Category: Personal Finance

Top 5 Banks Offering Best Interest Rates On 3-Year Fixed Deposits In 2021

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Investment

oi-Vipul Das

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Fixed deposits are appropriate for you in the debt category if you are a risk-averse investor searching for consistent returns over a period ranging from 7 days to 10 years. Fixed income alternatives in the debt category, such as fixed deposits, provide consistency to your portfolio by offering guaranteed returns in both the short and long term. If you wish to invest for three years, you may choose from a variety of options such as savings accounts, liquid funds, gold investment, treasury bills, fixed maturity plans, and so on. However, among all of these alternatives, we prefer investing in fixed deposits for three years. The rationale for this is that you will not only receive higher assured returns but your deposits will also be insured by DICGC up to Rs 5 lakhs. So investors, especially senior citizens who want to invest for a short-term goal of 3 years, here are the top 5 banks promising higher interest rates on fixed deposits.

Top 5 Private Banks Offering Higher Interest Rates On 3-Year Fixed Deposits

Top 5 Private Banks Offering Higher Interest Rates On 3-Year Fixed Deposits

For a deposit amount of less than Rs 2 Cr, here are the top 5 private sector banks offering the best interest rates on 3 years fixed deposits.

Banks Regular FD Rates Senior Citizen FD Rates
DCB Bank 6.50% 7.00%
IndusInd Bank 6.50% 7.00%
RBL Bank 6.10% 6.60%
Yes Bank 6.00% 6.50%
IDFC First Bank 5.75% 6.25%
Source: Bank Websites

Top 5 Public Sector Banks Promising Best Interest Rates On 3-Year Fixed Deposits

Top 5 Public Sector Banks Promising Best Interest Rates On 3-Year Fixed Deposits

Here are the top 5 public sector banks giving the best interest rates on three-year fixed deposits for deposits of less than Rs 2 Crore.

Banks Regular FD Rates Senior Citizen FD Rates
Union Bank of India 5.40% 5.90%
Canara Bank 5.40% 5.90%
Punjab & Sind Bank 5.15% 5.65%
Bank of Baroda 5.10% 5.60%
IDBI Bank 5.10% 5.60%
Source: Bank Websites

Top 5 Small Finance Banks Providing Higher Interest Rates On 3-Year Fixed Deposits

Top 5 Small Finance Banks Providing Higher Interest Rates On 3-Year Fixed Deposits

Below are the top 5 small finance banks promising best interest rates on 3 years fixed deposits for a deposit amount of less than Rs 2 Cr.

Banks Regular FD Rates Senior Citizen FD Rates
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank 6.75% 7.25%
North East Small Finance Bank 6.75% 7.25%
Jana Small Finance Bank 6.50% 7.00%
Equitas Small Finance Bank 6.35% 6.85%
Suryoday Small Finance Bank 6.25% 6.50%
Source: Bank Websites

Story first published: Sunday, July 25, 2021, 16:47 [IST]



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Top 10 Banks Promising Best Interest Rates On Recurring Deposits In 2021

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oi-Vipul Das

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A Recurring Deposit is a form of term deposit marketed by banks that enables risk-averse investors, particularly elderly citizens, to deposit a predetermined amount each month, similar to a mutual fund SIP, and earn interest income comparable to that provided on Fixed Deposits or FDs. Investing in recurring deposits is well-known for addressing short-term requirements, so it’s ideal for investors with short-term financial goals who don’t want to risk their portfolio with market-based returns.

Apart from the interest rates, let me make it clear that investing in recurring deposits also falls under the guidelines of DICGC. This implies that recurring deposits just like a fixed deposit account or savings account are also insured up to Rs 5 lakhs by DICGC. By keeping all these factors in mind, here we have compiled the top 10 public, private, and small finance banks that are offering the best interest rates on recurring deposits as of now.

Top 10 Private Sector Banks Promising Higher Interest Rates On Recurring Deposits In 2021

Top 10 Private Sector Banks Promising Higher Interest Rates On Recurring Deposits In 2021

Here are the top 10 private sector banks promising higher interest rates on recurring deposits in 2021:

Sr No. Banks Regular RD Rates Senior Citizen RD Rates W.e.f.
1 Yes Bank 6.50% 7.25% June 3, 2021
2 RBL Bank 6.50% 7.00% July 2, 2021
3 DCB Bank 6.50% 7.00% 15 May, 2021
4 IndusInd Bank 6.50% 7.00% June 4, 2021
5 IDFC First Bank 6.00% 6.50% May 1, 2021
6 Axis Bank 5.75% 6.50% June 22, 2021
7 ICICI Bank 5.50% 6.30% October 21, 2020
8 Bandhan Bank 5.50% 6.25% June 7, 2021
9 HDFC Bank 5.50% 6.00% August 25, 2020
10 Kotak Mahindra Bank 5.25% 5.75% July 23, 2021
Source: Bank Websites

Top 10 Public Sector Banks With Higher Interest Rates On Recurring Deposits

Top 10 Public Sector Banks With Higher Interest Rates On Recurring Deposits

List of commercial banks offering best interest rates on recurring deposits in 2021:

Sr No. Banks Regular RD Rates Senior Citizen RD Rates W.e.f.
1 Union Bank of India 5.60% 6.10% July 7, 2021
2 Canara Bank 5.50% 6.00% 08.02.2021
3 Punjab & Sind Bank 5.30% 5.80% 16.05.2021
4 Bank of Baroda 5.25% 6.25% 16.11.2020
5 IDBI Bank 5.25% 5.75% July 14, 2021
6 Punjab National Bank 5.25% 5.75% 01.05.2021
7 Indian Overseas Bank 5.25% 5.75% 09.11.2020
8 Indian Bank 5.15% 5.65% 05.02.2021
9 Bank of India 5.15% 5.65% 01.07.2021
10 Central Bank of India 5.00% 5.50% 10.07.2021
Source: Bank Websites

Top 10 Small Finance Banks Offering Best Interest Rates On Recurring Deposits In 2021

Top 10 Small Finance Banks Offering Best Interest Rates On Recurring Deposits In 2021

Here are the top 10 small finance banks that are not only promising interest rates up to 8% on recurring deposits but also fall under the deposit insurance cover up to Rs 5 lakhs of DICGC.

Sr No. Banks Regular RD Rates Senior Citizen RD Rates W.e.f.
1 North East Small Finance Bank 7.50% 8.00% April 19, 2021
2 Utkarsh Small Finance Bank 7.00% 7.50% July 1, 2021
3 Ujjivan Small Finance Bank 6.75% 7.25% March 5, 2021
4 Jana Small Finance Bank 6.75% 7.25% June 10, 2021
5 Suryoday Small Finance Bank 6.75% 6.75% June 21, 2021
6 Equitas Small Finance Bank 6.50% 7.00% June 1, 2021
7 Fincare Small Finance Bank 6.50% 7.00% May 17, 2021
8 ESAF Small Finance Bank 6.50% 7.00% May 2, 2021
9 Capital Small Finance Bank 6.25% 6.75% June 3, 2021
10 AU Small Finance Bank 6.25% 6.75% June 23, 2021
Source: Bank Websites

Story first published: Sunday, July 25, 2021, 13:29 [IST]



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Gratuity Act 1972: Here’s All You Need To Know About Nomination Rules

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oi-Vipul Das

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Under the Gratuity Act, 1972, employees are only entitled for gratuity if they have completed 5 years of constant employment with a specific company or employer. However, regardless of whether the five years have been fulfilled or not, the gratuity amount will be paid to the nominee in the event of an employee’s demise. Only family members can be nominated under the Gratuity Act, an employee can nominate any Indian citizen if he or she has no family members.

Under the Gratuity Act, a family of an employee is classified for a male employee as his wife, children (married or unmarried), dependent parents or dependent parents of his wife, and the widow and children of his deceased son if any. Whereas for a female employee, family refers to her husband, children (married or unmarried), dependent parents or her husband’s dependent parents, and widow and children of her deceased son, if any, under the Gratuity Act 1972. To make a nomination under the rules of the Gratuity Act 1972 here’s all you need to know about.

Gratuity Act 1972: Here’s All You Need To Know About Nomination Rules

Gratuity Rules, 1972-1

The Central Government accordingly sets the following nomination rules in virtue of the authority given by sub-section (1) of section 15 of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (39 of 1972). According to the official website of labour.gov.in/

1. A nomination shall be in Form ‘F’ and submitted in duplicate by personal service by the employee, after taking proper receipt or by sending through registered post acknowledgment due to the employer,

  • in the case of an employee who is already in employment for a year or more on the date of commencement of these rules, ordinarily, within ninety days from such date, and
  • in the case of an employee who completes one year of service after the date of commencement of these rules, ordinarily within thirty days of the completion of one year of service:

Provided that nomination in Form ‘F’ shall be accepted by the employer after the specified period, if filed with reasonable grounds for delay, and no nomination so accepted shall be invalid merely because it was filed after the specified period.

2. Within thirty days of the receipt of nomination in Form ‘F’ under sub-rule (1), the employer shall get the service particulars of the employee, as mentioned in the form of nomination, verified with reference to the records of the establishment and return to the employee, after obtaining a receipt thereof, the duplicate copy of the nomination in form ‘F’ duly attested either by the employer or an officer authorised in this behalf by him, as a token of recording of the nomination by the employer and the other copy of the nomination shall be recorded.

3. An employee who has no family at the time of making a nomination shall, within ninety days of acquiring a family submit in the manner specified in sub-rule (1), a fresh nomination, as required under sub-section (4) of section 6, duplicate in Form ‘G’ to the employer and thereafter the provisions of sub-rule (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis as if it was made under sub-rule (1).

4. A notice of modification of a nomination, including cases where a nominee predeceases an employee, shall be submitted in duplicate in Form ‘H’ to the employer in the manner specified in sub-rule (1), and thereafter the provisions of sub-rule (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

5. A nomination or a fresh nomination or a notice of modification of nomination shall be signed by the employee or, if illiterate, shall bear his thumb impression, in the presence of two witnesses, who shall also sign a declaration to that effect in the nomination, fresh nomination or notice of modification of nomination, as the case may be.

6. A nomination, fresh nomination or notice of modification of nomination shall take effect from the date of receipt thereof by the employer.

Source: https://labour.gov.in/

Story first published: Sunday, July 25, 2021, 11:11 [IST]



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Standard Chartered Bank Revises Interest Rates On FD: Check New Rates Here

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oi-Vipul Das

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Standard Chartered Bank, with 100 branches in 43 cities and a record spanning since 1858, is India’s largest international bank in terms of bank branches. The bank has recently revised its fixed deposit interest rates, which are in effect from July 23, 2021. Standard Chartered Bank is providing a 1.75 percent interest rate on FDs with a maturity of 7 to 59 days, 2.30 percent for FDs with a maturity of 60 to 89 days, and 3.5 percent for FDs with a maturity of 90 to 120 days. After the most recent adjustment, Standard Chartered Bank offers a 3.25 percent interest rate on FDs maturing in 121 days to less than 180 days. The bank will now pay 4.40 percent interest on deposits maturing in 181 days to less than 210 days. For deposits maturing in 211 days to 364 days, Standard Chartered Bank provides a 4.60 percent interest rate. On various maturities, Standard Chartered Bank gives elderly folks a higher rate. On deposits expiring in 7 days to 5 years, senior residents will get an interest rate ranging from 1.75 percent to 5.90 percent respectively.

Standard Chartered Bank Revises Interest Rates On FD: Check New Rates Here

Standard Chartered Bank FD Rates In 2021

Here are the most recent interest rates of Standard Chartered Bank fixed deposits for a deposit amount of less than Rs 2 Cr.

Tenure Less than Rs 2 Cr Less than Rs 1 Cr (Senior Citizens)
7-9 days 1.75% 1.75%
10-14 days 1.75% 1.75%
15 -17days 1.75% 1.75%
18-20days 1.75% 1.75%
21-23days 1.75% 1.75%
24-26 days 1.75% 1.75%
27-29days 1.75% 1.75%
30-32 days 1.75% 1.75%
33-35 days 1.75% 1.75%
36-38 days 1.75% 1.75%
39-41 days 1.75% 1.75%
42-44 days 1.75% 1.75%
45 -47 days 1.75% 1.75%
48-50 days 1.75% 1.75%
51-53 days 1.75% 1.75%
54-56 days 1.75% 1.75%
57-59 days 1.75% 1.75%
60-74 days 2.30% 2.30%
75-89 days 2.30% 2.30%
90 -104 days 3.50% 3.50%
105-120 days 3.50% 3.50%
121 -149 days 3.25% 3.25%
150-164 days 3.25% 3.25%
165-180 days 3.25% 3.25%
181-210 days 4.40% 4.40%
211-226 days 4.60% 4.60%
227 – 269 days 4.60% 4.60%
270 days-345 days 4.60% 4.60%
346 days-364 days 4.60% 4.60%
1yr – 375days 5.30% 5.80%
376 -390 days 5.20% 5.70%
391 days to 18 Months 5.20% 5.70%
18M to 21M 5.40% 5.90%
21M to 2 Yrs 5.25% 5.75%
2 Yrs to 3 Yrs 5.40% 5.90%
3 Yrs to 4 Yrs 5.35% 5.85%
4 Yrs to 5Yrs 5.40% 5.90%
Source: Standard Chartered Bank

Story first published: Sunday, July 25, 2021, 10:21 [IST]



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Tax Query: Treatment of ‘bullock rent’ income

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I got retired from a PSU in May 2020. My earnings for FY2020-21 comprise regular salary for April 2020 and May 2020, retirement benefits (including leave encashment), regular pension from June 2020, interest income on fixed deposits, dividend income from shares and income from house property (two houses; availed housing loans and paying EMIs). Can you please advise which income tax form should I submit for AY 2021-22?

Bhaskaran S

Based on the details provided, your income includes salary, house property (2 houses with housing loan), and income from other sources. Hence, you need to file your return for FY 2020-21 using form ITR 2.

We rent our bullock for tilling the land. Although there is no service tax for the activity, could the income from be treated as business income / non agricultural income? What could be the form to be submitted before June?

Chandrasekaran

If the principal source of income is renting of bullock used for tilling the land, the same qualifies to be business income and accordingly, ‘ITR-3’ is the tax return form that needs to be used for filing the return of income.

The writer is Partner, Deloitte India

Send your queries to taxtalk@thehindu.co.in

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Why POMIS is a safe monthly income option

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If you are looking for low-risk investment options that offer regular monthly income, consider post office monthly income scheme (POMIS). This product offers higher interest rate compared to similar fixed deposit (FD) options from banks and is a government-backed savings scheme with a tenure of five years.

The minimum investment amount is ₹1,000. The maximum limit is ₹4.5 lakh in a single account and ₹9 lakh in a joint account (up to three adults). The account can be opened from any post office using identification and address proof, PAN card and two recent photographs for KYC requirements.

Decent returns

POMIS scores over other similar investment options such as fixed deposits of similar tenure offered by banks. The rate of interest in POMIS is reset periodically by the government. The scheme currently offers interest rate of 6.6 per cent per annum for the deposits made up to September 30, 2021. This is relatively higher than the interest rates offered by most banks for their five-year FDs with the monthly pay-out option, including SBI (up to 5.4 per cent) and HDFC Bank (up to 5.3 per cent). Even the small finance banks (SFBs), which usually offer higher interest rates, too fade in front of POMIS. Banks such as Jana, Equitas, and AU SFB offer interest rates up to 6.5, 6.25 and 5.97 per cent, respectively.

While bank deposits of up to only ₹5 lakh are secured by the deposit insurance, POMIS comes with implicit government backing. This comparison becomes relevant when POMIS joint account is opened with investment above ₹ 5 lakh.

On the taxation front, both POMIS and bank FDs do not enjoy any tax benefit– either on investment or income earned. However, there is no TDS on the interest pay-out from POMIS unlike on FDs.

Premature withdrawal is allowed in POMIS only after a year, but you have to pay a penalty for doing so, similar to bank FDs. If encashed between the first and third year, a deduction of 2 per cent is made on the deposit amount. Between the third and fifth year, the rate reduces to 1 per cent.

Options for seniors

If you are a senior citizen looking for monthly income (SCSS offers only quarterly payout), you may want to compare it with another safe investment option – Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana (PMVVY). For financial year 2021-22, the PMVVY scheme shall provide an assured pension of 7.40 per cent per annum (same as SCSS) payable monthly for all the policies purchased till 31st March, 2022. The total investment amount under this is up to ₹15 lakh for a single account. If a couple chooses to invest, both together can invest up to ₹30 lakh.

Though PMVVY scores over POMIS in terms of interest rate, the latter can be your option if you are looking for shorter tenure, liberal lock-in norms and lower minimum investment amount. PMVVY has a policy tenure of ten years and pre-mature exit is allowed only under exceptional circumstances (with penalty) including treatment of any critical/terminal illness of self or spouse. Besides, PMVVY requires a minimum investment of about ₹1.5 lakh. Note that both POMIS and PMVVY have similar tax treatment on investment and interest and no TDS will be deducted on pay-outs.

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All you wanted to know about cyber insurance

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Two neighbours’ daily routine of watering plants leads to an interesting conversation

Sindu: I got an email for buying quality seeds online and I was giving all the details, because I thought it was a reputed source. But I ended up losing money. I didn’t even know it had happened until it was too late! But, I think my insurance will cover for this.

Bindu: What? There is insurance against online scams?

Sindu: Yes, cyber insurance. It protects businesses and individuals against online risks such as data breach, identity theft and unauthorised transactions. It covers financial losses depending on the cyber incident. For instance, if you are a victim of unauthorised online transaction and as a result you have lost money, then cyber insurance will cover you up to the sum insured. Provided the money lost is not recoverable, legally.

Bindu: Okay. Does it provide any other coverage?

Sindu: Yes. Now, if you take it to court to fight a legal battle, then the policy also covers cost incurred in prosecuting a criminal case and other legal expenses related to the cyber-attack.

Further, it also covers the cost of employing IT services to recover the lost data.

Bindu: This is good news! But you know, even if the losses are covered, these cyber attacks affect you mentally.

Sindu: Guess what? If policyholders require medical counselling, insurers do offer to cover the cost of the same, up to the sum insured.

Bindu: Wow! Looks like it is a must have.

Sindu: It may appear so. But cyber insurance policies have their own limitations. They come with sub-limits, deductibles and waiting periods that usually vary with cyber threats and with each insurer. Policyholders are expected to adhere to certain protocols such as constant updating of software.

Bindu: Update the system? So what happens at the time of claim, otherwise?

Sindu: Well, post the cyber attack you should inform the insurer. Now, if you fall behind on your due diligence such as software update, installing anti-virus or other such protection software , you may not be able receive your claim. One of the most important points to note is that, a policyholder can claim only for one event, even if the one event, say, malware attack, triggers multiple events such as hacking, phishing or unauthorised transactions.

Bindu: I knew it! It was too good to be true. But at least, we have many options.

Sindu: No, in India only a few insurers offer this product. These are new to the industry and yet to evolve and widen the scope of coverage.

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How a techie couple with kids put their finances in order

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Aakash and Rohini (aged 40 and 37), both employed in the IT industry, wanted to get their finances in order. They have two children: son Raghav (aged 9 and in class 4) and daughter Shreya (aged 3, in kindergarten).

They had listed their goals:

1. To earmark an emergency fund of ₹6,00,000.

2. To ensure all family members have more than adequate health cover.

3. To buy a 3BHK flat in the locality they reside in now. The estimated cost of the apartment was given as around ₹1.2crore. They were curious to find out if they could afford it. Else, they were willing to continue to live in a rented house if that made sense financially.

4. To set up a fund for college education expenses for both kids at ₹20 lakh. (Expected inflation of 8 per cent per annum).

5. To accumulate funds for kids’ marriage expenses at ₹20 lakh each and 400 grams of gold gift to each .

6. To provide a platform for comfortable retirement when Aakash turns 60, assuming current lifestyle expenses of ₹75,000 per month. They wanted to keep aside ₹1-1.5 lakh towards travel expenses every year. Before committing to any long-term liabilities (home EMI, for instance), they wanted to ensure committed savings towards some high-priority goals, especially those related to education.

Review and recommendations

Aakash and Rohini have displayed a disciplined savings habit over the last 6-8 years. Hence, a portion of their existing investments was mapped to education-related goals.

1. A sum of ₹6 lakh was reserved from fixed deposits towards emergency fund.

2. The target cost for Raghav’s college expenses will be ₹40 lakh when he turns 18 at an inflation of 8 per cent per annum. Mutual fund portfolio was rebalanced for ₹17 lakh in large-cap fund to meet this goal at an expected return of 10 per cent CAGR.

3. The target cost for Shreya’s college expenses will be ₹63.4 lakh, using the same assumptions of age and inflation. Mutual fund portfolio was rebalanced for ₹13.25lakh in large and mid-cap fund to meet this goal at an expected return of 11 per cent CAGR over 15 years.

4. Marriage expenses for Raghav (at 25 years of age) will be ₹59 lakh and for Shreya (at 23 years) will be ₹77.4 lakh, considering 7 per cent inflation per annum. Advised to invest ₹11,500 and ₹9,000 per month in mid-cap funds to meet these targets, assuming a 12 per cent rate of return.

5. Gold needed to be accumulated in combination of physical gold and Sovereign Gold Bond for both children every year. They were advised to accumulate gold assets of 10-15 grams in the initial years and increase the purchase over the years depending on the increase in income.

6. With their retirement falling due in the next 20 years, we advised them to map EPF and PPF at current values and further contributions towards retirement along with ₹15 lakh from Equity MF Portfolio. The expected corpus for the family’s retirement for a current monthly expense of ₹75,000 would be ₹9.25 crore. We assumed inflation at 7 per cent per annum prior to retirement (adjusted for life style increase).

Post retirement, inflation was assumed to be 5 per cent as they did not foresee much changes in their life style once they retired. They needed to invest ₹53,000 per month to reach the desired corpus. As their jobs were stable and provided upward revision in incomes regularly, it was advised to invest ₹20,000 initially. The couple can slowly increase this investment once they have repaid at least 50 per cent of the housing loan.

7. Post our detailed discussion, the revised cost to buy a house was estimated to be ₹1.4 crore. They were in a position to allot ₹40 lakh towards this goal, out of their existing investments (remaining FDs and MF investments). Balance ₹1 crore had to be funded with housing loan. EMI for this loan could vary from ₹80,600 to ₹96,000 per month with the interest rate in the range of 7.5 per cent per annum to 10 per cent per annum. As the rates are at the bottom of the curve currently, they were asked to be mentally ready for a hike in rates. It was advised to be ready for ₹96,000 EMI as this would help them to look at partial foreclosures as and when surplus funds were available.

8. If they continue to pay the housing loan EMI for the next 20 years assuming the interest rate in the range of 7.5-10 per cent per annum, the total interest outflow would be ₹93,34,000 to ₹1,31,61,000. The couple also agreed to call-off the decision, if they couldn’t freeze on a property in one year’s time. They will, instead, invest ₹80,500 per month for the next 20 years at an expected return for 10 per cent per annum to arrive at a corpus of ₹6.11 crore, which should help cover the inflation adjusted cost of the house after 20 years.

9. Aakash and Rohini were also advised to opt for pure term insurances covering their expected housing loan liability. It was suggested that the family opt for base cover for health insurance and a super top-up plan for a total sum insured of ₹25 lakh.

Covid has taught everyone that challenges could come at out of hide outs any time with amplified magnitude. Medical uncertainties, employment insecurities after the age of 45 and inflation surprises may pose major challenges to the above plan, going forward.

The writer, Co-founder of Chamomile Investment Consultants in Chennai, is an investment advisor registered with SEBI

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3 add-on health insurance covers to consider

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A health insurance policy plays a significant role in providing financial stability for an individual and his/her family at the time of medical emergencies. Typically, a health policy offers to cover hospitalisation expenses along with pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses, day care treatments (treatment procedures that require hospitalisation for less than 24-hours), and accidental injuries, among others. While it is important to have sufficient coverage amount at all times, sometimes a base policy may still not be enough to cover other expenses. You can then consider going for one or two riders/optional covers, depending on the need. Keep in mind that these add-ons involve payment of additional premium. Here are a few riders worth considering.

Hospital cash benefit

While a health policy takes care of hospitalisation expenses, you may still end up paying for certain charges while are still hospitalised. These expenses are usually inadmissible at the time of filing a claim, and include the cost of hospital gowns, gauzes, adhesive bandages and maintenance and housekeeping charges and conveyance charges. This is where the hospital cash or daily cash benefit comes in handy. It means, if the policyholder gets hospitalised, your health insurer will pay you a lump sum amount for every day of hospitalisation up to a certain number of days up to a maximum limit (varies with insurers). For instance, in ICICI Lombard’s Complete Health Insurance plan, the hospital daily cash made available is ₹3,000 per day for up to a maximum of 10 days of consecutive hospitalisation (minimum 3 days) for sum insured (SI) of ₹15 lakh and above. The daily cash limit is ₹2,000 per day if the SI is less than ₹7 lakh.

Most insurers including Tata AIG, ICICI Lombard, HDFC Ergo Health, Max Bupa, Bajaj Allianz, Star Health and Digit, offer hospital cash benefit as an optional cover for additional premium, while some insurers offer this as an in-built cover.

Tata AIG’s Medicare, for instance pays 0.25 per cent of SI up to a maximum of ₹2,000 per day of hospitalisation for shared room accommodation.

Critical illness

A critical illness (CI) cover is offered as a rider or as an optional cover by many health insurers. Under this, the insurer will make a lumpsum payment at the time of diagnosis, after which this cover terminates. Remember that, there is no restriction on the usage of the amount received. Primary breadwinners of their families, who don’t want to take chances on their health can consider this rider. Do note that the insurer will make payment only for certain diseases mentioned in the policy document and the payment varies across insurers and diseases. For instance, HDFC Ergo’s Optima Secure plan offers critical illness cover with SI of ₹10 lakh to ₹2 crore CI. Similarly, 100 per cent of the SI opted is paid out in case of Manipal Cigna’s ProHealth plan. Both policies also offer expert opinion if the insured requires it for the CI.

OPD benefit

Another rider cover to consider is OPD (outpatient department) where it covers expenses such as doctor’s consultation fees, pharmacy bills, dental treatment expenses and non-allopathic treatment. Most of the health policies offer OPD in-built in the policy but there are a few that offer this as an optional or add-on cover. Policies including ICICI Lombard’s Complete Health Insurance plan and Max Bupa’s Go Active offer in-built OPD cover while policies such as Activ Health from Aditya Birla Health and Care’s Care Freedom offer it as optional cover. Ideally those who go to the pharmacy or consult doctors often can go for an OPD cover.

But, if your plan already has OPD in-built there are other optional covers to consider. One is a maternity cover, offered by many insurers, which can be considered if a couple plans to have a baby.

Alternatively, reduction in waiting period cover can be opted. This comes in handy for those who are already suffering from pre-existing conditions such as asthma or diabetics. Generally, the pre-existing disease waiting period ranges from 2-4 years across insurers. With this rider cover, upon payment of additional premium, your waiting period of say, four years, will come down to say 1-2 years. You can also use the cover to reduce the maternity waiting period (usually 4 years), if the insurer offers it.

Hospital cash can pay for inadmissible medical expenses

Critical illness cover offers lumpsum payment

OPD benefit is useful to pay for doctor’s consultation fees, non-allopathic treatment

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Coindesk, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s prime brokerage division is clearing and settling cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) for some of its European hedge fund clients, Coindesk reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The services are currently being offered to a limited number of clients and the bank is considering rolling them out for a broader customer base, the report said.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the matter.

The U.S. lender in March restarted its cryptocurrency desk amid growing interest by institutions in bitcoin, and said it was looking at ways to cater to a surge in demand to own and invest in the most popular cryptocurrency.

Goldman Sachs is one of several mainstream financial firms that has dived into the crypto space, despite wild price swings and widening regulatory crackdown on the digital assets.

Rival banks Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co have also started giving clients access to crypto funds, according to media reports.



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