The National Pension System is applicable for government employees joining the service after April 1, 2004. It was based on the premise of contribution rather than defined benefit applicable for employees prior to the NPS.
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.
'The informal sector can grow at a 100 per cent rate -- we have to plan big.'
A 10-part series that explains all you want to know about how India's EPF turns a slice of your monthly salary into long-term savings, pension, and life insurance.
Haryana is revamping its 2015 Sports Policy to focus on long-term talent development for future Olympians, moving beyond just prize money and jobs. Key initiatives include 'Mission Olympics-2036 Vijayee Bhavah' for young athletes and the 'Khelo Haryana App' for integrated athlete services. The state aims to strengthen athlete welfare, infrastructure, and institutional support.
The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) adoption rate has risen to over 4.35 per cent, with more than 100,000 people out of 2.3 million eligible individuals opting for it, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman S Ramann said in an exclusive interview with Business Standard on Monday. He also said that six states had approached the PFRDA for help in adoption of the scheme.
Switching to the UPS could be a game-changer for your retirement planning, especially if you value guaranteed benefits and higher government contributions, observes Ramalingam Kalirajan.
The change in the government's engagement with the economy's need for reforms is more nuanced than how analysts have so far perceived it, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) board has approved liberalised part withdrawals for subscribers, allowing up to 100 per cent EPF withdrawal, and rolled out the 'Vishwas Scheme' to reduce litigation through rationalised penal damages.
'The new Bill introduces no policy or rate changes, leaving financial planning strategies largely unaffected.'
'The considerations for choosing between the old and new tax regimes remain essentially unchanged.'
Sebi is working with other regulators to expand the CAS framework.
'If a charitable or religious trust sells a capital asset -- such as land, buildings, shares -- and makes a capital gain, it can avoid paying tax on that gain if it reinvests the proceeds in another capital asset for its charitable purposes.'
The new Income Tax Bill, passed by Lok Sabha on Monday, has retained the provisions regarding ITR filing for TDS claims and tax exemptions for anonymous donations made to all religious-cum-charitable trusts, as in the existing tax laws. The original Income Tax Bill, which was brought in Parliament in February, had done away with this exemption and the ITR filing flexibility for claiming TDS refunds.
'Younger employees, who tend to have a higher risk appetite, will find NPS advantageous due to the potential gains from equity markets over time.'
Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
The Unified Pension System (UPS), approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday, is "fiscally prudent" as it will be funded within the Centre's fiscal projections, according to T V Somanathan, the Cabinet Secretary-designate. Speaking to Business Standard immediately after the Cabinet nod, former finance secretary Somanathan, who headed the committee set up in March 2023 to review the National Pension System (NPS), said the UPS will not postpone pension expenditure as it will be contributory and financed each year.
CPGRAMS -- an online platform available to citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to public authorities on service delivery -- has existed for close to two decades. But it has never been this active, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'It would be reasonable to assume that Modi 3.0 would be more focused on projects and schemes which do not require any legislative change or which have the support of its coalition partners,' asserts A K Bhattacharya.
'... that it once again shies away from renewing its commitment to strategic divestment,' points out A K Bhattacharya.
Once rolled out, theaterisation will be the biggest military reform in the country. It will see the creation of unified theatre commands within the 1.7 million-strong Indian armed forces.
In 2023-2024, 95 scheduled commercial banks received over 10 million complaints from their customers. The process of KYC at many banks has become 'HYC' -- harass your customer, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched his government's mega scheme ' Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana', declaring that it was aimed at eradicating financial untouchability by providing bank accounts to the poor.
Without naming the Congress, he said the frustration of a party, which ruled for four generations, was at the root of this politics of opposition for opposition's sake.
DEA officials to push for this at a meeting with FM Jaitley.
Double decker flyovers, developing the National Capital Region as a Common Economic Zone and a unified command for governance of Delhi are some of the promises made by ruling Congress on Wednesday in its assembly election manifesto.
It is best to invest long-term surplus in stocks or equity mutual funds.
Universal basic income or social security? Economist Nitin Desai feels we need a blueprint for universal health care and pensions to help the vulnerable section.
It's time we dispensed with the paper trail and shifted all labour law paper, workflows and permissions online.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday assured the industry that momentum of economic reforms will continue to make India a hotspot of global investment. India has turned the crisis created by COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity to push the economic reforms, which remained pending for decades, she said while addressing the National MNC's Conference 2020 organised by industry chamber CII.
Now, 83 per cent males and 77 per cent females have formal bank accounts but they are hardly using them
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday presented the Union Budget for 2016-17.
Indian economy about to take-off
The three main regulators have different approaches to grievance redressal and different standards to stop harmful from coming pitched at the consumer.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who was recently appointed the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief, says people are disenchanted with the Vasundhara Raje government.
