RBI Retail Market - A new era of investing India...

Traditional way of India is investing in Gold and Real estate. Savings means keeping the money in the locker or Kitchen boxes. But as the globalization started, Bank Savings awareness increased and 1990s white collor employees invested most of their money in the Bank fixed deposit and saw a exponential growth of their investment.

But the present modern India Economy is not for the traditional savings or Investment. Lateral thinking investment of Mutual Funds, Shares, NCDs are growing and it is the future with decreasing interest rates in the bank.

One who is familiar with mutual funds would have come across the term Govt securities, Bonds, Bills, T-Bills which are considered the safest way of modern investing. These type of long term investments are complicated and were out of reach of common man or they were costlier by way of commission.

Now Reserve Bank of India came up with a portal to bring common retail investors to participate in the Bond market. https://www.rbiretaildirect.org.in/ website gives the public access to the bond market, a way to buy the central govt or state govt issued short and long term bonds. They give a returns more than the general market returns and also backed by safety.

Access to T-Bills gives a way to park the funds for shorter period with some competitive returns. For those people who look for a spectrum of investment mode, RBI Retail portal is one another way. For basic investor, portal's option of Soverign Gold Bond subscription is motivating factor to get registered.

National Pension System

PFRDA:

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority is established under the PFRDA Act which was passed on 19.09.2013 in the parliament and notified on 01.02.2014. PFRDA is regulating the National Pension scheme.

NPS:

Contributory Pension Scheme notified by the central government on 22.12.2003 was renamed as National Pension System w.e.f 01.01.2004 for all the central government employees except the employees of the armed forces. Subsequently the same scheme was extended to all the citizens of india w.e.f 01.05.2009. This scheme abolishes the old pension system being managed by the Provident fund under the accountant general of india. After passing of the PFRDA Act, NPS got the legal status with retrospective effect from 01.04.2004.

CPS:

Contibutory Pension scheme is being continued by the state government to have control over the subscription of the state government employees. The money collected under the scheme is supposed to be transferred to the NPS account opened on behalf of the employee as prescribed by the PFRDA norms.

Central Record Keeping Agency:

• NSDL(National Securities Depository Ltd) is supposed to be the Central Record Keeping Agency, which will maintain the accounts of the NPS and give IT back end support.
• M/s Karvy Computershare Private Limited is recently been authorised to act as a Central Record Keeping Agency.

Pension Fund Managers:

Pension Fund Managers were appointed for managing funds collected under the scheme. They are authorized to invest the money in the capital market as per the option selected by the contributors.

At present there are 7 pension fund managers approved by the PFRDA, one of which can be selected by the contributor of his choice.

1.    LIC Pension Plan

2.    SBI Pension Plan

3.      UTI Retirement Solutions

4.    ICICI Prudential Pension

5.    IDFC Pension

6.    Kotak Mahindra Pension

7.      Reliance Capital Pension

The first three fund managers are approved to manage the government employees contribution. The non-government employees or individual citizen can select any of the seven fund managers of his choice.

Investment Options:

The investment can be done on two basis

1.      Auto Choice (Aggressive, Moderate, Conservative)

2.      Active Choice

·      Auto choice option will be as per the age of the subscriber. The percentage of allocation will be between Equity (E), Corporate Debt (C), Government Securities (G) will change as per the age and the option exercised.

·         Active choice can given by the subscriber, but no case the equity allocation can be more than 50%.

At the age of retirement(60years), a certain percentage (40%) will be used to purchase a annuity scheme from which regular monthly pension amount will be given till the specified years as choosen by the individual. The remaining corpus can be withdrawn in bulk.

Tax Status:

The investment can be exempted from the tax as per the Income Tax Act 1961:

80 CCD(1a): Contribution to the NPS Scheme or equivalent scheme or 10% of the Basic Salary+DA whichever is less subject to the limit of Section 80 C

80CCD(1b): Voluntary Contribution to the NPS (Tier I) Account which is over and above section 80 C limit subject to the maximum of Rs.50000.

80CCD (2): The equivalent contribution by the employer into the salaried employees account subject to the 10% of the salary.

eNPS:

Any individual can open a NPS account electronically without any paperwork using Aadhar based authentication. The procedure is very simple which is explained in the picture.

Source: 
http://www.pfrda.org.in
https://npscra.nsdl.co.in
https://enps.nsdl.com/eNPS/NationalPensionSystem.html

How to Apply for a PAN....?

PAN...Permanent Account Number is a number given to the individual, organization, companies, etc., in India by the Department of Income Tax who pay tax, who do financial transactions, or in short who do business in India...

Since it is mandatory to quote this number to avail many of financial work done, it is important to know how to obtain this PAN.

Though many of us already have valid PAN or there are many agents who help to obtain this PAN, nobody bother to know how to apply for PAN.

It is very simple and can be done at comfort of sitting in home through online. Only thing we should be aware of some simple tactics while applying.

There is two agencies through which PAN can be applied UTI and NSDL..through Form 49A. Through the same agencies correction in the PAN data base like correction in the spelling, change of name, change of address, change in signature can be done. Duplicate card can also be obtained.

It is well clear and understandable in the online website itself. But there are few points to note to avaoid rejection of new PAN application or correction application.

1. Make sure to enter the first name, middle name, sur name (IT department expects the supporting document also should have the name in the same format)

2. Father's name should not contain any initials. Meaning you have to expand your father's initial. SO take extra care while entering your grand father's name. (The supporting document also should contain your father's initial expanded)

3. While sending the document make sure to give a good photograph so that it will be clear on the printed card.

4. Sign the application clearly and legibly, so that it appears good on the card. This will prevent confusion while submitting for proof.

5. Enter your address clearly, as most of the banks, mutual fund companies, share trading agencies pull the address from the PAN database automatically even if you different address in those places. (Thanks to KYC process)(Make sure the supporting document also has the same address with spelling)

6. Enter your Aadhar correctly in the Application and it is better to submit the aadhar as address proof. There is high chance that it will be accepted. (If there is any change in address, first make changes in Aadhar and then apply for PAN. Making changes in Aadhar is very easy)

7. There is high probability that those who don't have Aadhar and passport, the other documents like driving licence, voter's id, ration card will not have the initials expanded and the father's name will not have grand father's name. SO it is better to utilise the option of getting a certificate from a Group A or Group B gazetted officer a certificate mentioning the correct name, address as a certificate of identity and address in the form Annexure A . This option will surely prevent the application from rejection.

8. Be sure not to give any false information in the PAN application. It's a double edged sword. Some or the other day it will make us to land in trouble.

9. If nothing is possible, you can always approach the authorised agents of UTI or NSDL (not the people who are sitting in browsing centres)

10. A single spelling mistake in PAN will create problem in getting back your hard earned investment money in future. Be careful...be a responsible citizen...Pay Tax properly.

Transfer of PPF Account From Post Office to Nationalised Bank

A decade ago no one bothered about opening a Public Provident Fund (PPF) account. But now as the Fixed Deposit interest going down and government is withdrawing the old pension systems people are becoming aware of some stable funds so that they beat the inflation during maturity. One such fund is PPF. It gives high interest rates at the cost of tax free returns and tax exemption for deposits. Which is actually a triple benefit investment. When compared other long term investment available in the market no other investment gives such huge advantage. 

Some people already had PPF accounts held in post office but they find it very difficult to manage.

1. Have to stand in que to deposit that too only upto 2.30PM.
2. No online facility available.
3. No proper legible Passbook updation
4. No accurate interest calculation.

To overcome these hurdles one can transfer the PPF account from post office to any nationalised bank which gives the PPF facility or ICICI bank only private bank which offers PPF facility.

But what matters is no one including Post Office officials or bank officials doesnt know exactly what to do on this transfer procedure.

Follow the procedure as explained below to get prompt service.

1. Download Form SB 10(b)
2. Fill up the form in duplicate and submit it along with your original Post Office PPF Pass book, PAN card copy, your bank savings account Passbook along with a written request on a plain paper requesting your transfer of PPF account to the bank to the Post Master.
3. Show the Instructions on PPF account given in the Post Office Passbook in case the post master claims that the transfer is not possible. (Usually at the first instance they will tell like that)
4. Wait for minimum 10 days and enquire with the post office weather they transfered the PPF account to the bank.
5. They will close the account making all the entries in passbook up-to-date. The interest upto 31st March of previous year will be added. They all the original documents available with them pertaining to your account to the bank which includes Passbook, original account opening application card, specimen signature, photo, a statement of all your transaction from the beginning along with a demand draft or cheque for the amount on closing the account.
6. NOTE: The interest from the 1st April upto the date of closing will not be added to the cheque or draft nor be calculated by the post office. It has to be done by the bank and added to your account on 31st March of the current financial year.
7. Usually bank will call you on receiving all the documents. But dont wait for that. Go and enquire personally.
8. In bank you are supposed to fillup a new account opening form, nomination form and give your address proof and PAN copy.
9. Make sure your the balance in your new PPF account is exactly the same as the closing in the Post Office.
10. After transfer link the PPF account with your internet banking account and manage your PPF account online without going to bank.
11. Give standing instruction for deposit into your PPF account so that you enjoy high interest since the interest in PPF is compounded annually.

NOTE:

1. Your original date of opening the PPF account in post office will be the opening date in bank.
2. Bank needs to enter the accrued interest from 1st April of current financial year upto the date of opening the account. This amount has to be entered in the coloumn as interest adjustment. This has to be done manually. (Bank officials are not aware of that)
3. You are not supposed to loose any interest at any cost due to delay in transfer of account.
4. All the transaction records in post office will not be reflected in your new bank passbook. So it is better to take photocopy of post office passbook before surrendering for transfer.
5. In case you have any problem download Post Office Manual and take printout of Rule No. 153 which talks about the procedure involved in Transfer of PPF accounts from post office to bank and vice versa.
6. The User interface of the Banks computer makes some procedure difficult. In such case ask the bank officials to call their superior. If you feel your unduly delayed of the procedure make a complaint in the website of the bank about the delay.

But important of all if you can wait for another one year with the Post Office you may get all the online benefits when India Post starts its banking service. Infosys has been assigned as the the technical solutions partner

ஆதினம் Vs இந்து அறநிலைய துறை

இந்த தலைப்பில் வெகு நாட்களாகவே எழுத வேண்டும் என்று ஒரு ஆர்வம. எதற்கு மத சார்பற்ற ஒரு நாட்டில் ஒரு மத வழிபாட்டு தலங்களை நிர்வகிக்க தனியாக ஒரு துறையே வேண்டும். அப்படி என்றால் நம் அரசு மதங்களை வளர்க்கிறதா? என்று பெரிய ஐயம்!!! ஆனால் சமிப காலங்களாக பல கோவில்களுக்கு சென்று வந்ததில் நிறைய தெரிந்து கொண்டேன். (நன்றி: எனக்கு விழுப்புரத்தில் பணி வழங்கிய அரசுக்கு!!)

எதற்கு இந்த இந்து அறநிலைய துறை...? ஏன் இந்த ஆதினங்கள்...? இவை என்ன செய்து கொண்டு இருக்கின்றன...? இப்படி பல கேள்விகள்...!!

இந்து அறநிலைய துறை என்று தனியாக துறை இந்தியாவில் தென் மாநிலங்களில் மட்டுமே இருக்கிறது. இந்து மதங்கள் வடஇந்தியாவிலும் பரவி இருந்தாலும்கூட தென் மாநிலங்களில் குறிப்பாக சுதந்திரத்திற்கு முந்தைய தமிழகத்தில் வேருன்றி செழிப்பாக இருந்தது. இவற்றையெல்லாம் ஆதினங்களும் மடாதிபதிகளும் இன்னும் பிற பரம்பரை குடும்பங்களும் நிர்வகித்து வந்தன. கணக்கில் கொண்டு வர முடியாத அளவிற்கான சொத்துக்கள்..அளவிட முடியாத எண்ணிக்கையில் தங்க ஆபரணங்கள் இவர்களால் நிர்வகிக்க பட்டது.

இதில் ஆதினங்களால் நிர்வகிக்க பட்ட கோவில்கள் சமுக காரியங்களில் ஈடுபட்டன. அன்னதானங்கள், கல்வி, சமுக வளர்ச்சி போன்ற காரியங்களில் ஈடுபட்டன. ஆனால் சில கோவில்கள் தனிப்பட்ட குடுபங்களின் கையில் இருந்தன. இதை கவனித்த ஆங்கில அரசு கோவில்களை நிர்வகிக்க சில அமைப்புகளை ஏற்படுத்தின. அவை சில பல மாற்றங்கள் பெற்று இன்று இந்து அறநிலைய துறையாக அரசாங்கத்தின் ஒரு அமைப்பாக செயல்படுகின்றன. நன்றாக செயல்படும் ஆதின கோவில்கள் தொடர்ந்து ஆதினங்களின் கட்டுபாட்டில் தொடர்கின்றன.

சரி என்னடா இவன் ஆதினம் Vs இந்து அறநிலைய துறை அப்படினு தலைப்பு வெச்சிட்டு எதை எதையோ பேசிட்டு இருக்கானு நினைத்தால் இதோ விஷயத்துக்கு வருகிறேன்.

1. ஆதினம், அரசு இரண்டுமே கடவுள், பக்தி, நம்பிக்கை என்று ஒரே விஷயத்தில் இணைத்து விடுகின்றன.
2. ஆதினங்கள் மனிதர்களுக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் அளிக்கின்றன, அரசு பணத்திற்கு முக்கியத்துவம் அளிக்கின்றன.(ஆதினங்களில் உள்ளே பணம் கொடுத்தால் போதும், அரசு கோவில்களில் உள்ளே செல்லவே பணம் கொடுக்க வேண்டும்)
3. ஆதினங்கள் கருவறைகளை மட்டும் சுத்தமாக வைக்கின்றன, அரசு கோவில் அலுவலகங்களை சுத்தமாக வைக்கின்றன.(அமைச்சர்கள், அதிகாரிகள் வரும்போது மட்டும் கோவில்கள் பளபளக்கும்)
4. ஆதினங்கள் தன் கோவிலின் மகிமையை வெளியே சொல்ல மறுக்கின்றன, அரசு விளம்பரபடுதுகின்றன.(அங்கே பொறுப்பு பறிபோய்விடும் என்று பயம், இங்கு பணம் பறிபோய்விடும் என்று பயம்)
5. ஆதினங்கள் இருப்பதை காக்க நினைக்கின்றன, அரசு இல்லாததை வளர்க்க நினைக்கின்றன.(இருக்கும் நம்பிக்கை, இல்லாத மகிமை)
6. ஊழல் நடந்தால் சம்மந்தப்பட்டவர்கள் ஆதினங்களில் பயனடைவார்கள், அரசில் சம்மந்தமே இல்லாத மூன்றாம் நபர் பயனடைவார்)
7. ஆதினத்தில் விபூதி, குங்குமம் கையில் கிடைக்கும், அரசில் பாக்கெட்டுகளில் கிடைக்கும்.(அங்கே தட்டில் பணம் போட்டால், இங்கே சிறப்பு தரிசனத்தில் சென்றால்)
8. ஆதினத்தில் கற்பூரம் ஏற்றலாம், அரசில் பணம் இருந்தால்தான் விளக்கே ஏற்ற முடியும்.
9. ஆதினத்தில் புகைப்படம் எடுக்கலாம், அரசில் பணம் இருந்தால் எடுக்கலாம்.(செல்போன் விதிவிலக்கு. ஆனால் புகைப்படம் எடுத்தால் தீட்டாகும்)
10. ஆதினத்தில் அத்துமீறி போனால் அபத்தம், அரசில் அத்துமீறி போனால் அபராதம்.

ஆக இரண்டுமே ஒன்றையே செய்கின்றன. வியாபாரம். கடவுளை, நம்பிக்கையை, பக்தியை, முடிவாக தனி மனிதனை...!!!