Bhavitta began as a planner for Indians in the US weighing a move home, so its first model of India was a cheaper city on a dollar plan. That works for an NRI with a US portfolio. It does not work for someone who earns, saves and retires in India: their savings earn rupee returns, half their retirement money is locked in EPF, PPF and NPS, their pension is a fixed rupee amount, and their tax comes from the Indian slabs. Version 2.9 adds all of that. This page lists each piece, the default the app starts from, and where it comes from. For the same pieces on one real-looking household, see the Mumbai vs Pune worked example.
Everything below ships in Bhavitta 2.9 on iPhone and Android, rolling out in November 2026. It all switches on when the app's currency is INR.
1. Plans that start in rupees
When the display currency is INR (picked automatically on a phone set to English (India) or Hindi, or chosen at the top of any tab), new plans start from Indian defaults instead of US ones. Amounts show in lakh and crore (₹41,80,000; ₹4.2L; ₹2.8Cr). Guided Start asks its questions with rupee-sized answers, the life events and life stories come in rupees (a ₹20 lakh wedding, a ₹1.2 crore home with a ₹9 lakh a year EMI, ₹10 lakh a year private college, ₹3 lakh a year parents' care, a move to Goa), and "See a sample readiness check" opens a resident household in Pune that reads about 80%.
New India plans also start on the Balanced India return preset with rupee depreciation at 0% (section 3), so the whole plan is in rupees from the first screen.
2. What life costs in an Indian city
The seven Indian cities in the app (Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune) carry a fourth lifestyle tier, Resident (typical Indian household), alongside the three NRI and expat lifestyles they already had. For a couple it is about ₹8 to 13 lakh a year: ₹7.7 lakh in Pune, ₹12.9 lakh in Mumbai. It is built from the government's Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24 (urban spending near the top of each state's range) plus the rent on a two-bedroom flat.
Each city also has its own inflation, from its state's urban consumer-price index over the last ten years: 5% for Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune, 4.5% for Delhi and Goa. Any stage can override it as Local inflation.
3. Returns in rupees
With INR selected, Inputs offers three Monte Carlo presets, each a yearly return with its volatility:
| Preset | Return | Volatility | Roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian equity | 11% | 20% | All in Indian stocks |
| Balanced India | 9.5% | 13% | Stocks and debt; the default for new India plans |
| Conservative India | 8% | 7% | Mostly debt and deposits |
These are rupee returns, so picking one also sets rupee depreciation to 0%, and the app says so under the buttons. Rupee depreciation is for the opposite case, a dollar portfolio funding an Indian life: it lowers Indian costs in dollar terms by the rate you expect the rupee to fall. Leave it at 0% unless your money is in dollars.
The Historical model replays US market history (the S&P 500 since 1928). Indian index history isn't in the app yet, because the index data is licensed, so for a rupee portfolio use the presets.
4. Tax from the Indian slabs
For a stage in an Indian city with income, Estimate from Indian tax slabs works out the effective rate for the FY2025-26 new or old regime, with the standard deduction, the section 87A rebate, surcharge and the 4% cess (for the old regime, it also takes your deductions such as 80C, 80D and HRA as one figure, and uses the senior-citizen slabs from 60), and fills in the stage's tax rate with one tap. Guided Start uses it for its default, which is why a ₹25 lakh income starts at about 13% and ₹35 lakh at about 18%. The engine still applies one rate per stage, so if your income changes a lot between stages, run the helper on each.
5. EPF, PPF and NPS as their own accounts
These used to be part of the starting balance, as if you could spend them tomorrow. Now each is its own account: it grows at its own fixed rate while you and your employer contribute, and pays out at its own age. Add them from "Add a life event" → Retirement savings; each starts from a typical default you then edit:
| Account | Balance | Yours / employer's a year | Rate | Pays out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPF | ₹8L | ₹1.8L / ₹1.8L | 8.0% | At 58, all as a lump sum |
| PPF | ₹5L | ₹1.5L / — | 7.1% | At maturity, 15 years out |
| NPS | ₹3L | ₹1L / ₹1L | 10% | At 60: 60% lump sum, the rest buys an annuity at 6.5% |
Your contribution comes out of each year's cash flow; the lump sum lands in your portfolio tax-free at the payout age; an NPS annuity is paid every year after, taxed at that year's rate. Contributions follow your working life: a job loss or a sabbatical pauses EPF (yours and the employer's) and the employer's NPS share for those years, PPF carries on, and retiring later keeps contributions going until the payout. The ledger shows each account's contributions, payouts and annuity as their own lines.
6. An EPS pension that stays fixed
In the Pension / Social Security editor, Estimate EPS pension applies the EPS formula: pensionable salary (capped at the ₹25,000 wage ceiling) × years of service ÷ 70, at least ₹1,000 a month, from 58, and 4% less for each year you take it early (no earlier than 50). It needs ten years of service. It is labelled an estimate, because service before September 2026 may still be valued at the old ₹15,000 ceiling.
Using the estimate also turns on Fixed in rupees (no yearly increase): EPS does not rise with prices, so at 5% inflation it buys about half as much at 72 as it did at 58. Social Security and other pensions stay inflation-linked; the switch only appears when the currency is INR.
7. Gratuity and health insurance
Gratuity (in the Money group of life events) is a one-time payout at retirement: 15/26 of your last monthly basic for each year of service, nothing under five years, with a calculator in the editor and a reminder that up to ₹20 lakh is tax-free. Its default is a ₹1 lakh basic and 20 years.
Health insurance is a yearly premium that grows at its own rate, not with general prices: ₹40,000 a year rising 10% a year by default (in the US, $8,000 rising 7%). Over 45 years that difference is large: the same ₹40,000 becomes about ₹29 lakh a year by 90 in the rupees of that year, and it is often what decides whether a plan holds in its last decade.
What it still doesn't do
- No Indian market history. Historical replay is US-only; Indian plans use the Monte Carlo presets.
- One tax rate per stage. The slab helper sets it, but there is no capital-gains tax on the portfolio, and no separate tax on withdrawals.
- One investment portfolio. No separate mutual fund, FD or gold buckets, and no glide path; the return you pick applies to the whole balance.
- Amounts are stored in dollars. The app converts at the rate in Inputs to show and accept rupees, so change that rate and every plan's rupee figures move with it.
The full list of what the engine leaves out, India or not, is on How the readiness score works.
Common questions
What return should you assume for retirement planning in India?
The app offers three rupee presets: Indian equity at 11% a year with 20% volatility, Balanced India at 9.5% with 13% (the default for new India plans), and Conservative India at 8% with 7%. Each is editable.
What does a retired couple spend in an Indian city?
The app's resident estimates for a comfortable couple, including rent, are about ₹7.7 lakh a year in Pune and Chennai, ₹8.4 lakh in Hyderabad, ₹9 lakh in Delhi and Goa, ₹9.7 lakh in Bangalore and ₹12.9 lakh in Mumbai, in today's money.
How is the EPS pension calculated?
Pensionable salary, capped at the ₹25,000 wage ceiling, times years of service, divided by 70, a month, with a minimum of ₹1,000 a month. It starts at 58, is 4% lower for each year taken early (no earlier than 50) and needs ten years of service. It does not rise with inflation.
How much gratuity will you get?
15/26 of your last monthly basic pay for each year of service, and nothing under five years. Up to ₹20 lakh is tax-free. A ₹1.2 lakh basic after 25 years gives about ₹17.3 lakh.
How fast do health insurance premiums rise in India?
The app assumes 10% a year by default, about twice general inflation. Over 45 years a ₹40,000 premium becomes about ₹29 lakh a year by 90, in the rupees of that year.
Does rupee depreciation matter if your savings are in India?
No. Leave it at 0%. Rupee depreciation is for a dollar portfolio funding an Indian life; picking one of the rupee return presets sets it to 0% automatically.
See it on one household
The Mumbai vs Pune worked example puts every piece above on one salaried couple, both 45, retiring at 55: 38% survival if they stay in Mumbai, 87% if they move to Pune. If you are an NRI with a dollar portfolio weighing a move back, Bangalore at 50 vs Seattle is the example for you.
Plan your retirement in rupees
Free on iPhone and Android. No account; your plan never leaves your phone.
