Fed outage raises questions on Wall Street as services restored, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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For about four hours Wednesday, Federal Reserve systems that execute millions of financial transactions a day — everything from payroll to tax refunds to interbank transfers — were disrupted by what appeared to be some sort of internal glitch.

Systems were restored by the end of the day, but the outages once again raise questions about the resilience of critical infrastructure that Americans rely on to process payments. The episode follows two significant disruptions to the Fed’s payment services that occurred in 2019.

“It does raise awareness about what their business continuity measures are and what’s going on over a single point of failure that doesn’t have a lot of redundancies. It’s pretty concerning,” said David Hart, president of consulting firm NETBankAudit who was previously a senior bank examiner and IT auditor at the Richmond Fed.

All services were restored by 7:27 p.m. New York time, according to a website operated by the central bank. The outages affected the automated clearinghouse system known as FedACH and the Fedwire Funds interbank transfer service as well as several other systems comprising the U.S. payment infrastructure.

‘Operational Error’
“A Federal Reserve operational error resulted in disruption of service in several business lines,” Jim Strader, a spokesman for the Richmond Fed, said in an e-mailed statement. “We are restoring services and are communicating with all Federal Reserve Financial Services customers about the status of operations.”

The Fed system’s national IT operations are run out of the Richmond reserve bank. The central bank’s payment services website noted the disruptions were discovered around 11:15 a.m. and Strader declined to comment on whether they were a result of system updates or human error, but confirmed that the system maintains operations in other locations.

Inside financial firms, traders were generally calm, still handling transactions. A mood of initial confusion subsided as many realized they weren’t affected, one said.

ACH is a national system that processes batches of electronic funds transfers such as payroll, social security benefits, tax refunds, corporate payments to vendors and utility payments, according to the Fed’s website. The commercial service handled 62.1 million transactions a day on average in 2019 with an average value of $1,802, the latest year for which data are available.

In a posting on its website at 2:46 p.m. the Fed said it was taking steps to ensure the resilience of its services but urged customers to double check that any messages they had sent or received had been reconciled.

FedNow
The disruptions come as the central bank is preparing to take on even more responsibility. It’s separately developing its own same-day settlement payment system called FedNow. It is expected to operate in direct competition with an industry-run payments system started in 2017 by an organization of Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.

The Fed’s system has suffered problems before. In 2019, the FedWire interbank funds transfer service went down for about three hours. The Fed blamed the outage on “an internal technical issue,” but declined to provide more details.

Bloomberg News sought additional information about that incident under the Freedom of Information Act, but the request and a subsequent appeal were denied by the Board of Governors.



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Private vs Public Sector Banks: Best 1-Year FDs With Returns Up To 5.95%

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Eligibility required to open an FD account

To open an FD account in India, the following eligibility criteria must be met by an individual:

  • Indian resident with a minimum age limit of 18 years
  • Minors
  • Foreign nationals residing in India
  • Senior citizens with a minimum age limit of 60 years

Documents required to open an FD account

The documents required to open an FD account are as follows:

  • Identity proof: PAN, Voter ID, Passport, Aadhaar Card, 2 passport size photographs
  • Address proof: Driving license, Voter ID Card, Aadhaar Card, Utility Bills of the last 3 months
  • Senior citizen card: A senior citizen card is authorized by the Social Welfare Department and is widely considered as an age proof for senior citizens.

Key benefits of fixed deposit

Key benefits of fixed deposit

There are many benefits of fixed deposits, and some of them are listed below:

  • Returns from fixed deposits are not influenced by the market.
  • The insurance cover provided by the DICGC presently covers all the various accounts operated by one depositor with various branches of the same bank for a limit of Rs 5 lakh.
  • At very low-interest rates, you can receive loans of up to 90% of your deposit amount. Typically, this will be around 2% higher than the applicable interest rate of FD.
  • You can quickly liquidate the FD in the event of an emergency and withdraw the funds prematurely.
  • You can choose from several payout options i.e. on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.
  • You can claim tax deduction up to Rs 1.5 lakh by investing a 5-year tax-saver deposit scheme.
  • Compared to general customers, senior citizens are given a higher interest rate.
  • One can select from flexible tenures which usually ranges from 7 years to 10 years respectively.

Tax on fixed deposit

Tax on fixed deposit

By investing up to Rs.1.5 lakh in a tax-saver fixed deposit account, you can reap the benefit of the income tax deduction clause under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Along with capital security, fixed deposit schemes provide guaranteed returns. That being said, you do remember that the interest income from a fixed deposit is completely taxable. For the financial year, the tax liability is totally contingent on the total income and according to your tax slab rate. Moreover, if the interest received reaches Rs.40,000 in a financial year from all the accounts kept with the bank, banks subtract TDS. In order to validate the specifics of the deduction, a TDS certificate must be submitted to the bank.

Taxation for senior citizens

Taxation for senior citizens

Income tax exemption of up to Rs 50,000 annually can be claimed by senior citizens earning interest income from FDs, savings account and recurring deposit account. No TDS is deducted by the bank in case the interest income received by a senior citizen with a bank is less than Rs 50,000 in a year from all fixed deposit accounts.

Who should invest in fixed deposits?

Who should invest in fixed deposits?

One of the strongest and best financial instruments issued by banks is fixed deposits. Fixed deposit interest rates are higher than the interest on savings usually. Every individual needs to diversify his or her investment portfolio across different types of streams of fixed income and flexible investments. Fixed deposits are a means of investment for regular income. Investments such as equities, mutual funds and so on can generate higher returns, but the risks involved with them are higher. There is always a higher risk factor with higher returns, which may also mean risking a significant amount of money in unfavourable market conditions at some point in time. However, a combination of risky and risk-free investments according to the risk tolerance capability and risk appetite of an investor is an optimal investment portfolio.

1 Year FD Rates

1 Year FD Rates

The current interest rates provided by top banks for deposit tenure of 1 year are listed below:

Public Sector Banks 1 Year FD Rates in %
Indian Overseas Bank 4.9
Bank of India 4.75
UCO Bank 4.7
Punjab & Sind Bank 4.55
Union Bank 4.5
Punjab National Bank 4.5
Canara Bank 4.45
Indian Bank 4.4
State Bank of India 4.4
Bank of Baroda 4.4
IDBI Bank 4.3
Bank of Maharashtra 4.25
Central Bank of India 4.25

Private Sector Banks

1 Year FD Rates in %

DCB Bank 5.95
IndusInd Bank 5.75
RBL Bank 5.75
The Tamil Nadu State Apex Co-operative Bank 5.75
Yes Bank 5.75
Bandhan Bank 5.25
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank 5.25
Karnataka Bank 5.2
Axis Bank 5.15
City Union Bank 5
South Indian Bank 4.75
Jammu & Kashmir Bank 4.5
Dhanlaxmi Bank 4.5
Federal Bank 4.4
HDFC Bank 4.4
ICICI Bank 4.4
Kotak Bank 4.4
IDFC First Bank 4
Karur Vysya Bank 4



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NSE shuts trading due to technical glitch, no decision on resuming yet, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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NEW DELHI: Brokers and dealers on Dalal Street on Wednesday said all trading was stopped on NSE due to some technical glitch, and asked their clients to use BSE for the same.

NSE in a statement said that trading had been halted since 11:40 am due to some problem with its telecom services providers.

“NSE has multiple telecom links with two service providers to ensure redundancy. We have received communication from both the telecom service providers that there are issues with their links due to which there is an impact on NSE system,” NSE said.

It added that the company was working on restoring the system as soon as possible.

India’s largest broker, Zerodha, advised its clients to execute their trading orders through BSE for time being. Upstox, ICICIdirect also followed with similar advisories on social media.

Apparently, the ticker for the exchange was frozen much before trading was stopped. The last update on NSE website shows prices as of 10.08 am.

“NSE has halted all trading (Equity, F&O, Currency) from 11.40 am. NSE had issues with streaming feeds for Nifty, Bank Nifty, and other indices from 10.06 am. I am guessing that they are restarting all the processes for which they had to stop trading to fix the index feeds issue,” said Nithin Kamath, CEO, Zerodha.

He added that all open orders on NSE, including cash, derivatives and currency, have been cancelled by the exchange.

IIFL Securities in a tweet said that the NSE pre-open market will start at 1 pm and the normal market at 1:15 pm. However, a spokesperson for the exchange refuted the news. He added that there no decision has been made in this regard.

Meanwhile, BSE on its official website was running a ticker suggesting all segments at BSE “will operate as usual on Wednesday”.

D-Street Reactions
“I am remembering today the Russian market shutdowns in 1998. Russian authorities would wait for Europe to open, see if markets were Green, if yes, open Russia for trading. Else keep it shut. Today’s, Asia market action is ugly… (sic),” said Shankar Sharma, Founder of First Global, in a tweet.

Ajay Srivastava, CEO, Dimensions Corporate Finance told ET NOW that it was very important for NSE to give time to people to look at their account statement as they do not know which trades went through. So, no one knows what are the positions and where the margins are, he added.

Note: This is a developing story and will be updated.



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10 Best Savings Account With Good Returns Up To 7.15%

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Key takeaways of a savings account

  • A savings bank account is a safe location where surplus funds or salary amount can be kept.
  • Interest rates on savings accounts can vary from 3 to 7.15%
  • Using a savings account an account holder can make use of net banking or mobile banking service of the particular bank.
  • Banks typically provide benefits for customers who hold the minimum quarterly balance on the locker rental facilities.
  • Banks also have different insurance coverage, including personal accidents and death, for savings account holders.
  • By opening a savings account with a particular bank you are granted with an ATM-cum debit card which you can use across the country to make withdrawals and other related banking services.

Documents required to open a savings account

Documents required to open a savings account

In order to open a savings account with a specific bank, you must keep the below-listed documents handy.

Identity proof: PAN, Voter ID, passport, Aadhaar card, driving license, PAN, 2 passport size photographs

Address proof: Driving license, Voter ID Card, Aadhaar card, utility bills of the last 3 months

Eligibility required to open a savings account

Eligibility required to open a savings account

For different banks, the Savings Account eligibility conditions may be different. Below are some basic ones:

  • Indian residents with a minimum age limit of 18 years old
  • Non-Resident Indians
  • Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
  • Resident foreign nationals

Savings account interest rates

Savings account interest rates

Below are the best savings accounts in India in terms of interest rates.

Sr No. Banks ROI in % p.a. Minimum deposit requirement
1 Bandhan Bank 3 to 7.15% Rs 5000
2 RBL Bank 4.75 to 6.50% Rs 500 to Rs 2500
3 IndusInd Bank 4 to 6% Rs 1500 to Rs 10,000
4 IDFC First Bank 3.5 to 6% Rs 10,000
5 Yes Bank 4 to 5.5% Rs 2500 to Rs 10,000
6 DCB Bank 3.25 to 5.5% Rs 2500 to Rs 5000
7 Karnataka Bank 2.75 to 4.5% Rs 1000 to Rs 2000
8 South Indian Bank 2.35 to 4.5% Rs 1000 to Rs 2500
9 Kotak Mahindra Bank 3.5 to 4% Rs 2000 to Rs 10,000
10 City Union Bank 3.5 to 4% Rs 7500



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Best Health Insurance Schemes by Government of India

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Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana under Ayushman Bharat

As recommended by the National Health Policy 2017, Ayushman Bharat, a flagship scheme of the Government of India, was initiated in order to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHCC) vision. The government proposes health care coverage of up to Rs 5,00,000 per family per year. Over 10,74 crore deprived and needy qualifying households are eligible for these benefits.

Under this scheme, priority is given to girl child, women and senior citizens. Hospitals will not be authorized to bill any extra money for care from the recipients. All pre-existing diseases covered under the scheme. It covers pre-hospitalization costs such as medications and diagnostics for up to 3 days. This insurance system covers charges for diagnostic care, prescriptions, room expenses, doctor’s fees, surgeon fees, equipment, ICU and OT fees. Fertility treatments, Cosmetic surgeries, Organ transplants and outpatient expenses are not covered under the scheme.

Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana

Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana

The Government of India initiated the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) in October 2007 with the goal of providing social security to occupational classes within this market. It includes persons that fall into such occupational categories and covers insurance in case of natural or accidental death and injury. The scheme protects the participants of 48 categories listed for coverage purposes. The policy can be acquired by India’s Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which is the only insurance provider currently providing the scheme.

The person should belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) family or a family belonging to the vocational community above the poverty line. The scheme’s age limit is 18 to 59 years. A benefit of Rs 30, 000 is paid in the event of natural death. Also, Rs 75, 000 is paid due in the event of sudden death or absolute permanent disability. In the event of permanent partial injury arising from an injury, the gain is limited to Rs37, 500.

Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojana (RSBY)

Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojana (RSBY)

The Government of India will provide the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families with health insurance coverage. RSBY’s goal is to shield BPL households from financial obligations resulting from health shocks requiring hospitalization. On a family floater basis, It offers a gross amount insured of Rs 30,000/- per family per annum.

It also provides transportation costs under a total cap of Rs. 1000 (current with a daily limit of Rs100 per visit). The beneficiary would pay Rs 30 per annum as a registration or renewal fee.

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

After Jan Dhan Yojana’s successful performance, our government launched “Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana” with the poor masses in mind. With the aim of increasing insurance coverage for the masses, the scheme was launched. This service’s main highlight is its low premium, which stands at Rs 12 p.a.

In the event of complete disability or accidental death, coverage of Rs 2,00,000 will be given and Rs 1,00,000 in the case of partial disability. An account holder between the ages of 18 and 70 who have given their consent to join or activate the auto-debit function of the PMBSY scheme can enroll in this scheme. The revenue received under this scheme will receive a tax exemption of 10 u/s (10D). In addition, under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, the premium paid is also tax-free.

Employment State Insurance Scheme (ESIS)

Employment State Insurance Scheme (ESIS)

The ESI program is funded by employers’ and employees’ contributions. The employer’s share rate is 4.75% of the wages owed to employers. The contribution of the workers is at the rate of 1.75% of the salary owed to an employee. Employees receiving less than Rs 137/-a day as a regular salary shall be exempted from payment of their contribution share. The Act now extends to more than 7.83 factories and facilities across the nation, benefiting over 2.13 crores of covered individuals/family units. As of now, the cumulative receiver is over 8.28 crores. Sickness Compensation in the form of monetary payments at the rate of 70% of the income will include employees for a limit of 91 days per year during the times of certified sickness.

Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)

Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)

The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) is a health facility scheme for current and retired employees of the Central Government of India. Coverage is broad and covers hospitalization, home treatment, counselling programs, health education, etc. The scheme also covers allopathy as well as non-allopathic AYUSH therapies. It also provides prescription reimbursements, purchases of items such as hearing aids, artificial limbs, and so on.

Universal Health Insurance Scheme (UHIS)

Universal Health Insurance Scheme (UHIS)

In the name of the Organization/Association/Institution, the Group Policy will be provided with a schedule of members’ names, and their qualifying family members who are part of the policy. It is a scheme of government health insurance that provides coverage for groups with lower incomes so that they can afford hospital expenses. It also provides personal accident cover and compensates a family in the event of the death of the breadwinner, in addition to paying for medical bills.

The insurer will provide medical reimbursement of Rs 30,000 in the event of hospitalization due to an illness or injury. This insured sum includes Rs 2500 for normal maternity benefit and Rs 5000 for cesarean delivery. However, Rs 15000 is the maximum amount that can be claimed per disease, and this excludes maternity benefits.

Insurance provided by State Governments

Insurance provided by State Governments

Awaz Health Insurance Scheme

The specific health insurance scheme that the Government of Kerala has launched. The scheme provides health insurance coverage for workers working in Kerala who are migrants. The treatment limit for hospitalization expenses is Rs 15,000, and Rs 1 lakh for permanent accidental disability and Rs 2 lakh for accidental death.

The objective of the scheme is to provide the rural population of the state with cashless hospitalization facilities. To access cashless therapies, a Bhamashah Card is required. Up to Rs 30,000 is allowed to be covered under the scheme for general diseases and the limit increases to Rs 3 lakhs for critical diseases.

Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme

The government of Karnataka offers farmers affiliated with cooperative societies to participate in this system and gain treatment in hospitals that are part of the network for nearly 800 medical procedures.

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana

Farmers in selected Maharashtra districts who are either below or around the poverty line qualify for Rs 1,5 lakh health insurance.

West Bengal Health Scheme

For covered beneficiaries, medical costs are reimbursed whether inpatient hospitalization services are required within West Bengal or in nine specified hospitals outside West Bengal. In 2014, the scheme was renamed West Bengal Health for All Employees and Pensioners Cashless Medical Care Scheme 2014 and the scheme allowed cashless treatment per insured member for up to Rs 1 lakh.

Rajiv Aarogyasri Community Health Insurance Scheme (RACHI)

For the rural people of Andhra Pradesh, the RACHI scheme is a health insurance scheme. Under the hospitalization and recovery scheme, the programme covers up to Rs 2 lakhs. In order to allow all family members to gain benefits under the program, coverage is available on a family floater basis.

Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana

The Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana is a medical insurance program provided to families below the poverty line by the government of Gujarat. Cardiovascular intervention, neurosurgery, wounds, injuries, tumours, neonatal disorders and renal diseases are protected by the program.

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Your Salary Hike This Year Wouldn’t Mean Higher Cash In Hand: Here’s Why

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Personal Finance

oi-Roshni Agarwal

|

There is news doing the round that after a bleak 2020, companies may resort to salary hike but this unlikely to mean a higher cash in hand for most salaried class.

Your Salary Hike This Year Wouldn't Mean Higher Cash In Hand: Here's Why

Your Salary Hike This Year Wouldn’t Mean Higher Cash In Hand: Here’s Why

Here we detail on it:

For this year, the government has come with a new wages definition and in compliance of it companies may contribute more towards EPF. And even as for the ongoing year, companies’ exponentially have plans of increasing the salary by as much as 7.7% on an average in comparison to just 6.1 percent last year, it may not mean higher disposable income in the hands of employees.

“We expect the increment dynamics or 2021 to play out over a longer period of time given the uncertainty and potential impact of forthcoming changes,” said Nitin Sethi, partner and CEO of Aon’s performance and rewards business in India.

“The proposed definition of wages under the new labour codes could lead to additional compensation budgeting in the form of higher provisioning for benefit plans like gratuity, leave encashment and PF. We expect organisations to review their compensation budgets in the second half of the year once the exact financial impact of the labour codes is known,” he said.

Nonetheless there is a belief that the newly laid down wage code will have minimal impact on employee’s pay out as nearly 35-40% of employee’s CTC is paid out as basic pay or basic allowance.

Also, as per the human resource consulting firm, India has projected the highest salary increase among BRIC countries.

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NPS 1-Year Returns And Taxation Rules Explained

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NPS Returns

In the past year, NPS schemes surpassed all pension fund managers because equity and debt schemes delivered double-digit returns. Tier-I and Tier-II accounts have generated incredible returns as per the NPS source. Over the last 1 year, Scheme E of NPS generated as high as 28.47 percent benchmark returns. Following the same Scheme E Tier – I UTI Retirement Solutions Ltd. have generated the highest 1 year returns with 28.13%, followed by HDFC Pension Fund with returns of 27.46% which comes second in the list. Under the Scheme G Tier I category HDFC Pension Fund again has generated the highest returns of 8.29% in the last 1 year, followed by SBI Pension Funds Pvt Ltd and Aditya Birla Sun Life Pension Management Ltd. with 1-year returns of 7.87% and 7.81%. In the past year, under Scheme C Tier I, which invests in corporate bonds, the LIC Pension Fund generated returns of 10.55 percent. To know more about returns in brief, please follow the below listed table. (Source: NPS Trust as on 18 Feb 21).

Scheme E Tier I
Pension Funds 1 Year Returns
Aditya Birla Sun Life Pension Management Ltd. 25.35%
HDFC Pension Management Co. Ltd. 27.46%
ICICI Pru. Pension Fund Mgmt Co. Ltd. 26.92%
Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund Ltd. 26.03%
LIC Pension Fund Ltd. 26.92%
SBI Pension Funds Pvt. Ltd 26.55%
UTI Retirement Solutions Ltd. 28.13%
Benchmark Return as on 18/02/2021 28.47%
Scheme C Tier I
Pension Funds 1 Year Returns
Aditya Birla Sun Life Pension Management Ltd. 9.44%
HDFC Pension Management Co. Ltd 10.40%
ICICI Pru.Pension Fund Management Co Ltd. 9.89%
Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund Ltd. 8.37%
LIC Pension Fund Ltd. 10.55%
SBI Pension Funds Pvt Ltd. 9.96%
UTI Retirement Solutions Ltd. 9.58%
Benchmark Return as on 18.02.2021 12.39%
Scheme G Tier I
Pension Funds 1 Year Returns
Aditya Birla Sun Life Pension Management Ltd. 7.81%
HDFC Pension Management Co. Ltd 8.29%
ICICI Pru.Pension Fund Management Co Ltd. 7.52%
Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund Ltd. 7.47%
LIC Pension Fund Ltd. 7.77%
SBI Pension Funds Pvt Ltd. 7.87%
UTI Retirement Solutions Ltd. 7.46%
Benchmark Return as on 18.02.2021 6.35%

NPS Taxation Rules

NPS Taxation Rules

Under NPS-for your contribution and for the employer’s contribution, there is a tax benefit of up to Rs.1.5 lakh. The self-contribution, which is part of Section 80C, encompasses – 80CCD(1). Under 80CCD(1), the highest deduction one can claim is 10 percent of the salary, but not more than the stated amount. This cap is 20 percent under section 80CCD(2) of gross income for the self-employed individual against the contribution made by the employer towards NPS. The income tax act’s section 80CCD covers the exemptions provided to the individuals under NPS. Until the year 2015, as per Section 80CCD, an individual was entitled to claim a tax exemption of up to Rs. 1 lakh against contributions made towards NPS. But this cap is raised by Rs 1.5 lakh in the budget 2015 by the government. In addition, a new sub-section 1B was also added, providing an additional exemption of up to Rs. 50,000 under section 80CCD(IB) for contributions made to the NPS by individual taxpayers.

Types of NPS accounts and related tax benefits

Types of NPS accounts and related tax benefits

Under NPS there are two types of accounts i.e. Tier I and Tier II account. Let’s know the tax benefits under each account in brief:

NPS Tier I account

This account comes with a lock-in period until the age of 60 years is reached by the subscriber. Tier 1 contributions are tax-deductible and are eligible for deductions pursuant to Section 80CCD(1) and Section 80CCD (1B). This implies that in an NPS Tier 1 account you can contribute up to Rs. 2 lakh and claim a deduction of Rs. 1.50 lakh under Sec 80CCD(1) and Rs. 50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B).

NPS Tier II account

This is a voluntary savings account that comes with premature withdrawal benefit, The contribution made to the Tier 2 account, however, does not qualify for a tax deduction. You must first open a Tier 1 account to open a Tier 2 account. Contributions to NPS now qualify under the exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) tax method, all of which are tax-exempt from the amount contributed to NPS, the income earned and the amount of maturity. You can withdraw up to 60 percent of the amount on maturity and the remaining 40 percent must be used to buy an annuity.

Key takeaways of NPS accounts

Key takeaways of NPS accounts

Below are some important points that you must consider regarding Section 80CCD(1B).

  • The Rs. 50,000/- additional deduction is only available for contributions made towards NPS Tier 1 accounts.
  • The exemptions are open to salaried individuals as well as to self-employed individuals under Section 80CCD(1B).
  • Under NPS, partial withdrawals are permitted but are relevant to particular provisions.
  • In the event that the assessee dies and the nominee wishes to close the NPS account, the income generated by the nominee will be exempted from taxation.
  • Only 25% of the contribution made is exempted from taxation if partial withdrawals are made from the account.
  • Only 40 percent of the overall amount is exempted from taxation if the assessee is an employee who opts to close the NPS account.
  • On hitting the age of 60 years, the assessee can withdraw 60 percent (tax-free amount) from the account. The remaining 40 percent (used to purchase annuity policy) is also free from taxation.



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Why Urban Town Planning Has Become A Must For Tier II-III Cities?

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Investment

oi-Sunil Fernandes

|

Tier II-III cities have been the untapped regions of potential in our country, while the major real estate players have given their best offerings only to metro cities due to the population density, government’s willingness for developing infrastructure and connectivity there. The Tier II-III cities have neglected since long and progressed at a slower pace as compared to the metros. However, the onslaught of COVID became an eye-opener and has made the authorities realize that there is a dire need to distribute industries, capital, and population to these towns for optimum utilization of the resources.

Schemes like AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission, the construction of new airports, flyovers, bus corridors and expressways, has further led to a boost in the development of these cities, but the major upliftment these cities need will come in the form of well-strategized town planning. The work from home culture has further given rise to new concepts of town planning as per the changing lifestyle trends. Urban cocoons, walk-able cities, compact cities, fractionated cities, and 15- minute cities being the few of them. Traffic management will play a major role in town planning for the smaller cities, as most of these cities are developed without any architecture.

The concepts are influenced by the Western culture, where the smaller towns are also important business centres and bustling with multiple activities. Thereby similar approach can be practiced for Tier II-III cities in India that have ample of resources, high density of population, limited labour cost, readily available raw materials, better connectivity and so much more at a reasonable cost.

Also the overcrowding in metro cities has compelled the businesses, investors, to explore novel opportunities in untouched regions. Housing trends for these cities has been on the positive end, as demand for organized living is on rise, people are keen to spend more for better lifestyle. The face of real estate is in an evolving phase here, therefore the return of investments is also higher and stable. This leads to developers venturing in more than one kind of project, be it residential or commercial.

Why Urban Town Planning Has Become A Must For Tier II-III Cities?

Villas, bungalows, high-rise apartments, studio apartments being few of the options in residential segment, while malls, shopping centres, business parks remain the options in commercial segment. Another added advantage for these towns is that the degree of price fluctuation is slightly lower as compared to the metro cities. Urban town planning will further elevate the stature of these Tier II-III cities and make them hotbed of opportunities for the government, global investors as well as the locals looking to have options of second income.

Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing Limited & President, CREDAI – Haryana



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EPF, VPF Turn Less Attractive For 2 Reasons: Here Are Better Options

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Personal Finance

oi-Roshni Agarwal

|

EPF and VPF shall now lose its sheen on two concerns now.

1. There shall be announced a lower rate for EPF investment for the fiscal year 2020-21 and as per reports it is due to be announced on March 4, 2021.

2. Also, in the Budget 2021, to curb its fiscal slippage concerns, the government will cap the interest exemption on contribution towards EPF by the EPF member beyond Rs. 2.5 lakh per year. As per experts, the move shall primarily weigh on high income earners, who even diverted their excess cash to this instrument or even opted for VPF or Voluntary Provident Fund to get a higher return that is indeed tax free.

EPF, VPF Turn Less Attractive For 2 Reasons: Here Are Better Options

EPF, VPF Turn Less Attractive For 2 Reasons: Here Are Better Options

But the Budget 2021 move will now curb channelisation of the excess kitty of these high net worth individuals to other instruments.

For those making contribution towards EPF or VPF over Rs. 2.5%, subscriber will get post tax return of just 5.8% considering 30% tax bracket.

Interest rate for EPF

For the FY 2019-20, EPF interest rate stood at 8.5%, but this shall be brought down considering higher withdrawals and lower contribution by subscribers.

So, alternative investments to EPF and VPF considering interest rate on EPF shall trend lower and EPF and VPF attract same taxation

1. Debt funds:

While credit risk was a concern that curbed investment in the space, nonetheless, wealthy investors will remain with limited choice and would need to explore this option for higher return as we well as taxation benefit.

Long-term capital gains for debt funds for a holding period of three years and above are taxed at 20 per cent with indexation.

Return from debt funds will be in the range of 7-7.5% in the near term as the rates are likely to go down.

2. NPS:

This is a better long term investment for aggregating a good enough corpus and can provide return of up to 16 percent depending upon the fund invested into.

Tax benefits

Under 80 C – Upto Rs. 1.5 lakh

Under Section 80CCD(1B)- Additional Rs. 50000

60% upon maturity is tax free, while the remaining corpus taken as annuity is taxable.

3. Equity mutual funds:

They also enable creation of healthy retirement fund corpus and are tax efficient as only gains of over Rs. 1 lakh in a year attract long term capital gains at the rate of 10 percent.

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SBI Pension Loan: Easy Loan Process for Senior Citizens

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oi-Sneha Kulkarni

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Retirement with the SBI Pension Loan has just got merrier. Now, you can fund your child’s function, buy your dream house, schedule a holiday, or get medical assistance with a quick, hassle-free loan and repayment. Under the SBI pension loan scheme, State Govt, Central Govt, Defense and family pensioners are eligible after their retirement.

The personal pensioner loan can be used for a sum from Rs 25,000 to Rs 14 Lakh. For family pensioners, the overall cap is Rs 5 Lakh. SBI Pension Loan interest rate starts at 9.75% p.a.

Using Twitter, the bank said; “Get Pension loans at 9.75% and have a happy retirement. All you need to do is SMS on 7208933145”.

SBI Pension Loan: Easy Loan Process for Senior Citizens

Main Features of SBO pension Loan

The Processing Fee is less

There are no hidden costs

Loan processing is done quickly

Easy EMIs through

No need for too many papers, it is done with minimal documentation.

An interested senior citizen can apply by dialling the number, giving a missed call, or messaging.

  • Dial 1800-11-2211
  • Give a Missed Call on 7208933
  • SMS “PERSONAL” on 7208933145 to get a call back from our Contact Centre

Things to know before opting for a pension loan

  • In all cases for family pensioners, the EMI/NMP ratio does not exceed 33%.
  • For the other forms of pensioners, the EMI/NMP ratio would not exceed 50%.
  • Prepayment charges will be at 3% on the prepaid amount.
  • The mode of redemption of the loan is given by the Standing Instructions for debiting the EMIs from the pension account for recovery.
  • The loan package is guaranteed by the partner eligible for a family pension or by some other member of the family or by a third party eligible for a pension loan.

Documents to avail loan

  • Identity proof such as Passport, Pan Card, Voter Identity Card, Driving License, Aadhaar Card
  • Address proof can be Ration Card, Bank Account Statement, Passport, Driving License, Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill, Property purchase agreement, and Aadhaar Card
  • Income proof can be Bank Account statements, Salary Slips.

For Central and State Government Pensioners:

Age at the time of loan sanction Max Loan Amt (18 months Pension or Rs.) Repayment Period Age at the time of full Repayment
Below 72 14.00 lakh 60 months Up to 77 years
72 – 74 years 12.00 lakh 48 months Up to 78 years
74 – 76 years 7.50 lakh 24 months Up to 78 years

For Defence Pensioners :

Age at the time of loan sanction Max Loan Amt (36 months Pension or Rs.) Repayment Period Age at the time of full Repayment
Below 56 years 14 lakhs 84 months 63 years
56 – 72 years 14 lakhs 60 months 77 years
72 – 74 years 12 lakh 48 months 78 years
74 – 76 years 7.50 lakh 24 months 78 years

For Family Pensioners (including Defence Pensioners) :

Age at the time of loan sanction Max Loan Amt (18 months Pension or Rs.) Repayment Period Age at the time of full Repayment
Below 72 5.00 lakh 60 months 77 years
72 – 74 years 4.50 lakh 48 months 78 years
74 – 76 years 2.50 lakh 24 months 78 years

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