Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to step up efforts to boost consumption and rural economy while keeping inflation under check when she presents her sixth straight Budget on February 1. Experts said one way to boost consumption is to put more money in the hands of people, and one of the possible ways of doing it is by reducing the tax burden through tinkering with tax slabs or increasing the standard deduction. Another proposal is related to increasing the funds under the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and higher payout for farmers.
Only a fifth of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in breach of the market regulator-specified thresholds may need to provide enhanced disclosure on ultimate beneficiaries, thanks to exemptions being provided, according to people in the know. The ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) disclosures, for FPIs with over 50 per cent holding in a single corporate group or over Rs 25,000 crore exposure to Indian assets, will be required from February 1. But, depending on their category, FPIs will have 10-30 working days to submit these granular details.
The government would be ironing out issues related to the controversial 'bail-in' clause in the earlier Bill, explore hiking the deposit insurance cover of customers, and decide whether the resolution framework should apply to public sector banks.
Sukhwinder Kaur doggedly pursued her case against Bharti Axa Life Insurance in the consumer courts.
By paving the way for buying lapsed policies, the High Court is injecting liquidity into insurance products.
The oil industry experienced three upheavals between 1973 and 1991, which seem to be etched in the memory of the industry's decision makers. Naturally, at the sign of a new crisis, the decision makers like to dip into those tumultuous decades to find ways to deal with the new shock, in addition, of course, to expert reports and forecasts. So, the industry bigwigs turned the pages of history to get a peek into the future of oil price movements after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Israel attacked Gaza in 2023, Iran-linked Houthi rebels pounded tankers crossing the Red Sea in support of Palestine the same year, and Iran rained missiles on Israel in 2024.
Dilip Kumar Jha explains what the buyers must do to protect their own interest.
'This year's detection of frauds and probable recovery will be mainly driven by several compliance measures put in place, and amendments made to the GST regime to plug revenue leakages particularly in new-edge sectors.'
Ramalingam Kalirajan explains the pros and cons of both investment types.
The artificial intelligence-based system aims to authorise cashless claims within 60-90 seconds and bring the turnaround time for investigations down to a one day, or even a few hours.
In the wake of the natural disaster in Uttarakhand, the proposal for 'catastrophe insurance' is in spotlight.
If you think that revenue officials are going berserk, acting on their own, while the government chants the mantra of 'ease of doing business', you would be wrong. These moves appear to have full official backing, points out Debashis Basu.
Rajasthan is reeling under a huge financial burden with the state's debt having gone beyond Rs 5.59 lakh crores. Rajasthan has increased expenditure on education by 203.4 percent, by 105.4 percent on health, by 227.14 percent on housing. Its expenditure on social welfare schemes has increased by almost 2,475 per cent.
Here are the main factors that impact the November 23 elections in the state.
Buyers of insurance products always get confused with charges.
There are instances where the insurance company will not pay out claims... Beware!
Here's a quick checklist so that you make a wise decision
Star Health and Allied Insurance's Rs 7,250-crore initial public offering (IPO), the third largest this year and eighth largest ever, just about managed to make it despite a poor response from investors, garnering just 79 per cent subscription, forcing the investment bankers to prune offer for sale (OFS) component. This is the second large offering after digital payments major Paytm this year to receive a lukewarm response from investors, a sign that despite the IPO frenzy investors are discerning when it comes to pricing. As Star Health didn't meet the profitability criteria, its IPO required a mandatory 75 per cent subscription from qualified institutional buyers (QIB).
With the advent of many online insurance web aggregators, buying an appropriate travel insurance plan to match your tour package has never been so trouble-free.
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Foreign investment cap in insurance sector raised to 49 per cent.
'Why should we disclose classified information to satisfy those who doubt our Hydrogen Bomb capability?'
But, neither were the big companies interested in growing inorganically nor were the smaller ones ready to offer themselves for sale.
Insurers cover the house on market value, and not on construction cost. They also don't insist on bills when giving the policy
A senior executive of NIA confirmed the development and said that the insurance company is assessing damage to the airport's assets
HDFC Life has a balance between traditional policies and Ulips
She has shown shrewdness, sensitivity, and courage. All of these will be needed in ample quantities for the real challenge that will emerge after the elections, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
The proposal for listing public general insurers had come up in 2007.
Choose insurance from stable companies that have been in the business for a long time
Irdai's push will make insurance cheaper for consumers and enable a consolidated view of all policies.
India's trade ties with Israel have only strengthened in the years after 2019. The total value of trade rose to $10.5 billion on a rolling four-quarter basis in June 2023 from $5.5 billion in the same month in 2019, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). A rolling four-quarter number provides a comparable figure across different time periods.
Life insurance industry grew by over 65 per cent to Rs 5,436 crore in September compared to Rs 3,291 crore premium income from new business in July, mainly due to the success of LIC's Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana.
Add a term plan with a child mutual fund for best results.
"I sometimes think of leaving it, but the chief minister's post doesn't leave me," Ashok Gehlot famously said earlier this year, in part as a signal to the Congress top brass not to pick someone else for the job if the party wins the assembly polls.
The Centre could further moderate its divestment target for 2024-25 (FY25), as it does not expect large receipts from asset sales - except some ongoing strategic ones, including IDBI Bank, which could spill over into next financial year. Also, it may drastically reduce its FY24 divestment target of Rs 51,000 crore. "We are still evaluating the Budget estimates for FY25. "New big-ticket asset sales are unlikely.
Traditional plans are the biggest area of concern for consumers.
rediffGURU Kirtan A Shah answers your personal finance queries.
Examine the selling tools that insurance agents use, and check the list in this article to find out how many of these errors we have made by listening intently to what they said.
Over 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses are non-compliant with e-invoicing norms under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, a mandatory requirement for businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 5 crore. E-invoicing provides real-time access to invoices that are prepared by the supplier on the purchase of goods, allowing faster accessibility to input tax credit, thereby limiting the manipulation of fake credit as it has to be generated before the transaction. "The default has been reported mainly in businesses with a turnover between Rs 5 crore and Rs 20 crore," a senior official informed
IRDA suggested that health insurance should cover alternative treatments.
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