Your plan
What it takes
The required yearly amount exceeds the PPF cap of ₹1.5 lakh per year. Max out PPF and supplement the gap with instruments like equity index funds, NPS or debt funds.
Year-by-year corpus growth
The cost of starting late — daily amount needed for ₹1 crore by 60 at 7.1%
PPF rules you should know
Deposit limits: ₹500 minimum, ₹1.5 lakh maximum per year
Every financial year you must deposit at least ₹500 to keep the account active, and you can invest at most ₹1,50,000. Amounts above the cap earn no interest and get no tax benefit.
15-year lock-in with 5-year extensions
PPF matures after 15 full financial years. You can then extend it indefinitely in 5-year blocks, with or without fresh contributions, which is how a 20 year old can keep it running until 60.
EEE tax status
PPF is Exempt-Exempt-Exempt: contributions qualify for Section 80C deduction, the interest earned is tax free, and the entire maturity corpus is tax free.
Rates change every quarter
The government reviews the PPF rate quarterly. The current rate is 7.1% per annum, compounded annually. Use the rate control above to model different scenarios.