Personal Loan

What are the benefits of availing of a Personal Loan?

Demat Account with Trading IPO

Importance of a demat account

1. Digitally secure way of holding shares and securities

2. Eliminates theft, forgery Toss,

3. Quick transfer of share

IPO : Initial public offering

What Is a Mutual Fund?

NPS : (National Pension System) Investment

National Pension Scheme (NPS) India is a voluntary and long-term investment plan for retirement under the purview of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Central Government. We have covered the following in this article. The National Pension Scheme is a social security initiative by the Central Government. This pension programme is open to employees from the public, private and even the unorganised sectors except those from the armed forces.

The scheme encourages people to invest in a pension account at regular intervals during the course of their employment. After retirement, the subscribers can take out a certain percentage of the corpus. As an NPS account holder, you will receive the remaining amount as a monthly pension post your retirement. Earlier, the NPS scheme covered only the Central Government employees. Now, however, the PFRDA has made it open to all Indian citizens on a voluntary basis. NPS scheme holds immense value for anyone who works in the private sector and requires a regular pension after retirement. The scheme is portable across jobs and locations, with tax benefits under Section 80C and Section 80CCD.

Sovereign Gold Bond(SGB)

SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold. Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity. The Bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India.

Why should I buy SGB rather than physical gold? What are the benefits?

The quantity of gold for which the investor pays is protected, since he receives the ongoing market price at the time of redemption/ premature redemption. The SGB offers a superior alternative to holding gold in physical form. The risks and costs of storage are eliminated. Investors are assured of the market value of gold at the time of maturity and periodical interest. SGB is free from issues like making charges and purity in the case of gold in jewellery form. The bonds are held in the books of the RBI or in demat form eliminating risk of loss of scrip etc.

Are there any risks in investing in SGBs?

There may be a risk of capital loss if the market price of gold declines. However, the investor does not lose in terms of the units of gold which he has paid for.

Who is eligible to invest in the SGBs?

Persons resident in India as defined under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 are eligible to invest in SGB. Eligible investors include individuals, HUFs, trusts, universities and charitable institutions. Individual investors with subsequent change in residential status from resident to non-resident may continue to hold SGB till early redemption/maturity.

Capital Gain Bonds)

Capital gain bonds or 54EC bonds are the fixed income instruments that provide capital gains tax exemption under section 54EC to the investors. The tax liability on long-term capital gains from sale of immovable property can be reduced by purchasing 54EC bonds.

The owner of the bonds are the debtholders or creditors of the issuer. These bonds are issued by infrastructure companies that are backed by the government. Hence, the risk factor gets mitigated by buying such bonds. The capital gain bonds are redeemable before maturity. One cannot sell these bonds as they are not listed in the stock exchange. The interest is reduced to 5% p.a. from 6% p.a. and are fully taxable in your hands.

RBI Bonds

Government of India has announced to launch of 8% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2003 commencing from 21st April 2003 to enable resident citizens/charitable institutions/universities to invest in a taxable bond, without any monetary ceiling.

Who can invest:

The Bonds are open to investment by individuals (including Joint Holdings) and Hindu Undivided Families/charitable institutions/universities. NRIs are not eligible for making investments in these Bonds.

Subscription:

Applications for the Bonds in the form of Bond Ledger Account will be received in the designated branches of agency banks and SHCIL in all numbering about 1600.

Issue Price

The Bonds will be issued at par i.e. at Rs.100.00 per cent.
The Bonds will be issued for a minimum amount of Rs. 1000/- (face value) and in multiples thereof.
Accordingly, the issue price, will be Rs.1000/- for every Rs.1,000/-(Nominal).
The Bonds will be issued in demat form (Bond Ledger Account) only.

Period:

The Bonds will be on tap till further notice and issued in cumulative and non-cumulative forms.

Limit of investment

There will be no maximum limit for investment in the Bonds.

Tax treatment:

Income-tax: Interest on the Bonds will be taxable under the Income-tax Act, 1961 as applicable according to the relevant tax status of the bond holder.
Wealth tax: The Bonds will be exempt from Wealth-tax under the Wealth- tax Act, 1957.

E-Will Services

Electronic wills (e-wills) are wills made and stored in electronic format. An e-will is signed electronically, and in some cases can dispense with the traditional need for the will maker and witnesses to be physically present in the same room when signing. As electronically signed documents become widely accepted, state laws are beginning to anticipate a future in which e-wills—currently rare—are acknowledged and accommodated. Below is an overview of how state laws currently treat e-wills.

To understand e-will laws, it's necessary first to understand the requirements surrounding a traditional will. For a traditional will to be valid, the will maker must be an adult of sound mind, and the will must be:

1. made in writing (most traditional wills are typed on a computer, printed out, and signed in wet ink)
2. signed and dated by the will maker, and
3. signed by witnesses.

Almost all states require two witnesses, and most require that the witnesses be present to watch the will maker sign the will. Two states, Colorado and North Dakota, also allow notarization as an alternative to witnesses (in these states, the will maker may sign in front of a notary, rather than in front of witnesses).

Types of Insurance

Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss. An entity which provides insurance is known as an insurer, an insurance company, an insurance carrier or an underwriter.

1. Life Insurance

Life Insurance refers to a policy or cover whereby the policyholder can ensure financial freedom for his/her family members after death. Suppose you are the sole earning member in your family, supporting your spouse and children. In such an event, your death would financially devastate the whole family. Life insurance policies ensure that such a thing does not happen by providing financial assistance to your family in the event of your passing.

2. Health Insurance

Health insurance refers to a type of general insurance, which provides financial assistance to policyholders when they are admitted to hospitals for treatment. Additionally, some plans also cover the cost of treatment undertaken at home, prior to a hospitalisation or after discharge from the same.

3. Motor Insurance

Motor insurance refers to policies that offer financial assistance in the event of accidents involving your car or bike. Motor insurance can be availed for three categories of motorised vehicles.