Tag: survey

Groww survey, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

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Nearly 30% of young investors, aged between 18-30 years, are planning to invest more than usual this festive season, according to a survey by investment platform Groww.

Young investors were seen drawn towards stocks and mutual funds, witnessing the biggest spike at 87% and 58%, respectively, among other investment options like fixed deposits and foreign stocks, the survey added.

The survey was conducted with investors aged 18 and above to understand if the festive season impacts their investment decisions. Millions of young Indians have opted for stock trading during and post pandemic, raising hopes that the appetite for Indian equities is finally growing, the survey said.

Technology, including the rise of cheap trading apps and social media influencers has attracted hordes of day traders into the domestic markets.

Nearly 76% of the respondents are first-time investors, and 69% of respondents have been investing for less than a year. Seasoned investors who’ve been in the market for more than five years account for only 5.7%. Of the total survey respondents, Gen Z (18-24 years) and Gen Y (25-30 years) lead the chart as first-time investors, with 39% and 34% respectively, the survey has found.

The top two driving factors for investments were generating long-term wealth and general savings.

Nearly 30% young investors plan to invest more than usual this festive season: Groww survey

Retirement planning is one of the top investment priorities for investors aged 40 years and above, while 3% are considering to move their investments in the tax-savings asset class options this festive season, it added.

Out of the total respondents, 35% of investors aged between 31-40 years and 34% of investors aged between 25-30 years will plan to invest less than usual.

This is primarily because 45% of respondents are planning smaller purchases (shopping), while 19% plan to get their homes renovated and 18% are planning bigger purchases such as a car, gadgets and others.

Groww, itself, witnessed a 94.53% growth in the number of first-time investors in August, compared with the year ago period. Its investor base has grown rapidly and has already crossed over 15 million customers, indicating positive investment sentiment.



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Tax ombudsman on the cards: Will it have adequate teeth?

Personal Finance

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If you are a taxpayer, you sure would have a tale to tell about your tryst with the tax department. While there are some mechanisms to help taxpayers resolve their grievances, the Economic Survey offers a new ray of hope by emphasising on the need for reintroducing the tax ombudsman, independent of tax administration, to fulfil taxpayers’ rights. It states that a dedicated institution to take up issues from taxpayers’ perspective helps in developing trust of the taxpayers.

Background

For direct taxes, the Institution of Income-Tax (I-T) Ombudsman was created in the year 2003 to deal with grievances related to settlement of IT complaints.

Issues that were allowed to be filed with the ombudsmen include delay in issue of refunds beyond the time limits prescribed by law, lack of transparency in identifying cases for scrutiny, non-communication of reasons for selecting the case for scrutiny, non-adherence to prescribed working hours and unwarranted rude behaviour by tax officials. The ombudsman aimed to deal with cases independent of the jurisdiction of the income-tax department.

However, in February 2019, the institutions of Income-Tax Ombudsman as well as Indirect-Tax Ombudsman were abolished on the grounds that they failed to achieve their objectives. A possible reason may have been inadequate independence from the tax department.

Existing alternatives

Taxpayers can currently use ‘e-Nivaran’, a single window to address all grievances received through various channels. Through e-Nivaran, taxpayers can submit grievances related to e-filing, TDS, refunds, differences with the assessing officer and other partner institutions such as NSDL.

The other option is to approach Aaykar Sewa Kendras (ASK) centres, which provide taxpayer-related services, including grievance redressal in several towns and cities. Applications to the centre can be filed in person as well as through a drop-box facility.

Meanwhile, Taxpayer Charter, introduced in 2020, lists out a taxpayer’s rights and obligations. As per this, there should be a courteous, fair and reasonable treatment to taxpayers. Taxpayers who are unhappy or perceive the handling of their assessment proceedings to be contrary to the Taxpayer Charter can approach the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in their respective zones.

While the above are for grievance related to income tax, for GST complaints, the government has established an online grievance redressal system through the GST Portal (selfservice.gstsystem.in).

Finally, one can also file a complaint through Centralised Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), an online web-enabled system, that aims to enable submission of grievances by the citizens to Ministries/Departments/Organisations who scrutinise and take action for speedy and favourable redress of these grievances.

Possible framework

The grievance mechanisms stated above are not independent (entirely) of the tax jurisdiction.

Thus, to avoid conflict of interest, ensure fair dealings and consequently build the trust between taxpayers and the concerned tax authority, the Economic Survey suggests that it is imperative to have a redressal organisation with adequate teeth and which is independent of the tax department..“The earlier Ombudman framework was ineffective. One hopes the new framework provides enough power and independence for it to be effective in resolving taxpayers complaints,” says Sunil Gidwani, Partner, Nangia Andersen.

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Health insurance purchases rise by about 50% during Covid-19: ICICI Lombard survey

Banking & Finance

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Health insurance purchases have risen by about 50 per cent during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic than previously, especially amongst younger people, according to a recent survey by ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

“The prime motivation to buy health insurance is to cover the expenses during an emergency. Covid-19 and the fear of job loss have motivated respondents to buy health insurance in the last six months across cities,” revealed the survey titled Evolution of Health Insurance – A Covid-19 Perspective and #RestartRight.

Recent industry data has also shown a sharp rise in the demand for health insurance with sales between April and November registering a near 13 per cent growth.

Also read: Life insurers may sell indemnity based heath cover soon; IRDAI forms panel

While 60 per cent of the respondents had purchased health cover more than a year back, as many as 27 per cent had bought it in the last six months to one year, and 14 per cent had bought it in the last six months.

It also found that demand has increased significantly amongst the younger population due to concerns over the pandemic while for the middle age group, tax benefit is also one of the major motivations.

Tax benefit was the key focus for 51 per cent of the respondents in the age group of 31 to 35 years and 44 per cent of those surveyed between 36 and 40 years. In contrast, Covid-19 was the prime focus for 30 per cent of those purchasing health insurance in the age group of 25 to 30 years.

A total of 1,922 interviews were conducted for the survey, which took place between October 30, 2020 and November 10, 2020. This included 1,548 owners of health insurance policies and 374 persons who did not have health cover.

Significantly, it also found that persons who didn’t have a health cover resumed fewer activities post relaxation of the lockdown compared to insured persons.

While 78 per cent of the overall respondents had resumed grocery shopping, in other categories of activities like going to the office, dining out and consultation with a doctor, people with health cover were more active.

The survey also found that there has not been much change in the type of policy and preference behaviour post the pandemic, with 54 per cent of the respondents purchasing individual policies and 46 per cent buying family floaters.

As many as 74 per cent of the respondents who had purchased health insurance wanted to enhance the sum assured or coverage. The average health coverage is ₹5 lakh, which is expected to increase to an average of ₹8.9 lakh.

Also read: State insurance schemes have failed the poor: Report

Following the pandemic, customers across cities have become more independent and have started purchasing health insurance through websites and mobile apps.

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