Here’s the Income Tax Slabs for the financial year 2012-13, based on the budget presented by the Finance Minister on 16th March 2012.
General
Till 2,00,000 – 0%
2,00,001 ~ 5,00,000 – 10%
5,00,001 ~ 10,00,000 – 20%
Above 10,00,000 – 30%
Senior Citizen (Between 60 & 80 years)
Till 2,50,000 – 0%
2,50,001 ~ 5,00,000 – 10%
5,00,001 ~ 10,00,000 – 20%
Above 10,00,000 – 30%
Very Senior Citizen (Above 80 years)
Till 5,00,000 – 0%
5,00,001 ~ 10,00,000 – 20%
Above 10,00,000 – 30%
Comments
The Finance Minister didn’t mention about a separate tax slab for women. Either it is awaited or we will see that it is unified with the General category. I think the unification of tax slabs for men and women makes greater sense.
The first slab is raised from 1,80,000 to 2,00,000 leading to a maximum tax savings of 2,000 in this slab. People earning income between 8,00,000 and 10,00,000 are the biggest beneficiaries of the new tax slabs as this range of income moves from a 30% slab to 20% slab, resulting in a maximum tax savings of 20,000.
Overall, this is not a great relaxation for the income earning populace at a time when the cost of living has consistently been higher and is not showing any signs of cooling.
Related Articles
- India moving closer to adopt GST
- New Income Tax Slabs
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- No proof required for LTA & Conveyance allowance claims
- How to file Income Tax returns online
- How to check whether your employer/financial institution have deposited your TDS?
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Monday, 27 February 2012
Inflation rates of India (2012)
This post tracks inflation rates of India for the year 2012. To have a look at previous inflation rates, please read,
- Inflation rates of India (2010)
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
Before that, a few facts about inflation rate calculation in India.
- Inflation in India is based on Wholesale Price Index
- A set of 435 commodities are used for the WPI based inflation calculation
- The base year for WPI calculation is 1993-94
- WPI is available at the end of every month, for a period of 1 year ended that month
Latest Inflation Rate
- 2012 Feb - 6.95% (via)
(for 12 months ended on the given month)
Previous Inflation Rates (for 12 months ended on given month)
- 2012 Feb - 6.95% (via)
- 2012 Jan - 6.55% (via)
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2010)
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
- Inflation rates of India (2010)
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
Before that, a few facts about inflation rate calculation in India.
- Inflation in India is based on Wholesale Price Index
- A set of 435 commodities are used for the WPI based inflation calculation
- The base year for WPI calculation is 1993-94
- WPI is available at the end of every month, for a period of 1 year ended that month
Latest Inflation Rate
- 2012 Feb - 6.95% (via)
(for 12 months ended on the given month)
Previous Inflation Rates (for 12 months ended on given month)
- 2012 Feb - 6.95% (via)
- 2012 Jan - 6.55% (via)
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2010)
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Gold Reserves and Demand
As per World Gold Council statistics, the world official gold holdings as of September 2010 stands as follows.
Please click here to read the entire report on world official gold holdings as of September 2010, released by the World Gold Council.
Please note that the report shows only the gold reserves owned by the governments of these countries and doesn't include the demand for gold jewellery from the people of these countries.
When it comes to the demand for gold for jewellery, India still remains the largest jewellery market in the world, accounting for more than 25% of global gold jewellery demand, which is followed by China. To give an indicative figure for the demand for gold for jewellery, in Q2 2010,
Global gold jewellery demand: 408.7 tonnes
Gold jewellery demand in India: 123.0 tonnes
Gold jewellery demand in China: 75.4 tonnes
Seems the yellow metal's dream run will continue for a long time.
Related Articles
- The Rising Gold
| # | Country | Gold Reserves (Tonnes) |
| 1 | USA | 8,133.5 |
| 2 | Germany | 3,402.5 |
| 3 | Italy | 2,451.8 |
| 4 | France | 2,435.4 |
| 5 | China | 1,054.1 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 1,040.1 |
| 7 | Japan | 765.2 |
| 8 | Russia | 726.0 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 612.5 |
| 10 | India | 557.7 |
Please click here to read the entire report on world official gold holdings as of September 2010, released by the World Gold Council.
Please note that the report shows only the gold reserves owned by the governments of these countries and doesn't include the demand for gold jewellery from the people of these countries.
When it comes to the demand for gold for jewellery, India still remains the largest jewellery market in the world, accounting for more than 25% of global gold jewellery demand, which is followed by China. To give an indicative figure for the demand for gold for jewellery, in Q2 2010,
Global gold jewellery demand: 408.7 tonnes
Gold jewellery demand in India: 123.0 tonnes
Gold jewellery demand in China: 75.4 tonnes
Seems the yellow metal's dream run will continue for a long time.
Related Articles
- The Rising Gold
Monday, 14 June 2010
What is ISIN?
ISIN or International Securities Identification Number is a 12 character alpha-numeric code that uniquely identifies a security, across the world. The securities include shares, bonds, warrants etc. For example, the ISIN of Bharti Airtel is INE397D01024.
ISIN constitutes of three parts. It starts with a two letter country code. In the case of Bharti Airtel the country code is IN (India). The country code is according to the ‘ISO 3166-1 alpha-2’ standard.
The country code is followed by a nine character alpha-numeric national security identification code assigned to a security by the governing bodies in each country. In the case of Bharti Airtel, the national security identification code is ‘E397D0102’. This is followed by a single character check digit, which will validate the ISIN code. The detail of how this validation is done is illustrated here.
In a time when security trading across countries has become rampant, having a unique identifier for a security greatly helps traders as well as brokers in various countries to unambiguously identify and trade a security.
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- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- What are the 30 Stocks of BSE SENSEX?
- Online share trading websites of India
- SEBI mandates Rs. per share dividend declaration
- Money no longer gets locked in IPOs
ISIN constitutes of three parts. It starts with a two letter country code. In the case of Bharti Airtel the country code is IN (India). The country code is according to the ‘ISO 3166-1 alpha-2’ standard.
The country code is followed by a nine character alpha-numeric national security identification code assigned to a security by the governing bodies in each country. In the case of Bharti Airtel, the national security identification code is ‘E397D0102’. This is followed by a single character check digit, which will validate the ISIN code. The detail of how this validation is done is illustrated here.
In a time when security trading across countries has become rampant, having a unique identifier for a security greatly helps traders as well as brokers in various countries to unambiguously identify and trade a security.
Related Articles
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- What are the 30 Stocks of BSE SENSEX?
- Online share trading websites of India
- SEBI mandates Rs. per share dividend declaration
- Money no longer gets locked in IPOs
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
What went wrong with RBS?
A nice and indepth article that came in The Economist, which describes what went wrong with RBS.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Inflation rates of India (2010)
This post tracks inflation rates of India for the year 2010, like Inflation rates of India (2009) did for 2009 and Inflation rates of India (2008) did for 2008. Before that, a few facts about inflation rate calculation in India.
- Inflation in India is based on Wholesale Price Index
- A set of 435 commodities are used for the WPI based inflation calculation
- The base year for WPI calculation is 1993-94
- WPI is available at the end of every month, for a period of 1 year ended that day
Latest Inflation Rate
- 2010 Sep - 8.62% (via)
(for 12 months ended on the given month)
Previous Inflation Rates (for 12 months ended on given month)
- 2010 Aug - 8.51% (via)
- 2010 Jul - 9.97% (via)
- 2010 Jun - 10.55% (via)
- 2010 May - 10.16% (via)
- 2010 Apr - 9.59% (via)
- 2010 Mar - 9.90% (via)
- 2010 Feb - 9.89% (via)
- 2010 Jan - 8.56% (via)
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
- Inflation in India is based on Wholesale Price Index
- A set of 435 commodities are used for the WPI based inflation calculation
- The base year for WPI calculation is 1993-94
- WPI is available at the end of every month, for a period of 1 year ended that day
Latest Inflation Rate
- 2010 Sep - 8.62% (via)
(for 12 months ended on the given month)
Previous Inflation Rates (for 12 months ended on given month)
- 2010 Aug - 8.51% (via)
- 2010 Jul - 9.97% (via)
- 2010 Jun - 10.55% (via)
- 2010 May - 10.16% (via)
- 2010 Apr - 9.59% (via)
- 2010 Mar - 9.90% (via)
- 2010 Feb - 9.89% (via)
- 2010 Jan - 8.56% (via)
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
20-20 rule in stock selection? Interesting!
ET has this interesting article on stock selection in a bearish/bullish market. The idea it churns out is something like this.
When the markets are declining, people don’t buy stocks because they doubt that the stock prices would decline further, resulting in a loss or else they will wait to buy the stock at the lowest point. But the article argues that waiting to buy stocks at the lowest point may not be fruitful because, less and less people sell stocks as its price nears the lowest point.
On the other hand, when the markets are bullish, people don’t sell stocks because they doubt the stock prices would go higher or they wait for the stock prices to reach the highest point. And, here the article argues that at the highest point there would be less and less people willing to buy the stock and hence selling it at the highest price may not be possible.
Due to this phenomenon, the article suggests that in a bear market, buy stocks when the market goes down by 20%, rather than waiting for it to touch the lowest point and in a bull market, sell stocks when the markets goes up by 20% rather than waiting for it to touch the peak.
Interesting though!
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- Now Interest Rate Futures can be traded in National Stock Exchange
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When the markets are declining, people don’t buy stocks because they doubt that the stock prices would decline further, resulting in a loss or else they will wait to buy the stock at the lowest point. But the article argues that waiting to buy stocks at the lowest point may not be fruitful because, less and less people sell stocks as its price nears the lowest point.
On the other hand, when the markets are bullish, people don’t sell stocks because they doubt the stock prices would go higher or they wait for the stock prices to reach the highest point. And, here the article argues that at the highest point there would be less and less people willing to buy the stock and hence selling it at the highest price may not be possible.
Due to this phenomenon, the article suggests that in a bear market, buy stocks when the market goes down by 20%, rather than waiting for it to touch the lowest point and in a bull market, sell stocks when the markets goes up by 20% rather than waiting for it to touch the peak.
Interesting though!
Related Articles
- SEBI makes IPOs more transparent
- Now Interest Rate Futures can be traded in National Stock Exchange
- SEBI mandates Rs. per share dividend declaration
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- What are the 30 Stocks of BSE SENSEX
Thursday, 17 December 2009
New system for inflation rates in India
No, the government is not moving towards implementing CPI based inflation calculation, but from October onwards, instead of releasing weekly inflation figures, the full data on wholesale price index will be released only on a monthly basis.
As per the decision taken by the government, the weekly index figures will not be released for manufactured products, but will be limited to primary articles and fuels. Manufactured products have a weightage of 63.74851%, while primary articles and fuel have weightages 22.02525% and 14.22624% respectively in inflation calculation.
The government says that the practice of releasing weekly inflation rates is scrapped to curb "volatility" in the markets. But, is it a gradual shift towards adopting CPI, where CPI figures are generally released on a monthly basis?
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
As per the decision taken by the government, the weekly index figures will not be released for manufactured products, but will be limited to primary articles and fuels. Manufactured products have a weightage of 63.74851%, while primary articles and fuel have weightages 22.02525% and 14.22624% respectively in inflation calculation.
The government says that the practice of releasing weekly inflation rates is scrapped to curb "volatility" in the markets. But, is it a gradual shift towards adopting CPI, where CPI figures are generally released on a monthly basis?
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2009)
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
India moving closer to adopt GST
The 13th Finance Commission (TFC) has endorsed its proposal for single goods and services tax (GST) and recommended a “revenue-neutral” rate of 12% – Livemint.
Of the 12%, 5% will go to the center and 7% to the states. From the state’s share, 2% will go to third tier of governments made up of panchayats and local bodies.
Currently different states charge different tax rates for the same goods and services and there’s an incentive for an individual to purchase goods from a state where tax rates are lower. The difference in tax rates sometimes lead to the smuggling of goods as well.
Once adopted, GST will enable uniform tax rates for similar goods and services across the country. It would economically unify the country, reduce the incidence of tax and ensure greater revenue through better compliance. Most of developed countries of the world use GST.
The union government had promised to adopt GST by 1st April 2010, but has been unable to get the states to agree to the schedule. Some states fear that they would lose their existing tax revenues if they adopt GST.
To take care of this apprehension, the commission recommends creating a ‘safety net’ (a compensation fund with a corpus of Rs. 30,000 crore) in five years by the center. Any state which suffers a revenue loss from implementing GST shall be compensated using the safety net.
Related Articles
- New Income Tax Slabs
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- No proof required for LTA & Conveyance allowance claims
- How to file Income Tax returns online
- How to check whether your employer/financial institution have deposited your TDS?
Of the 12%, 5% will go to the center and 7% to the states. From the state’s share, 2% will go to third tier of governments made up of panchayats and local bodies.
Currently different states charge different tax rates for the same goods and services and there’s an incentive for an individual to purchase goods from a state where tax rates are lower. The difference in tax rates sometimes lead to the smuggling of goods as well.
Once adopted, GST will enable uniform tax rates for similar goods and services across the country. It would economically unify the country, reduce the incidence of tax and ensure greater revenue through better compliance. Most of developed countries of the world use GST.
The union government had promised to adopt GST by 1st April 2010, but has been unable to get the states to agree to the schedule. Some states fear that they would lose their existing tax revenues if they adopt GST.
To take care of this apprehension, the commission recommends creating a ‘safety net’ (a compensation fund with a corpus of Rs. 30,000 crore) in five years by the center. Any state which suffers a revenue loss from implementing GST shall be compensated using the safety net.
Related Articles
- New Income Tax Slabs
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- No proof required for LTA & Conveyance allowance claims
- How to file Income Tax returns online
- How to check whether your employer/financial institution have deposited your TDS?
Monday, 14 December 2009
Online car insurance rates
It is unavoidable to have insurance for our car when we own one. Car insurance not only covers the money required to do rework on a car after an accident, but it also covers the life of the passengers inside. Hence, driving without car insurance is a huge risk that a person is taking. And most of the times a car insurance is mandated by the laws of a nation. Then it becomes all the more important to have insurance for our car.
There are umpteen insurance companies that offer car insurance to the public. They offer various schemes with varying options. So much so that sometimes we have to do a thorough research before finalizing on a particular insurance company. That’s where websites that provide auto insurance reviews come to our rescue. They provide all the information one would need when he is going for car insurance.
The site allows us to compare car insurances offered by several companies so that we can make an informed decision before we purchase one. It also helps the users to evaluate insurance coverage and rates of various insurance policies and has good articles that can educate an interested person. Thus finding car insurance that is appropriate for one’s personal needs would be quite easy while using the site.
There are umpteen insurance companies that offer car insurance to the public. They offer various schemes with varying options. So much so that sometimes we have to do a thorough research before finalizing on a particular insurance company. That’s where websites that provide auto insurance reviews come to our rescue. They provide all the information one would need when he is going for car insurance.
The site allows us to compare car insurances offered by several companies so that we can make an informed decision before we purchase one. It also helps the users to evaluate insurance coverage and rates of various insurance policies and has good articles that can educate an interested person. Thus finding car insurance that is appropriate for one’s personal needs would be quite easy while using the site.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
SEBI makes IPOs more transparent
The Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI, issued a new investor protection guideline that prevents companies doing IPO from sharing information, which is not available for the outside world, with their IPO arrangers.
Previously, a company going for an IPO shared key financial information with the investment bank arranging the IPO; information which is available only to the bank and not to others. The investment bank would then prepare research reports which are based on this extra information. The reports are shared with institutional investors prior to the filing of the prospectus and are not available to retail or ordinary investors.
So, one could easily make out that the additional information would make IPO estimations by the investment bank dealing with the IPO more accurate and give institutional investors an unfair advantage against other investors. Given this situation, the tweak from SEBI which says,
Related Articles
- Now Interest Rate Futures can be traded in National Stock Exchange
- SEBI mandates Rs. per share dividend declaration
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- Application Supported by Blocked Amount for IPOs
- Money no longer gets locked in IPOs
Previously, a company going for an IPO shared key financial information with the investment bank arranging the IPO; information which is available only to the bank and not to others. The investment bank would then prepare research reports which are based on this extra information. The reports are shared with institutional investors prior to the filing of the prospectus and are not available to retail or ordinary investors.
So, one could easily make out that the additional information would make IPO estimations by the investment bank dealing with the IPO more accurate and give institutional investors an unfair advantage against other investors. Given this situation, the tweak from SEBI which says,
“no selective or additional information or information extraneous to the offer document shall be made available by the issuer or any member of the issue management team/syndicate to any particular section of the investors or to any research analyst in any manner whatsoever including at road shows, presentations, in research or sales reports or at bidding centers”shall provide a level playing ground for investors alike and would bridge problems associated with information asymmetry.
Related Articles
- Now Interest Rate Futures can be traded in National Stock Exchange
- SEBI mandates Rs. per share dividend declaration
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- Application Supported by Blocked Amount for IPOs
- Money no longer gets locked in IPOs
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Now Interest Rate Futures can be traded in National Stock Exchange
After a gap of six years, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India re-launched trading in Interest Rate Futures. This will give the investor an opportunity to speculate and trade with these advanced financial instruments.
Interest Rate Futures allow institutions to hedge risk associated with interest rate fluctuations. They can reduce the risk associated with cash flows resulting from underlying assets such as home loans, long term fixed deposits etc.
However, in India, the underlying asset on which the interest rate future is based on is a 10 year notional coupon bearing government security. Have a look at this small series that came in ET, which talks about few things one has to consider before trading in interest rate futures.
Interest Rate Futures allow institutions to hedge risk associated with interest rate fluctuations. They can reduce the risk associated with cash flows resulting from underlying assets such as home loans, long term fixed deposits etc.
However, in India, the underlying asset on which the interest rate future is based on is a 10 year notional coupon bearing government security. Have a look at this small series that came in ET, which talks about few things one has to consider before trading in interest rate futures.
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Inflation rates of India (2009)
This post tracks inflation rates of India for the year 2009, like Inflation rates of India (2008) did for 2008. Before that, a few facts about inflation rate calculation in India.
- Inflation in India is based on Wholesale Price Index
- A set of 435 commodities are used for the WPI based inflation calculation
- The base year for WPI calculation is 1993-94
- WPI is available at the end of every week (generally Saturday), for a period of 1 year ended that day
- It has a time lag of 2 weeks (WPI for the year ended two weeks back will be available this week)
Latest Inflation Rate
- 2009 Nov - 4.78% (via)
(for 12 months ended on the given month)
Previous Inflation Rates (for 12 months ended on given date/month)
- 2009 Oct - 1.34% (via)
- 2009 Oct 17 - 1.51% (via)
- 2009 Oct 10 - 1.21% (via)
- 2009 Oct 03 - 0.92% (via)
- 2009 Sep 26 - 0.70% (via)
- 2009 Sep 19 - 0.83% (via)
- 2009 Sep 12 - 0.37% (via)
- 2009 Sep 05 - 0.12% (via)
- 2009 Aug 29 - (-0.12)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 22 - (-0.21)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 15 - (-0.95)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 08 - (-1.53)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 01 - (-1.74)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 25 - (-1.58)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 18 - (-1.54)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 11 - (-1.17)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 04 - (-1.21)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 27 - (-1.55)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 20 - (-1.30)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 13 - (-1.14)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 06 - (-1.61)% (via)
- 2009 May 30 - 0.13% (via)
- 2009 May 23 - 0.48% (via)
- 2009 May 16 - 0.61% (via)
- 2009 May 09 - 0.61% (via)
- 2009 May 02 - 0.48% (via)
- 2009 Apr 25 - 0.75% (via)
- 2009 Apr 18 - 0.57% (via)
- 2009 Apr 11 - 0.26% (via)
- 2009 Apr 04 - 0.18% (via)
- 2009 Mar 28 - 0.26% (via)
- 2009 Mar 21 - 0.31% (via)
- 2009 Mar 14 - 0.27% (via)
- 2009 Mar 07 - 0.44% (via)
- 2009 Feb 28 - 2.43% (via)
- 2009 Feb 21 - 3.03% (via)
- 2009 Feb 14 - 3.36% (via)
- 2009 Feb 7 - 3.92% (via)
- 2009 Jan 31 - 4.39% (via)
- 2009 Jan 24 - 5.07% (via)
- 2009 Jan 17 - 5.64% (via)
- 2009 Jan 10 - 5.60% (via)
- 2009 Jan 3 - 5.24% (via)
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
- Inflation in India is based on Wholesale Price Index
- A set of 435 commodities are used for the WPI based inflation calculation
- The base year for WPI calculation is 1993-94
- WPI is available at the end of every week (generally Saturday), for a period of 1 year ended that day
- It has a time lag of 2 weeks (WPI for the year ended two weeks back will be available this week)
Latest Inflation Rate
- 2009 Nov - 4.78% (via)
(for 12 months ended on the given month)
Previous Inflation Rates (for 12 months ended on given date/month)
- 2009 Oct - 1.34% (via)
- 2009 Oct 17 - 1.51% (via)
- 2009 Oct 10 - 1.21% (via)
- 2009 Oct 03 - 0.92% (via)
- 2009 Sep 26 - 0.70% (via)
- 2009 Sep 19 - 0.83% (via)
- 2009 Sep 12 - 0.37% (via)
- 2009 Sep 05 - 0.12% (via)
- 2009 Aug 29 - (-0.12)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 22 - (-0.21)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 15 - (-0.95)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 08 - (-1.53)% (via)
- 2009 Aug 01 - (-1.74)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 25 - (-1.58)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 18 - (-1.54)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 11 - (-1.17)% (via)
- 2009 Jul 04 - (-1.21)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 27 - (-1.55)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 20 - (-1.30)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 13 - (-1.14)% (via)
- 2009 Jun 06 - (-1.61)% (via)
- 2009 May 30 - 0.13% (via)
- 2009 May 23 - 0.48% (via)
- 2009 May 16 - 0.61% (via)
- 2009 May 09 - 0.61% (via)
- 2009 May 02 - 0.48% (via)
- 2009 Apr 25 - 0.75% (via)
- 2009 Apr 18 - 0.57% (via)
- 2009 Apr 11 - 0.26% (via)
- 2009 Apr 04 - 0.18% (via)
- 2009 Mar 28 - 0.26% (via)
- 2009 Mar 21 - 0.31% (via)
- 2009 Mar 14 - 0.27% (via)
- 2009 Mar 07 - 0.44% (via)
- 2009 Feb 28 - 2.43% (via)
- 2009 Feb 21 - 3.03% (via)
- 2009 Feb 14 - 3.36% (via)
- 2009 Feb 7 - 3.92% (via)
- 2009 Jan 31 - 4.39% (via)
- 2009 Jan 24 - 5.07% (via)
- 2009 Jan 17 - 5.64% (via)
- 2009 Jan 10 - 5.60% (via)
- 2009 Jan 3 - 5.24% (via)
Related Articles
- Inflation rates of India (2008)
- How is WPI inflation rate calculated in India?
- Commodities and their weight-ages in WPI calculation of India
- Base year and number of commodities used for inflation calculation in India
- The magic of Inflation
Monday, 6 July 2009
New Income Tax Slabs
In the union budget for financial year 2009-10, the Finance Minister has announced new tax slabs.
General
Till 1,60,000 – 0%
1,60,001 – 3,00,000 – 10%
3,00,001 – 5,00,000 – 20%
Above 5,00,000 – 30%
Women
Till 1,90,000 – 0%
1,90,000 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general
Senior Citizen
Till 2,40,000 – 0%
2,40,001 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general
As you can see, compared to the last change, there is a 10,000 rupees increase in the first slab across all categories, while the remaining slabs remain unchanged. This would lead to a maximum savings of 1000 rupees for a tax payer whose income falls above Rs. 1,60,000. This may not be a significant saving for many.
However the interesting thing to note is that there is no 10% surcharge for incomes above 10 lakhs. This is a welcome move because I feel progressive taxation is counter productive to an aspiring population. Eventhough these tax sops would make holes in government's revenues, I guess the government is looking to increase the expendable surplus of the populace so as to boost up the economic downturn.
General
Till 1,60,000 – 0%
1,60,001 – 3,00,000 – 10%
3,00,001 – 5,00,000 – 20%
Above 5,00,000 – 30%
Women
Till 1,90,000 – 0%
1,90,000 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general
Senior Citizen
Till 2,40,000 – 0%
2,40,001 – 3,00,000 – 10%
Remaining tax rates are same as general
As you can see, compared to the last change, there is a 10,000 rupees increase in the first slab across all categories, while the remaining slabs remain unchanged. This would lead to a maximum savings of 1000 rupees for a tax payer whose income falls above Rs. 1,60,000. This may not be a significant saving for many.
However the interesting thing to note is that there is no 10% surcharge for incomes above 10 lakhs. This is a welcome move because I feel progressive taxation is counter productive to an aspiring population. Eventhough these tax sops would make holes in government's revenues, I guess the government is looking to increase the expendable surplus of the populace so as to boost up the economic downturn.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Indian Inflation turns negative
For the first time since 1977, India's WPI Inflation rate fell to -1.61% for the week ended on June 6 2009!
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
SEBI mandates Rs. per share dividend declaration
In a good move, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI, has asked listed companies to declare dividends on a per share basis rather than on a percentage basis. For example, a company having shares of face value Rs. 10, and declaring a dividend of Rs. 5, will have to say that it has declared a dividend of Rs. 5 per share and not a dividend of 50%.
This is meant to bring more clarity to an average investor who sometimes gets caught up in the jugglery of percentages and values when companies declare dividends. Thus, it will bring uniformity in the declaration of dividends by listed companies.
The move will clear the confusion among share holders whether the dividend declared was a percentage of the face value or the market price. It also becomes relevant when companies reduce the face value of shares over a period of time, which some investors might not be able to track.
Also, the calculation of actual returns in terms of Rupees becomes much easier, when the dividend information is available on a per share basis. Share holders will just have to multiply the number of shares they own by the dividend per share amount that the company declares. And for the mathematically inclined, they can just go ahead and calculate the dividend percentage if they want.
The change will be with immediate effect. More news here.
Related Articles
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- Application Supported by Blocked Amount for IPOs
- Online share trading websites of India
- What are the 30 Stocks of BSE SENSEX
This is meant to bring more clarity to an average investor who sometimes gets caught up in the jugglery of percentages and values when companies declare dividends. Thus, it will bring uniformity in the declaration of dividends by listed companies.
The move will clear the confusion among share holders whether the dividend declared was a percentage of the face value or the market price. It also becomes relevant when companies reduce the face value of shares over a period of time, which some investors might not be able to track.
Also, the calculation of actual returns in terms of Rupees becomes much easier, when the dividend information is available on a per share basis. Share holders will just have to multiply the number of shares they own by the dividend per share amount that the company declares. And for the mathematically inclined, they can just go ahead and calculate the dividend percentage if they want.
The change will be with immediate effect. More news here.
Related Articles
- How does Short Term Capital Gain/Loss work?
- Application Supported by Blocked Amount for IPOs
- Online share trading websites of India
- What are the 30 Stocks of BSE SENSEX
Saturday, 18 April 2009
The Stock Markets may be on Recovery
The Indian Stock Markets have performed promisingly well in the last few weeks. Though the performance wasn’t an all-round one comprising many different stocks, few of them upped the ante of the markets and had set the mood.
While it can’t be said with certainty that the economic slowdown and the stock markets are on a recovery path, there are few factors which may make it happen.
1. The economic stimulus packages issued and to be issued by countries world-wide would have created confidence in investor minds that the markets may not go down further if they put their money in.
2. Monetary policies (reduction in CRR, prime lending rates etc.) by governments that result in more money in the hands of people there by increasing their spending and investments (or, increasing liquidity in the economy), improving the economic situation.
Meanwhile, here’s a list of 10 stocks, compiled by Economic Times, which rose by more than 100% in the current market recovery.
While it can’t be said with certainty that the economic slowdown and the stock markets are on a recovery path, there are few factors which may make it happen.
1. The economic stimulus packages issued and to be issued by countries world-wide would have created confidence in investor minds that the markets may not go down further if they put their money in.
2. Monetary policies (reduction in CRR, prime lending rates etc.) by governments that result in more money in the hands of people there by increasing their spending and investments (or, increasing liquidity in the economy), improving the economic situation.
Meanwhile, here’s a list of 10 stocks, compiled by Economic Times, which rose by more than 100% in the current market recovery.
Friday, 17 April 2009
India’s new Bimetallic 10 Rupee Coin
I might be a little late on this news, but here’s the picture of the new (and first ever) bimetallic coin of Rupees 10 denomination issued by the government of India. The outer ring of the coin is made up of Aluminum and Bronze alloy while the inner section is made up of Nickel and Copper alloy.There are two themes for the coin.
1) Unity in Diversity and
2) Connectivity and Information Technology.
The coin in the picture has the first theme, Unity in Diversity.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
What makes Swiss Bank Accounts safe and secure?
Recently, discussions about Swiss Bank Accounts came into prominence in Indian media further to the revelation that Indian nationals have a whopping 1456 billion US dollars in Swiss Bank accounts. This means Indians have more money in Swiss Bank Accounts than the rest of the world combined. Leaving aside this story, let’s concentrate on Swiss Bank Accounts and what makes them safe and secure.
In many novels and films, we have seen intriguing stories associated with Swiss Bank Accounts, like in Bourne Identity, Da Vinci Code etc. Even though most of these actually don’t happen in a Swiss Bank Account, lots of people consider Switzerland to be a place where they can keep their money safe and secure. There are a few factors that make it so.
The Banking Act of 1934 was passed in Switzerland to prevent Swiss Banks from divulging depositor information to other countries during world war period, with which those countries tried to confiscate the assets owned by the customers of Swiss Banks, especially the Jews, in the name of “the good of state”. But then the Act stayed on and provided enough privacy to depositors of Swiss Bank Accounts.
Switzerland is a very stable country and it maintains a policy of neutrality with other countries. It maintained neutrality in both World Wars, is not a member of the European Union and was not even a member of the United Nations until 2002. That’s why many of the world organizations have their headquarters in Switzerland. Thus the country doesn’t have a need to succumb to pressures from international treaties and obligations. All these make its economy robust and the banking system highly stable.
Also, Switzerland is a tax haven for depositors of other countries. For nonresident depositors of Switzerland there are no taxes if they don’t reside in EU or don’t invest in Swiss companies, making it a promising place to put their money in.
Good Reads
- How Swiss Bank Accounts Work?
In many novels and films, we have seen intriguing stories associated with Swiss Bank Accounts, like in Bourne Identity, Da Vinci Code etc. Even though most of these actually don’t happen in a Swiss Bank Account, lots of people consider Switzerland to be a place where they can keep their money safe and secure. There are a few factors that make it so.
The Banking Act of 1934 was passed in Switzerland to prevent Swiss Banks from divulging depositor information to other countries during world war period, with which those countries tried to confiscate the assets owned by the customers of Swiss Banks, especially the Jews, in the name of “the good of state”. But then the Act stayed on and provided enough privacy to depositors of Swiss Bank Accounts.
Switzerland is a very stable country and it maintains a policy of neutrality with other countries. It maintained neutrality in both World Wars, is not a member of the European Union and was not even a member of the United Nations until 2002. That’s why many of the world organizations have their headquarters in Switzerland. Thus the country doesn’t have a need to succumb to pressures from international treaties and obligations. All these make its economy robust and the banking system highly stable.
Also, Switzerland is a tax haven for depositors of other countries. For nonresident depositors of Switzerland there are no taxes if they don’t reside in EU or don’t invest in Swiss companies, making it a promising place to put their money in.
Good Reads
- How Swiss Bank Accounts Work?
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
What is SWIFT?
Being an NRI (Non Residential Indian), once in a while I sent money to India. Unlike before, nowadays it all happens online and is quite easy. Within the comforts of my home, I just need to login to my internet banking account, 
do some clicks and money will reach my bank account in India in a couple of days. My bank makes it possible through SWIFT!
SWIFT or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is a worldwide network for financial messages through which its members (i.e. financial institutions such as banks) can exchange messages related to money transfer for their customers. The messages are sent securely and reliably to the target member financial institution of SWIFT.
By the way, SWIFT is just a messaging service and it doesn’t facilitate actual cash transfer between banks. For doing that, the banks that exchange authorization message for money transfer shall have an external banking relation between them and normally they settle the actual cash transfer in parallel.
But the point is, once the authorization for the release of funds are sent through SWIFT, the target bank can release the money to the end user’s account and the bank is assured of the money from the sending bank. Sometimes, the target bank will have a branch in the sending bank’s country or vice versa and they may settle it within the purview of a single country.
Thus, the end user will receive the money without needing to know the hassles of exchange rate conversion and various other formalities, which happen in parallel between the banks. Also, the user will receive money, irrespective of the time taken for all these.
Over 8,700 banking organizations, securities institutions and corporate customers in more than 209 countries use SWIFT for transferring financial messages, making it the most widely used network for international financial messaging. Each financial institution registered with SWIFT is identified by a bank identifier code popularly known as the ‘SWIFT Code’.
Through SWIFT, transfer of funds to various countries can be completely automated; where the core-banking solution of the bank can directly communicate with SWIFT to do the transfer. This makes the process of money transfer more efficient, secure and with lower cost. Thus, SWIFT makes the process of transferring funds across the globe a lot easier.
Related Articles
- Online money transfer to India for NRIs
- What is a Core Banking System?
do some clicks and money will reach my bank account in India in a couple of days. My bank makes it possible through SWIFT!SWIFT or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is a worldwide network for financial messages through which its members (i.e. financial institutions such as banks) can exchange messages related to money transfer for their customers. The messages are sent securely and reliably to the target member financial institution of SWIFT.
By the way, SWIFT is just a messaging service and it doesn’t facilitate actual cash transfer between banks. For doing that, the banks that exchange authorization message for money transfer shall have an external banking relation between them and normally they settle the actual cash transfer in parallel.
But the point is, once the authorization for the release of funds are sent through SWIFT, the target bank can release the money to the end user’s account and the bank is assured of the money from the sending bank. Sometimes, the target bank will have a branch in the sending bank’s country or vice versa and they may settle it within the purview of a single country.
Thus, the end user will receive the money without needing to know the hassles of exchange rate conversion and various other formalities, which happen in parallel between the banks. Also, the user will receive money, irrespective of the time taken for all these.
Over 8,700 banking organizations, securities institutions and corporate customers in more than 209 countries use SWIFT for transferring financial messages, making it the most widely used network for international financial messaging. Each financial institution registered with SWIFT is identified by a bank identifier code popularly known as the ‘SWIFT Code’.
Through SWIFT, transfer of funds to various countries can be completely automated; where the core-banking solution of the bank can directly communicate with SWIFT to do the transfer. This makes the process of money transfer more efficient, secure and with lower cost. Thus, SWIFT makes the process of transferring funds across the globe a lot easier.
Related Articles
- Online money transfer to India for NRIs
- What is a Core Banking System?
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