Exploring Untapped Potential of Mutual Funds

The Mutual Fund industry has seen unprecedented growth in the past 3 years. In November 2016, total assets managed by mutual funds touched a record high of ?16.5 lakh crores rupees, a year on year growth of 27%.

Total number of folios in India also reached a record number of 4.7 crore. However, mutual funds still suffer extremely low penetration in India. A 7% share of Assets under Management (AUM) of Mutual Funds to GDP is significantly lower than some other emerging economies like Brazil (42%) and South Africa (33%).

Introducing Direct plans of mutual funds

MoneyFront aims to highlight the true potential of mutual funds to investors by firstly adopting the no-conflict option of direct plan of mutual funds. Direct plans are an alternative to the regular plans of mutual funds where you can skip the distributors and agents and invest directly with the Fund House.

Exploring Untapped Potential of Mutual Funds A direct consequence of this is an increase in returns by up to 1.5% annually, as the commissions paid to the distributors/agent are not charged to the scheme. MoneyFront, in its endeavour to provide maximum benefits to clients offers only ‘Direct Plans’.

For investors who are not well-versed about mutual funds or who need help with their asset allocation, MoneyFront also offers investment advisory that provides model portfolios and scheme recommendations tailor-made to the investor’s financial goals and risk tolerance levels. Over and above that, the investors have access to a vast library of news, views, developments, and statistics related to mutual fund schemes and everything else that impacts them.(read more...)

Why are More People Applying for Personal Loans?

Why do people prefer Personal Loans

There are many factors that make Personal Loans more attractive.

• Easy to get: Personal Loans are easier to obtain than many other types of loans.
• Flexible usage: You can use the funds in a variety of ways. You can use it to pay for a vacation or a medical emergency. You can use it to fund a wedding, renovate a house, and more.
• Quick process: It can take as little as three days to get approval for a Personal Loan. Just make sure you have all the necessary documentation.
• No collateral: Personal Loans are unsecured loans. In other words, they are not backed by any collateral. This helps reduce the documents required for your loan application or even the duration of the vetting process.

You can even apply for a Personal Loan from the convenience of your home. All you need to do is visit the lender’s website. An application for a Personal Loan from Bajaj Finserv , for instance, usually takes seconds for approval and you can get funds of up to Rs.25 lakh in as little as 72 hours.

The bottom line

Personal Loans are popular today, but it is important that you opt for a professional lender to avail financing. Keep the various factors in mind when you apply for a Personal Loan and take the first step towards fulfilling your financial goals. (read more...)

Economic blockade will not impact Manipur poll process: CEC

Supply of essential commodities including fuel to Manipur has been severely hit since November 2016

Manipur Elections 2017 : The Election Commission is confident that the economic blockade in Manipur will not impact the poll process in the state and has made all arrangements to ensure free and fair elections.

"We have all the data from our state election machinery. We are confident that the economic blockade will not impact the poll process in the state. The state government has also assured us. We will get cooperation from all the sections," Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said.

An indefinite economic blockade imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC) since November 1, 2016 is on in Manipur, against the state government's decision to create seven new districts in the landlocked state by bifurcating the existing ones. The state government has, however, claimed that this decision was taken to improve administrative efficiency.

Supply of essential commodities including fuel to Manipur has been severely hit since November 2016 after the council declared indefinite economic blockade on NH2 (via Dimapur) and NH 37 (via Jiribam) -- the two lifelines to the state.

Asked how the Election Commission will ensure smooth movement of election officials and security personnel as the state is hit by fuel shortage, Zaidi said, "We have undertaken a very in-depth review with our district officials and also with the state officials. As far as the election process is concerned there is a priority and sufficient availability of petrol, diesel for poll process. There would be no problem regarding it and all poll personnel will assist us." Read more

Rahul, Akhilesh to hold roadshow in Modi's constituency Varanasi on Feb 27

Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav will hold a joint roadshow in Varanasi on February 27, taking the battle to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency.

Preparations for the roadshow are in full swing and leaders of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party have been camping in Varanasi for the past few days.

Varanasi goes to poll in the last of the seven-phase Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh on March 8.

The route of the roadshow of Congress vice-president Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yadav will be finalised soon, state Congress spokesperson Satish Rai said.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is the chief coordinator of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, is expected to reach the city in the next two days to oversee the preparations for the roadshow.

The BJP too geared up its campaign in the area. After addressing rallies in eastern districts, BJP president Amit Shah visited the city, besides other leaders.

Here is what Airtel, Idea and Vodafone are offering to counter Reliance Jio

Old telcos have sweetened their offerings considerably to take on the Reliance Jio challenge

Reliance Jio made a big announcement on Tuesday following which the road ahead doesn't look smooth for rivals Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone, among others. Although the free services provided since its launch, including 1GB data at 4G speeds every day, unlimited voice calls and unlimited text messages will be over after 31 March, the operator has introduced a new plan called Jio Prime which will allow users to avail the facilities for another year at a nominal price.

Here are the key points:

• Membership: Jio Prime membership is limited to the 100 million existing Reliance Jio users as well as those who join the network before March 31, 2017.
• Cost: All Jio members can enroll prime membership for a one time fee of Rs 99 (which is valid for one year). Additionally, to get the free mobile data and other benefits, users will need to pay another Rs. 303 per month for the next 12 months (which amounts to Rs 10 per day, approximately).
• Subscription: To subscribe, users can go to any Jio store or Jio partner store. Besides, MyJio app and Jio 4G LTE Network website can also be used.

Read more : CBFC office vandalised in Hyderabad for 'not clearing' a Telugu film

• Commencement: Users can start subscribing to the plan from March 1. It will end on March 31.
• Offers: Under the plan, unlimited mobile data for a year (1GB daily FUP limit), media and content benefits associated with the Jio apps suite are available. "There will be many other attractive deals and offers from both Jio and its partners (for) the Jio Prime members," a statement released by the company said. Like the current offer, Jio Prime will also reduce the internet speed to 128kbps after the 1GB data per day limit is crossed.
• Users who do not subscribe: Reliance Jio users who opt not to subscribe the Jio Prime membership will have to pay for data and other services, but not voice calls (including on roaming).

A quick look at the offers provided by Vodafone, Airtel and Idea: (more)

Read more : Free run ends for Jio users on 31 March but Reliance keeps goodies rolling

Md Siraj asks father to stop driving autos after bagging Rs 2.6 cr IPL deal

He also wants to buy a house for his family

IPL 2017 : The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 auction spread smiles in a Hyderabad neighbourhood. There was a good reason too. Mohammed Siraj, the younger son of auto driver Mohammed Ghaus was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a staggering Rs 2.6 crore.

As reporters made a beeline outside the cricketer's modest rented family house, he explained how he plans to use his money now."My father drove auto all these years but never let financial pressure of the family affect me or my elder brother. A bowling spikes costs a lot and he would just get the best for me. I want to buy a house for them now in a good locality," Siraj told The Quint.

While Siraj wants his father to stop driving autos, his father wishes otherwise. "I will drive the auto as long as I have the strength. Why should I depend on sons?" Ghaus was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.

Interestingly, Siraj was often admonished by his mother Shabana Begum who worked as a house maid for showing lack of interest in studies. He discontinued studying while in intermediate, whereas, his brother went ahead to become an IT professional.

"He brought many mementos and sometimes cash prizes as well. However, I never knew he would become so big. It's all God's blessings," the proud mother told Mumbai Mirror after the auction.

Although his family did not keep a track on his career properly, Siraj slowly earned the reputation of a pacer in Hyderabad cricket circle. Read more

UP elections 2017: Poll promises have not changed in 15 years; here's why

Pihani, a cluster of villages near Lucknow, illustrates why the state has not developed

Pihani, UP Elections 2017 : For 16 years, Kailash Rai (not his real name), 49, has been commuting six hours every working day between his home in the state capital Lucknow and the government degree college where he teaches in Pihani, 135 km to the northwest.

A political-science lecturer, Rai cannot move with his family to Pihani, a cluster of over 100 villages (called a kasba) in Hardoi district, with less than 40,000 families as per Census 2011. When he started working there in 2000, it lacked the basic public facilities–regular power supply, good roads, public transport and good medical services.

Pihani remains an economic backwater. In the ongoing assembly elections, UP’s incumbent and contesting politicians are still promising the basic facilities they did 16 years ago: Electricity, buses and jobs, along with laptops and free data for poor youth.

a government degree college, a state-run industrial training institute (ITI) and two private degree colleges–more than the Indian average of 27 colleges per 100,000 youth in the 18-23 age group, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2014-15. But it has been unable to produce talent to run local educational institutions, banks and medical centres.

UP has the highest number of colleges in any Indian state (6,026), according to AISHE 2014-15, but it has been unable to produce qualified workforce to drive development, as IndiaSpend reported on February 11, 2017.

UP is India’s most populous and youngest state–its median age is 23–and the flaws in its development model typified by Pihani explain why its towns and village clusters (blocks with a population of less than 250,000 in 2011) cannot cope with the aspirations of its people, especially with regard to education and employment.

Pihani’s dropout rate of 36% at elementary school level exceeds UP’s overall rate of 21%. Like other village clusters in the state, connections to bigger cities are limited because there are few railway links, hardly any feeder roads to highways or efficient public transport services. Less than half the houses in the villages have electricity. (more)

IPL 2017 auction LIVE: English bowler Tymal Mills goes to RCB for Rs 12 cr

Tymal Mills was in demand as four teams bid for him

( Sony's ten-year contract for broadcasting IPL matches gets over after the 2017 season )

IPL 2017 : 11: 00 am Tymal  Mills was in demand as four teams bid for him, ultimately going to RCB for Rs 12 crore. A total of Rs 6.9 crore was spent in acquiring fast bowlers while wicketkeepers seemed out of favour as only one out of the batch of six found a buyer, that too at base price

KKR entered the bidding for the first time this season with  Trent Boult. The Knightriders have just four overseas players in the squad currently and need more players from abroad. They were joined in the bid battle by Mumbai Indians who bowed out at KKR’s bid of Rs 5 crore. Boult played for the Hyderabad team in 2016 and this year, will don the KKR jersey.

English bowler Tymal Mills saw some aggressive bidding as well as Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab held their ground against each other. Both the teams did not shy from upping the stakes till Mumbai bowed out at Punjab’s bid of Rs 7 crore. At this point, the bid war between KKR and RCB started. RCB came out a winner with a bid of Rs 12 crore.

Australian Patrick Cummins was fought over by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevil, the former opening the bid at the reserve price of Rs 2 crore. They however bowed out at Rs 4.5 crore, thus giving Delhi the winning bid and Cummins’ services for the 2017 edition. Fellow autralian Mitchell Johnson was up next (base price Rs 2 crore). Mumbai Indians opened the bid for the fast bowler and snapped him up at reserve price.

South African fast bowler Kyle Abbott (reserve price Rs 1.5 crore) went unsold. Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma (Rs 2 crore base price) shared the same fate, as he surprisingly remained unsold in the first round of bidding.

After three unsold players in the wicketkeeper category, the Mumbai Indians picked up Nicholas Pooran of West Indies at base price (Rs 30 lakh). The two wicketkeeprs to follow – West Inidan Johnson Charles and Sri Lankan Dinesh Chandimal too remained unsold. Read more.

I am 'adopted son' of UP, says PM Modi

He said the future of the state cannot be ensured without ridding it of SP, BSP, Congress

Calling himself the “adopted son” of UP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the future of the state could not be ensured without ridding it of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress. Invoking Lord Krishna at an election meeting here to suggest a strong connect between Gujarat and UP, Modi, who represents Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, said the state was his “mai-baap” (parents) and he will not desert it.

“Vote for a full majority to the Bharatiya Janata Party. I promise to show you the ways of all the problems you are facing within five years,” he said, telling the crowd that all pollsters had predicted BJP getting massive support in the first two phases of polling.

Highlighting the problems faced by the state and its national importance, Modi said poverty will be removed from the country only when it is eradicated from UP.

“This is the land of Ganga and Yamuna where the land is most fertile with crores of labourours but poverty still exists here...why is this so? There is nothing wrong with the people here or their capabilities or shortage of resources,” he said.

TCS announces share buyback; Infosys and Wipro may follow

Investors eye a piece of the large cash kitty as growth slows

Barely a week after the US-based software services player Cognizant Technology Solutions, which has several delivery centres in India, announced plans to return $3.4 billion to its shareholders through buyback of shares and dividends, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), too, said its board would be meeting on Monday to consider a buyback plan.

In a statement to stock exchanges on Thursday, TCS said, “We would like to inform you that the board of directors will consider a proposal for buyback of equity shares of the company at its meeting to be held on February 20, 2017.” If approved, this will be TCS’ first buyback since its listing in 2004.

The Street took the news positively, as stocks of domestic information technology (IT) majors - TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies - were up 1.4-3 per cent on Thursday.

When asked about the company’s capital allocation plans, Rishad Premji, whole-time director and chief strategy officer, Wipro, said, “We did a buyback last year worth Rs 2,500 crore. We have a stated dividend payout ratio policy, which is 40-45 per cent, which we have maintained. We have said that on an annual basis, we actively discuss this within the company and evaluate what makes sense with the cash that the company generates. We are open to evaluating options like buyback, special dividends. It makes sense for the organisation, as we move forward.”

Buybacks are seen as the preferred route over dividends, as they are more tax-efficient. Besides dividend distribution tax at an effective rate of over 20 per cent, dividend income in the hands of all residents, except domestic companies, trusts or funds, also attracts an additional dividend tax of 10 per cent on dividend income over Rs 10 lakh a year. Read more

Apple to start India manufacturing in coming months with iPhone SE: Report

Apple's move comes as it seeks to boost its share in the world's fastest growing major mobile market

Apple Inc will in the coming months start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE models at a contract manufacturer's plant in the technology hub of Bengaluru, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron Corp is setting up a plant in Bengaluru to focus solely on assembling iPhones, a separate source told Reuters earlier this month.

Apple's move comes as it seeks to boost its share in the world's fastest growing major mobile market, where handsets far cheaper than Apple's iPhones dominate. It also comes as smartphone sales growth is slowing in Asia's other massive market, China.

To lower prices, Apple has been seeking to set up local production and has been in talks with the Indian federal government regarding issues such as tax concessions.

The industry source told Reuters the initial manufacturing of the iPhone SE model was not contingent on those concessions.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Economic Times newspaper earlier on Friday reported Apple planned to initially assemble 300,000 to 400,000 iPhone SE handsets in India. The industry source told Reuters the numbers would be substantially lower to begin with.

The source also said it was too early to say what other phone models Apple would assemble at the Bengaluru plant. Read more

This is how India can reduce the size of its black economy

A deeper understanding of the economy is needed to figure put ways to deal with black economy

November 8, 2016 will be a memorable day for Indians in years to come. On this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi eliminated more than 85% of Indian currency notes in circulation, wreaking havoc in common people’s lives. While the effects of this policy may take some time to unfold, will they include reduction in the size of black economy and corruption? To explore the answer to this question, it might be a good idea to look at what are the determinants of black economy and corruption.

Regulations and the Indian black economy

India has a substantial informal economy, or transactions and businesses that are not registered and cannot be taxed. This informal economy employs almost 75% of the total workforce in India but only contributes 20% to GDP. It is substantially less productive than the formal economy, though it provides a livelihood to a majority of Indians. Not all the transactions in this economy are illegal and most economic activities are undertaken by people and firms that belong to the unorganised sector. Acknowledging the meaningful differences between the terms ‘black economy’, ‘informal economy’ and ‘unorganised sector’, one common theme underlying these various categories is either blatant tax evasion (in the case of the black economy) or the government’s imperfect and sometimes harmful ability to tax transactions.

Almost all countries have some degree of black economy, prompting a significant amount of research on its causes and determinants. According to a survey of such literature by Friedrich Schneider and Dominik H. Enste (2000) and Friedrich Schneider (2016), the most important and often cited causes are:

Burden of taxes and social security contributions. Read more

20 things Jaitley changed in India through this budget

Income Tax investigators given more power & carbon traders get concessions

Budget 2017 : There were many things that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said during his budget speech but there are many more that went unsaid. Here is a list of 20 things that could have a direct or indirect impact on your life:

• With regard to a foreign company, sale of leftover stock of crude oil in case of strategic petroleum reserve after the expiry of the agreement, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, shall not be liable to tax in India.
• In case of income arising from sale of carbon credit, a concessional tax rate of ten per cent will be given
• Government, foreign missions and state PSUs engaged in the passenger transport business will be exempted from Tax Collection at Source (TCS) provisions relating to purchase of vehicles.
• Conditions of special taxation regime for offshore funds under section 9A of the Income-tax Act has been modified. Now, maintenance of minimum fund size would not be necessary for the year in which the fund is being wound up.
• Income from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund or the Lieutenant Governor’s Relief Fund shall be exempted from tax.
• Certain entities like Investor Protection Funds, Core Settlement Guarantee Fund, Tea/Coffee/Rubber Boards, enjoying exemption from levy of income-tax under section 10 of the Income-tax Act, shall be required to furnish return of their income.
• In order to ensure timely filing of returns of income, it is proposed to levy a fee in case of delay in filing the return. Read more

Budget 2017 has sops for selling property but restrictions on buying

Holding period for long term capital gains tax brought down to two years from earlier three

Budget 2017 : Your tax liability would now be lower when you sell a house in the third year after purchase. You can now claim long term capital gains (LTCG), if you sell a house after holding it for two years from the date of completion. Earlier, one could claim LTCG only after a holding period of three years. The rate for LTCG tax usually works out to be lower compared to short term capital gains (STCG) tax.

LTCG is paid either at flat 10% or 20% after adjusting the property price for inflation. STCG is added to the income of the seller and taxed as per his income tax slab, which comes to 30% if the gains are Rs 10 lakh or more.

While announcing the move, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: “This move will significantly reduce the capital gain tax liability while encouraging the mobility of assets."

“The government seems to have made the changes to revive the property market that has suffered due to demonetisation,” says Rahul Garg, partner and leader direct tax, PwC.

Preeti Khurana, a chartered accountant with ClearTax, says that it was a surprise move to see the government giving sops for selling a house for a shorter holding period.

While the government has given relief for selling of property, it has brought down a benefit provided on buying a second house. The government has restricted the interest deduction for second home that buyers get under Section 24. Read more

Highways allocation stepped up to Rs 64,000 crore: Arun Jaitley

'For transport sector -- railways, road, shipping, govt provides Rs 2,41,000 cr,' Jaitleysaid

Budget 2017 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced enhancing the outlay for National Highways by 11 per cent to Rs 64,000 crore for 2017-18.

Presenting the Budget in Parliament on Wednesday, Jaitley said, "In the road sector, I have stepped up the budget allocation for the National Highways from Rs 57,676 crore in the budget estimate of 2016-17 to Rs 64,000 crore in 2017-18."

"For transport sector, including railways, road and shipping, government provides Rs 2.41 lakh crore," he added.

Jaitley said 2,000 km of coastal connectivity roads have been identified for construction and development. This will facilitate better connectivity of ports and remote villages, he said.

"The total length of roads including those under the PMGSY built from 2014-15 to current year is about 1,40,000 km, which is significantly higher than the previous three years," Jaitley said.

He said 133-km roads per day were constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) as against 73-km in 2011-14.

Budget relief to middle class, 5% income tax for Rs 2.5-5 lakh earners

However, earners in between Rs 50 lakh and Rs one crore will have to pay 10% surcharge

The Budget gave relief to on personal income tax front, mainly the salaried group in the middle class, by halving the tax to five per cent up to the income of Rs 5 lakh to ease the pains of demonetisation. However, those earning above Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs one crore will have to shell out additional 10 per cent surcharge.

The cut in the tax rate for the lowest slab will also save up to Rs 12,500 for incomes in other slabs, increasing disposable income of the middle class that can provide spur to the slowing down economic growth. The present super rich tax in the form of 15 per cent surcharge will remain for those earning income over Rs one crore.

The finance minister also put more money in the hands of small and medium enterprises by reducing the corporate tax rate to 25 per cent from the current 30 per cent for annual turnover up to Rs 50 crore. Ninety six per cent of companies which file returns come under this category.

Besides middle class and SMEs, the finance minister also addressed the concerns of foreign portfolio investors by exempting India-based funds them from the indirect transfer provisions. The government had put on hold the recent rules by the Central Board of direct taxes in this regard.

Budget 2017 News, India Union Budget 2017-18, Latest News & Stories, Live Updates, Headlines & Highlights for Budget 2017-2018 | Business Standard

Big relief to middle class! I-T rate for Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh annual income bracket halved to 5%

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has been decided to be abolished, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley declared in his budget presentation on Tuesday.

While, the FIPB had the final say in approving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals in the country for long, its power has been systematically reduced under the current government. Most notably, back in June, 2016 the government had announced relaxed FDI norms in single brand retail, civil aviation, airports, pharmaceuticals, animal husbandry and food products.

It had allowed up to 100% FDI in defence through the approval route, 100 per cent FDI in food product e-commerce, 100 per cent FDI in greenfield pharma via the automatic route, 100% in browfield pharma — of which 74% will be through automatic route — 100 per cent FDI in scheduled airlines, and up to 49 per cent FDI in airlines through automatic route.

In the last two years, the government has brought major FDI policy reforms in a number of sectors, including defence, construction development, insurance, pension sector, broadcasting sector, tea, coffee, rubber, cardamom, palm oil tree and olive oil tree plantations, single brand retail trading, manufacturing sector, limited liability partnerships, civil aviation, credit information companies, satellites - establishment/operation and asset reconstruction companies.

Incoming FDI grew 27 per cent in the first seven months of the fiscal to $27.82 billion, from $21.87 billion a year ago. Manufacturing accounted for 41.5 per cent of the total equity inflows into the country during April-October, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s (DIPP) year-end review.

This happened at a time when the government made a fervent pitch abroad for ‘Make in India’ to make India a manufacturing hub of the world and generate large scale employment. Services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobiles were among the major sectors that attracted FDI during this period. Read more

• Big relief to middle class! I-T rate for Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh annual income bracket halved to 5%
• India Budget 2017-2018 | India Union Budget 2017-2018 News, Analysis, Budget 2017-2018 Highlights - Business Standard News
• Budget 2017 News, India Union Budget 2017-18, Latest News & Stories, Live Updates, Headlines & Highlights for Budget 2017-2018 | Business Standard