What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
The government on Tuesday proposed reducing the long-term capital gains tax on immovable properties to 12.5 per cent from 20 per cent, but removed the indexation benefits to adjust for inflation, a move experts termed as "negative" for sellers.
Under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, exception 2 to Section 63 (rape) says that 'sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape'.
All investors should ideally have a 10 to 15 per cent allocation to gold. Whether they invest in gold ETFs or SGBs should depend on their investment horizon.
Modi is practical person... If he comes in, he will revive the economy and create jobs, says Sanjay Suri.
Younger people, who usually have a longer investment horizon which allows them to handle the interim volatility, may go for them.
Fresh order wins for capital goods and industrial companies may have seen a major slump due to Lok Sabha polls in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25). At the same time, revenue and profit growth trajectory is expected to have stayed the course, according to brokerage firms. Elara Capital, Motilal Oswal, and InCred Equities expect this sector universe to report a 12- 21 per cent growth in revenue, 21 -36 per cent growth in Ebitda and 24-38 per cent growth in profit on a year-on-year (Y-oY) basis.
Technology giant Apple Inc has pushed the pedal on exporting iPhones from India by racking up exports valued at over $2 billion in the first two months of the current financial year (FY25), according to the data provided by vendors to the government. This accounts for 81 per cent of the country's total production of iPhones worth $2.6 billion. In May, Apple repeated its performance of April and once again crossed $1 billion of iPhone exports.
'Exposure to small and midcap stocks exceeded desired levels in many portfolios, prompting rebalancing.'
'We do not believe in fire sale. We don't do it.'
'Volumes in F&O trading had gone up rapidly and, in a way, the increase in STT on F&O will protect investor interest.'
Brokers believe that the higher charges may not completely deter investors from taking bets in F&O but could help cool down some activity, as the threshold to break even rises.
India's leading steel companies hope the Modi 3.0 Budget will continue the massive capital expenditure currently underway, focusing on infrastructure development, manufacturing, and fair trade. The infrastructure segment is the largest steel user, and the government's focus has fuelled steel consumption even as international markets have underperformed. According to provisional statistics, steel consumption grew 13.6 per cent in FY24, reaching 136 million tonnes (mt), according to a CRISIL report.
Submitting a late return helps you stay compliant with tax regulations and avoid legal issues.
The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-India), the national agency responsible for analysing suspicious financial transactions, has received requests from four more offshore crypto exchanges to operate in India again, said a senior government official familiar with the matter. In the beginning of 2024, India had banned nine crypto exchanges - Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, Bittrex, and Bitfenix - for non-compliance with anti-laundering law in the country.
Taxpayers seeking to save tax from the sale of gold (including inherited) should reinvest the capital gains in residential property to avail of the benefit provided by Section 54F.
An income tax tribunal held that the amount received by Google Ireland from Google India towards marketing and distribution rights of the AdWords programme is not royalty, and hence, cannot be taxed at the hands of the assessee (Google Ireland). The ruling by the Bengaluru-based Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) may have repercussions on similar transactions by multinationals, feel experts. Explaining the case, Amit Maheshwari, tax expert at AKM Global, said Google Ireland had received Rs 8,662.93 crore under the Google Reseller Agreements.
rediffGURU Samkit Maniar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
There are a number of steps taken that will leave more money in the hands of the taxpayers.
These include the reduction in tax rates under the new tax regime, increase in standard deduction, allowing tax collected at source to be adjusted against tax deducted at source from salaries, notes Harsh Roongta.
Invest in MFs for liquidity and choice of funds. Invest in NPS for the tax benefits, tax-free rebalancing, and for earmarked savings for retirement.
'At present, hybrids emit lesser carbon despite using fuel than pure play electric cars.' 'That is because EVs have to be charged and 76 per cent of the country's electricity is still coal-based and not renewables.'
Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation.
'If an individual makes significant financial investments, she should stick to the old regime.' 'If the individual prefers straightforward computation without any tax benefits, the new regime would be suitable.'
India Inc on Thursday pitched for lowering income tax burden on common man, increase in capital expenditure, and firm steps to contain food inflation in their nearly two-hour long interaction with finance minister Nirmala Shitharaman ahead of the Union Budget. During pre-Budget consultation with Sitharaman, the industry leaders and associations also urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development with a view to maintaining the economic growth momentum. The industry leaders also laid stress on boosting the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) sector, considered a backbone of the Indian economy and main employment generator.
'Investors should do proper analysis before putting in their money in NFOs as most new launches are in the high-risk thematic space.'
Hybrids have helped Maruti acquire leadership in SUVs, a segment that was never its forte. Toyota has also risen with the hybrid tide to clock its highest-ever annual sales in 2023.
Shigeru Ishiba is expected to prioritise strengthening Japan's military capabilities and fostering deeper international partnerships, particularly with India, with whom Japan shares significant strategic interests, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with her team of bureaucrats, delved into the fine print of the 2024-25 Budget documents in a press conference, detailing the government's road map on bringing down the debt-to-GDP ratio and bold tax measures.
A portfolio can be rebalanced by either selling a portion of the outperforming asset class or by buying more of the underperforming asset class.
Fund houses are exploring ways to differentiate themselves in the hybrid space. A relatively unknown hybrid fund variant, Balanced Hybrid, is about to see its first launch since the introduction of mutual fund (MF) scheme categorisation norms in 2017. WhiteOak Capital MF has filed papers with the regulator for this scheme, which comes amid increasing interest in the hybrid space. MFs anticipate that hybrids will become the preferred category for investors with a lower risk appetite following changes in debt fund taxation.
Dwaipayan Bose examines the seven important factors that investors about exchange traded funds must know before they start investing/trading in them.
The industry employs about 10 million workforce.
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday reported a 25 per cent growth in its March quarter net profit at Rs 5,302 crore, limited by a drop in the core income due to narrow interest margins. On a standalone basis, the city-headquartered lender's Q4 net profit grew 18 per cent to Rs 4,133 crore. The FY24 consolidated net profit grew 22 per cent to Rs 18,213 crore.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have pulled out $3.5 billion from India's equity markets so far this month. The selling comes on the back of election-induced volatility and the rotation of flows from India to China, where stocks are available at half the valuations. If the selling pressure remains at the current level, this will be the highest FPI pullout since January 2023.
RediffGURU Mihir Tanna broadly lists the ITRs to be filled by individuals having income from salary, house property, capital gain, business and other sources.
'We have now drastically simplified it, primarily to two rates in long-term capital gains: 20% and the applicable rates. Similarly, in short-term capital gains.' 'For listed shares, there is a slight increase, but for unlisted shares, where indexation benefits are removed, there is a reduction in rates, benefiting unlisted companies, venture capital firms, etc.' 'Similarly, in real estate, wherever returns are higher, the new structure is beneficial. In very few cases, returns are lower, and those are more of an exception.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced income tax relief for the middle class, a Rs 2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party's new coalition partners as she unveiled the Modi 3.0 government's first budget after the general elections.
'Ideally, one should not time SIPs.' 'If people churn their SIP portfolios, then they are equating the concept of SIPs to lump sums.'
In the case of double-income couples, not more than 40 per cent of the net income of one partner should be the EMI for the property.
