| Revision of Interest Rates for Small Savings Schemes With Effect from 1ST APRIL,2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Based on the decisions taken by the Government on the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee for Comprehensive Review of National Small Savings Fund (NSSF), the interest rates for small saving schemes are to be notified every financial year, before 1st April of that year. Accordingly, the rate of interest on various small savings schemes for the financial year 2013-14 effective from 01.04.2013, on the basis of the interest compounding/ payment built-in in the schemes, shall be as under :
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Monday, March 25, 2013
Govt. slightly reduces small savings interest rate from April 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
RBI cuts interest rate by 0.25 per cent
In line with expectations, the RBI on Tuesday cut its short-term lending rate by 0.25 per cent to spur growth and revive investment but sounded a note of caution on further easing of rates on account of high food inflation and current account deficit.
“The foremost challenge for returning the economy to a high growth trajectory is to revive investment. A competitive interest rate is necessary for this but not sufficient,” the Reserve Bank said in its mid-quarter review of the monetary policy.
Accordingly, its short-term lending rate or the repo was reduced by 0.25 per cent to 7.5 per cent, making it the second consecutive cut in as many months.
The market was widely expecting a cut by 0.25 per cent due to the deteriorating growth, which is estimated to touch a decade low of 5 per cent and a cooling in the core inflation to a 35-month low.
Expecting the government to begin spending, it left the cash reserve ratio or the amount of deposits banks have to park with RBI, unchanged at 4 per cent.
The RBI, however, stressed that a interest rate cut alone will not be helpful in order to achieve the objective of reviving investment and called for bridging supply constraints and staying course on fiscal consolidation.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Online Term Insurance, the Smart Choice.
Planning for a life insurance ? Want a handsome coverage (sum assured) ? Going to but a conventional endowment policy again ? Please spend a few minutes to read below and then decide.
Why are you buying the insurance policy ? To protect your family in the most unfortunate event or for savings ?
If it is for protection against any mishap, please go for pure insurance product, I mean the TERM INSURANCE. Here the premium is very low. Some companies have even come with online options with lower premium against high cover.
For an online term policy of a person of 30 years age with a 30 lac cover for 25 years he has to shell out only Rs 3969 a year. If he opts for an extra 20 lac accidental benefit, he has to pay only Rs 4531 per year.
In the other hand , if the same person goes for a conventional policy with same term and coverage, he has to pay Rs 75,637 a year. Of course, in this case he will get his money back after the tenure with bonus. But do you know how much will he get extra on his premium ? It is not more than simple savings interest. Yes, it is true, you cn cross check the simple fact which is not ever explained by the advisor / agent.
If you want to buy the product for insurance and as well as savings for the future, go for the first option and save the remaining portion which you thought to spend in conventional policy in any savings plan and definitely you will be more wealthy.
Want to know more ? Just click here to view the earlier post.
Why are you buying the insurance policy ? To protect your family in the most unfortunate event or for savings ?
If it is for protection against any mishap, please go for pure insurance product, I mean the TERM INSURANCE. Here the premium is very low. Some companies have even come with online options with lower premium against high cover.
For an online term policy of a person of 30 years age with a 30 lac cover for 25 years he has to shell out only Rs 3969 a year. If he opts for an extra 20 lac accidental benefit, he has to pay only Rs 4531 per year.
In the other hand , if the same person goes for a conventional policy with same term and coverage, he has to pay Rs 75,637 a year. Of course, in this case he will get his money back after the tenure with bonus. But do you know how much will he get extra on his premium ? It is not more than simple savings interest. Yes, it is true, you cn cross check the simple fact which is not ever explained by the advisor / agent.
If you want to buy the product for insurance and as well as savings for the future, go for the first option and save the remaining portion which you thought to spend in conventional policy in any savings plan and definitely you will be more wealthy.
Want to know more ? Just click here to view the earlier post.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
What is "CTS 2010" (New Cheque) ?
The full form of CTS is Cheque Truncation System. RBI has decided to launch this system and all banks across India are required to follow RBI guidelines in this regard. As per RBI guidelines, now all banks have to issue cheques conforming to the CTS 2010 standards with uniform features.
How is CST 2010 will be different from earlier system of cheque clearance?
Under the CTS system, the physical movement of cheques between banks will be elminated. At present , when you issue a cheque to someone, he has deposit the cheque in his bank to get credit. Then this cheque moves physcially from his bank to your bank which involves a lot of time and risk. Now under CTS, instead of physical movement of the cheque, an electronic image of the cheque will be transmitted to the drawee branch / bank. The presenting bank will retains the physical cheque. Along with the electronic image, certain key relevant information is also transmitted, such as date of presentation, presenting bank details, data on the MICR band.
What is the purpose of CST 2010 or What are the benefits of CTS?
The new process is being adopted to reduce the scope of frauds as the new standardized cheques will have number of security features. The system will also help in speed clearance of chequess and thus customers will be able to get faster credit to their accounts. This will happen as there will be no physical movement of the cheuqes and hence time is saved and risk of loss of cheques in transit are totally eliminated.
When will the CTS begin ? :
RBI has decided that CTS will be effective from 1st April 2013 (earlier it was to start from 1st January 2013, but was postponed as some banks had not completed the job of issuing new cheque books to all the customers)
What are the features of cheques issued under CTS ? :
(a) Cheque printer details: This is printed on the extreme left hand side of the cheque. The printer details along with the words ‘CTS-2010’ is mentioned along the area where you tear off the leaf from the cheque book.
(b) Rupee symbol: The new symbol of the Indian rupee is printed beside the area where the amount in figures needs to be written.
(c) Details of the bank and its logo: The bank details and its logo are printed on the face of the cheque. However, it is printed in invisible ink.
(d) Signature space indicator: The words ‘please sign above’ are mentioned indicating the space where you will need to sign the cheque.
(e) VOID pantograph: This is a wavelike design, which is visible to the naked eye and seen below the area where the account number is printed.
The above set of minimum security features would ensure uniformity across all cheque forms issued by banks in the country which in turn will help presenting banks while scrutinising / recognising cheques of drawee banks in an image-based processing scenario. The homogeneity in security features is expected to act as a deterrent against cheque frauds, while the standardisation of field placements on cheque forms would enable straight-through-processing by use of optical / image character recognition technology.
The benchmark prescriptions are collectively known as "CTS-2010 standard". Indian Banks Association (IBA) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are co-ordinating with the banks on implementation of the new standard. Accordingly, the cheques issued are tested and certified by NPCI and only after such cerification the cheques would be issued to the customers.
What Should Cheque Book Holders Should Do :
(a) You should ensure that you use only CTS-2010 compliant cheque leaves from April 1, 2013.
(b) You can check if you hold a CTS compliant cheque book by verifying if the cheque leaves have the features mentioned above. You need to apply in your bank for the same and it is available free of cost.
(c) If you have any unused cheque leaves with you, these must be surrendered in your bank.
(d) In case you have given old post dated cheques (like for your Housing Loan or Auto Loan) to some body, you must exchange them with the CTS-compliant cheques immediately.
RBI has advised that though non CTS-2010 standard cheques will continue to be accepted post March 31, 2013, they will be cleared at less frequent intervals and may incur additional charges. RBI has advised to preferably use dark coloured ink while writing CTS cheques.
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