rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
Let's decode how EPS works, who qualifies, and how pensions are calculated, using simple examples for different salary levels.
rediffGURU Dev Ashish answers your personal finance and mutual fund queries.
The impending merger between Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) with HDFC Bank may create challenges for large-cap fund managers, most of whom are already grappling to match the returns generated by their benchmarks. The combined weight following the merger in the benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 indices is likely to be much higher than permissible limits for active mutual fund (MF) schemes. This could have a bearing on the performance of large-cap funds if HDFC Bank shares outperform the markets, as the schemes will be forced to remain underweight on the stock to adhere to the single-stock cap.
'A staggered investment approach (using SIP or STP) can help investors benefit from this opportunity while reducing timing risk.'
Anil Rego, founder and CEO, Right Horizons, offers his expert advice to mutual fund investors.
"Fund houses look at merging schemes where there is a duplicity of content or if the scheme has been underperforming historically," says Aashish Somaiya, head (retail business), ICICI Prudential AMC.
Which are the best mutual funds that you can still invest your money in? Which mutual funds can you safely knock out from your portfolio without affecting your returns? Financial planning expert Vetapalem Sridhar has the answers.
The top 10 fund houses are slowly losing ground to their smaller peers, even as they continue to hold the lion's share in the total assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund (MF) industry, according to an analysis of the quarterly AUM for the past six years. These fund houses had an average AUM of Rs 38.8 trillion in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023-24, which is 79 per cent of the total industry AUM of Rs 49.2 trillion. The share has come down steadily since Q3 of 2019-2020, when the share stood at 84 per cent.
Young earners with high incomes and few responsibilities can save more than 30 per cent, while those with low salaries and high expenses may save less.
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
Since infrastructure projects have long gestation periods, investors need to enter them with a long horizon of at least 10 years.
'Reviewing terms such as war, invasion, acts of foreign enemies or hostilities, which often appear in industry exclusion lists, can help avoid surprises at the time of claim.'
Avoid donating without checking the receipt proforma showing the political party's ECI registration number and PAN.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which aims to provide tax exemptions to subscribers of the Unified Pension Scheme.
Here's what Indian investors diversifying into equities, ETFs, and real estate abroad to manage risk, returns, and currency exposure must watch out for.
To tap Indian civil aviation market's growth potential, the government on Saturday announced a modified regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) to connect 120 new destinations, airport projects in Bihar and upgradation of infrastructure for air cargo in the Union Budget.
Knowing these will save you from taking undue risks, losses and also create wealth in the long run, says Dwaipayan Bose.
While investments are typically reviewed annually, risk cover is often left unchanged for years.
Global emerging market investors are sharply cutting back on India, making it the largest underweight market, as funds rotate into China, Hong Kong, and South Korea amid tariff shocks and valuation concerns.
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
Mid-cap and small-cap mutual fund schemes have continued to attract strong investor interest, garnering nearly Rs 30,350 crore in inflows during the April-September period of the current financial year, driven by impressive returns delivered by these segments. In comparison, the cumulative inflow into mid-cap and small-cap funds stood at Rs 32,924 crore during the same period last year, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
Investors must be careful while comparing mutual funds. They must ensure that they are comparing funds with comparable risk profiles within the same category.
While near-term performance is difficult to predict after a huge run-up, fund managers believe the PSU theme's prospects remain sound over the medium to long term.
Alleging that funds meant for central schemes were being misused by the Uttar Pradesh government even as the projects were running smoothly in other states, Congress star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday exhorted electorates to realise the importance of their vote.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of the fund -- Rs 1,60,391.06 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding and security of vital installations.
Mutual funds' equity buying remained elevated for the fifth consecutive month in December, taking the net equity purchase past Rs 1.7 trillion in 2023. The aggressive buying in December indicates that flows into equity funds are likely to have remained unaffected by the sharp run-up in the market last month. Mutual funds (MFs) bought equities worth Rs 23,000 crore last month (until December 28) compared to Rs 18,000 crore in November, shows data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
A growth scheme not only leads to lower tax payments than the dividend option. but also allows any income that is not withdrawn to compound, explains Harsh Roongta.
The total size of unregistered chit funds is almost Rs 30 lakh crore (Rs 30 trillion). Viswanath Prasad, a peon at a broking house in Kolkata, subscribed to a 'chit fund scheme' two months back.
You don't need a six-figure salary to build wealth -- you need discipline and a smart plan, says Ramalingam Kalirajan. and shows you how
'...not merely in managing fiscal mathematics, but in demonstrating conservatism and prudence within that framework.' 'Looking forward, we believe sufficient growth drivers exist -- ranging from government reforms to revival in consumption to favourable monsoons. Numerous factors support the Indian economy.'
From appointment letters becoming mandatory to gig workers receiving social security to enhanced rights for women and contract labour, the changes reflect India's attempt to balance ease of doing business with stronger worker welfare.
The All India Chess Federation did not utilise Rs 3.12 crore out of the central government's allocation of Rs 5.2 crore during FY25.
Most investors think that a dividend-paying mutual fund scheme is better than growth-oriented schemes. Here's an analysis of which is better.
Following the sharp run in markets, valuations across the board have become elevated. The National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index now trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 24.3 times, 18 per cent higher than this year's low of 20.5 times. The valuation expansion in the broader markets has been sharper.
