Private sector banks are way behind their PSU peers when it comes to opening financial inclusion accounts under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana
In view of the "runaway success" of the scheme, now it has been decided to make it open-ended with more incentives
The move would help tax authorities get leads on evasion.
'India's fundamentals are a lot better (than those of other emerging market economies).' 'India will suffer (witness a fall in its stock market) what I call the second order effect.' 'And the second order will happen when these funds (belonging to macro and hedge fund investors and which have leveraged Japanese yen-carry trades), because they lose money elsewhere as lot of their positions were financed by borrowing Japanese yen, will have to book profits in investment destinations where they are making money, including in markets like India.' 'They (these investors) will have to effectively sell in countries like India and which is the consequence (the crash in equity markets) that Indian markets might see.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget and said it focussed on youth, farmers, women, and has 'substantial allocations' for Maharashtra, but the opposition slammed the annual financial statement, claiming it neglected the western state and only seeks to please the saffron outfit's partners in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
According to an Election Commission statement, the two have decided not to avail exemption from income tax on sumptuary allowance and to surrender two of the three Leave Travel Concessions (LTC) available each year.
Global financial firm J P Morgan has said that it plans to include Indian government bonds (IGBs) or government securities (G-Secs) into its benchmark Emerging Market index from next year, a move that will bring down borrowing cost for the government. The inclusion of the IGBs will be staggered over a 10-month period from June 28, 2024 to March 31, 2025, indicating one per cent increment on its index weight. "India's weight is expected to reach the maximum weight threshold of 10 per cent in the GBI-EM Global Diversified, and approximately 8.7 per cent in the GBI-EM Global index," J P Morgan said in a statement on Friday.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) selling spree continued as they dumped Indian equity worth over Rs 5,800 crore this month so far on rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This came after such investors withdrew Rs 24,548 crore in October and Rs 14,767 crore in September, data with the depositories showed. Before the outflow, FPIs were incessantly buying Indian equities in the last six months from March to August and brought in Rs 1.74 lakh crore during the period.
Stock markets are likely to remain range-bound in this holiday-shortened week amid a lack of any major domestic triggers, analysts said. Stock indices may also face volatility during the week amid the monthly derivatives expiry on Thursday. Equity markets would remain closed on Monday for Christmas.
Banerjee highlighted that despite repeated reminders over the last seven months, the Congress remained inactive in sealing the seat-sharing agreement.
In an address at a security conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Kazakh capital, he also underlined the need for holding accountable the sponsors, financiers and facilitators of terrorism, in remarks that came amid Pakistan's continuing support to various terror groups.
The government scheme has a long way to go before its ultimate goals of universal financial inclusion and financial literacy are achieved.
India's G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow-travellers in the global South, whose voice often goes unheard, he said.
'Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash will be in the programme at LA28.'
Purchase health insurance at an early age, before you incur a disease, as this makes access to health insurance difficult and raises the premium significantly.
The year 2014-15 could well go as one of long-pending financial sector reforms, expected to have a lasting impact.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked banks and other financial institutions to ensure that their customers must update nominees to help resolve the problem of unclaimed money in future. "I want the banking system, the financial ecosystem including the mutual funds, stock markets to keep in mind that when someone deals with his (customer's) money, the organisations will have to think about the future and ensure that customers nominate their heirs, give the name and address," Sitharaman said speaking at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) in Mumbai. According to a report, the banking system alone has more than Rs 35,000 crore of unclaimed deposits, while the overall quantum of the unclaimed money is said to be more than Rs 1 lakh crore.
Here are the key highlights of the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' for the 2024 parliamentary polls.
Banks are in a tight spot as ministry wants them to open ATMs at all rural branches
'In many ways, cricket is growing and, on the surface, seems financially strong. However, we are increasingly seeing a game which focuses on a powerful few, as opposed to a democratic and inclusive approach for the benefit of the whole sport.'
Actively managed debt funds with the flexibility to go long on duration made a strong comeback on the returns chart in 2023, thanks to softening bond yields. The average one-year returns of floater, long-duration, gilt, and dynamic bond funds, which ranged between 2.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent at the end of 2022, now stand at over 7.2 per cent, with some schemes delivering over 8.5 per cent, according to data from Value Research. Debt fund returns are inversely related to yields of underlying investments, meaning a decline in yields is positive for funds.
In a bid to check fraud, the Reserve Bank on Friday decided to permit all banks to introduce card-less cash withdrawal through ATMs.
One of the hurdles for MFIs towards becoming banks is an unsecured loan portfolio.
Do these events call for serious introspection about these buzz terms?
It can be an useful tool in achieving the objective of Pradhan Mantri's Jan Dhan Yojana
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday expressed hope that some new bank licences would be issued before March next year.
Tactical investors should have an investment horizon of around six months to one year, long-term investors should stick around for 10 years or more.
'Investors with higher risk appetite and longer horizon (more than one year) can invest in longer-duration funds like corporate bond funds, long-duration funds and gilt funds for maximum gain.'
Policymakers should consider the challenges of beneficiary identification, distributor opposition and beneficiary financial inclusion.
The solution to this problem lies only in making the system more efficient, he said.
After hoisting the National Flag from the ramparts of Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a 65-minute extempore in Hindi where he unveiled a roadmap for his government, announcing a financial inclusion scheme for the poor to open bank account with built-in insurance, development of model villages by MPs and launching of a scheme for elimination of open defecation.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday asked banks to tap the vast opportunity provided by the semi-urban and rural markets by converting savings in these areas into financial assets.
Riding on a bull run, equity investors became richer by Rs 128.77 lakh crore in the 2023-24 fiscal, driven by robust fundamentals of the Indian economy, increased investment inflows and promising corporate earnings. After a muted performance in 2022-23, equity markets made a remarkable recovery in FY24, giving handsome returns to investors. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 14,659.83 points or 24.85 per cent in 2023-24.
Amid intense scrutiny from short-sellers and regulators, Adani group stocks have seen a significant shift in their shareholder base: Relatively opaque foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have given way to more recognisable investors and broad-based funds. The list of large public shareholders - those directly holding at least 1 per cent - is now dominated by entities, such as the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), US-based GQG Partners, Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company, and Qatar Investment Authority's INQ Holding.
In its annual policy review on April 1, the central bank had proposed a ban on prepayment penalties.
The Reserve Bank of India has formulated strategic polices to enhance growth in banking sector.
'Valuations of midcaps and smallcaps have reached very high levels, and hence to that extent leave little margin of safety.'
The Indian postal network is the largest in the world with 155,015 post offices in the country, 90 per cent of which, that is 139,144, are in the rural areas.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley might next month launch mobile banking services for people not using smartphones.
The board has decided to expand into all financial services for the rural population. SKS would, however, continue to be a strong player in the microfinance business. Financial inclusion would continue to be in the centre of our activities.
