Numbers beyond Crores

* Vikram Lal

India uses its own system of numbering, which goes from a thousand to a lakh (100 thousand) and then on to a crore (100 lakhs) for large numbers.

There is always pressure (internal and external) on India to convert to the `international' or the Western system of millions, billions, etc. Whereas generally it is better to adapt to a universally accepted system, in this case it is not really necessary because there is no complex formula needed for conversion from one system to another. It is simply a matter of the number of zeros, which is easily understood. Besides, there are equivalents for billion and quadrillion in the Indian system.

The reason for maintaining the Indian system is that Indians have used it for thousands of years and are very comfortable with it. Secondly it would be a great pity to wipe out elements of our culture for not enough reason.

The national budget has increased tremendously over the past 10 to 15 years. As a result we now have numbers that are much larger - by a factor of between 100 and 1,000. For example, earlier a large budget item would be of the order of 1,000 crores. Now this has become 100,000 crores, which is being labeled as 1,00,000 crores or 1 lakh crores. We are already using such denominations, and are very close to getting to 1 crore crore! The use of such a title indicates a serious lack of imagination, especially when India has had a readymade system for centuries.

India has a unique system of numbers of higher values. The first value beyond a crore is 100 crores and is known as arab (109), and after that come kharab (1011), neel (1013) and padma (1015). We could stop at padma (a padma is equal to a quadrillion) for the time being. Using this system, the 1 lakh crore figure would become 10 kharab, a much more elegant and manageable expression. To go further, the `end-of-the-road' figure of 1 crore crore would simply be 10 neel. Now isn't that so much better?

The Indian system doesn't run out of units. After padma come shankh, mahashankh, ank and jald, which will take us to 1023. That should be safe for the next 50 or even 100 years, although they may not be needed at all. It is more likely that the rupee will rise in value as the Indian economy grows.

The Indian numbering system is an obvious one for India's purposes and needs. It continues the rhythm of 100 times, and is easier to master and use than billion, trillion and quadrillion. It brings to everyone's consciousness that India has a very old involvement with numbers and with mathematics. And, finally, the names are so much nicer and well, Indian than the alternatives!

* Mr. Vikram Lal, former Chairman of the Eicher Group and a noted social entrepreneur, is President of Common Cause