The government on Tuesday sought to address a significant concern stemming from the 2024-25 Budget announcement by introducing flexibility in the computation of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on unlisted assets, including properties. For any assets, such as land or buildings, acquired before July 23, taxpayers can choose between the new and old regimes, opting for whichever results in a lower tax liability. Under the new LTCG regime, the tax rate is set at 12.5 per cent without the benefit of indexation.
'A balanced portfolio mix of domestic and international equity, fixed income, and precious metals is recommended.'
Noting that recent uncertainties created by global tariffs have not impacted the Indian economy severely, Anuradha Thakur, secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said the central government is hopeful that the recent goods and services tax (GST) rationalisation will ignite the much needed animal spirits in the financial sector.
Investors with a long-term horizon and high-risk appetite seeking capital appreciation can consider investing in ELSS.
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma and Tata Consultancy Services were the major gainers. However, Axis Bank, Titan, Maruti and Tata Motors were among the laggards.
Entities controlled by governments - sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds - have recorded higher growth in equity assets under custody compared to other foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) over the past five years.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Multi-asset allocation funds (MAAFs) have emerged as strong performers among mutual funds (MFs), rivalling medium-term returns from traditional equity categories while maintaining a lower risk profile. Over the past three years, average returns for this segment have surpassed those of flexicap and largecap funds, for both lump sum and systematic investment plan (SIP) investments.
Maintain a proper record of documents that can act as proof of the cost of acquisition of the property, cost of improvements made to the property, expenses related to transfer of the property (like brokerage and registration charges). These will come in handy in case of a dispute with the taxman.
'For me, if I want to buy a house to stay, I don't care about indexation because I don't want to sell that house.' 'The only thing that matters to me as a buyer is that the home price should be within my reach.' 'Any market, when speculators and investors go out, it will benefit the middle class.'
India's Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem exhibited robust growth in 2024, with funding surging 43 per cent year-on-year to $13.7 billion, according to a report. This recovery was fuelled by a 45 per cent rise in deal activity, with 1,270 transactions recorded, reinforcing India's position as the second largest market for venture capital and growth funding in the Asia-Pacific region, the report by Bain & Company and IVCA said.
How does the Union Budget 2024-25 impact taxpayers, investors and traders?
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
rediffGURU Anil Rego answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Speculation intensifies regarding a potential political shake-up in Jharkhand's ruling coalition, fueled by strained relations between JMM, RJD, and Congress, and Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Delhi visits. Both JMM and Congress have denied the claims.
While the PM sees zero tax on long-term capital gains and dividend income as unfair since the beneficiaries are not poor, he is silent on the fact that rich farmers too don't pay taxes, since farm income is tax-free, a loophole exploited by many netas and babus, says Debashis Basu.
There is positive sentiment for Tata Steel on the basis of strong domestic demand, a turnaround of European operations and moderate valuations. A combination of capacity expansion, efficiency gains, higher asset utilisation, and improved operating leverage may lead to margin expansions.
A N Shanbhag explains issues related to long-term capital gains and equity.
SOFs can be a diversification tool for investors seeking alternatives to conventional large, mid, or smallcap portfolios.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Apart from the emotional value attached to buying gold, the yellow metal offers protection against inflation, interest rate spikes, currency and geopolitical risks, says Anamika Pareek.
'The long maturity of these funds makes them well-suited for long-term financial goals such as saving for retirement or children's education or marriage.'
Oil marketing companies (OMCs), paint manufacturers, tyre producers, and aviation stocks witnessed significant gains as Brent crude oil prices slipped below $70 per barrel. The price drop came after a double blow: The US imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, including energy imports, and OPEC+ - the group of major oil-producing nations including Russia - announced an output increase of 138,000 barrels per day, the first such hike since 2022.
'Expect India to keep doing well irrespective of geopolitics.'
'Reinvention is not a hugely difficult task. With technology as available today, you can reinvent yourself pretty quickly.'
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
Investors may wait for six months and then take another look at the stock.
N J Yasaswy suggests two approaches to profit from this tax haven and how to spread the joy of tax-free gains to your entire family.
'Is taxable amount above 1 Lac is also to be shown as income from other sources?'
More than a third of 83 mainboard IPOs this year ended their debut sessions in the red, with losses of up to 35 per cent.
Currently, if the IT department finds out that some income has been missed out by the assessee, it goes through a lengthy process of adjudication, and the new proposal would repose trust in the taxpayer.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
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.
Part-I of this three-part series dives into Delhi-NCR's SPR, Sohna, Dwarka Expressway, and Jewar Airport leading the charge.
Inflows into gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which manage a total of Rs 37,390 crore, have surged sharply in recent months. This trend is likely to continue, especially after the reintroduction of long-term capital gains tax (LTCG), which is likely to attract smart money into mutual fund offerings amid a robust outlook for the yellow metal. Smart money, also known as opportunistic flows, refers to strategic investments that are generally of a short-term horizon.
Despite recent underperformance, MNC funds have delivered over longer time frames.
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