the heavy lifting.

Indians often face this question when they receive a windfall — an inheritance, a bonus, ESOP vesting, or sale of an old property. The instinct is to park it in a bank FD, where 7% returns over 15 years would only grow the same ₹18.3 lakh to ₹50 lakh — half the target. Equity exposure isn’t optional for long-horizon goals; it’s mandatory.

The calculator below lets you flex three inputs: target corpus, time horizon, and expected return. A useful planning insight — every extra year of investment time reduces the required lump sum by roughly 12% (at 12% returns). So starting at 35 vs 40 for the same retirement target makes a five-fold difference in the lump sum needed.