To beat inflation, invest in equity mutual funds

You can have a combination of large-cap, multi-cap and mid-cap mutual funds along with a debt component, which could be a combination of PPF and short-term debt funds

Returns on my investments

• One must also keep in mind the volatility risk of the asset class, liquidity, lock-in rules and taxation
• Here's a look at how four commonly used asset types—equity, cash, gold and fixed income—have done in different periods

India's household wealth growth crawls, debt jumps: Credit Suisse study

• Household wealth grew by 5.2% in dollar terms in the year till 30 June against the 11% average growth in the 20 yrs to 2019
• The report estimates that 78% of India’s adult population has wealth below $10,000, while 1.8% of India’s population has more than $100,000

Huge advantages to switching from superannuation funds to NPS: Sumit Shukla

• Budget 2019 increased the tax-free component of the NPS maturity corpus from 40% to 60%. This has made it a compelling alternative to superannuation funds
• HDFC Pension Fund CEO Sumit Shukla, a pension fund manager in NPS, talks about the challenges and opportunities before National Pension System

Tech-happy millennials like their mutual funds

• Millennials are overwhelmingly invested in equity funds, especially tax-saving ELSS
• Among debt funds, the insta redemption facility in liquid funds rather than traditional debt is the big draw

Five hacks to make your flight tickets cheaper

• Comparing fares and costs across websites, airlines, dates and travel plans and using reward points you have accumulated can help reduce ticket prices
• If you’ve earned discount coupons while using other service-based apps, remember to redeem those as well

Residential status is determined based on total physical presence in India

• Residential status in India is determined based on total physical presence in India in the current FY and the preceding 10 FYs
• A resident may either qualify as a resident and ordinarily resident (ROR) or resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR)

Kotak Mahindra Bank cuts fixed deposit (FD) rates. Latest rates here

• Kotak Mahindra Bank offers FDs ranging from 7 days to 10 years
• Senior citizens continue to get 50 basis points higher interest rates than the general public

Opinion | The unintended consequences of Sebi rules on exit loads for liquid fun

There may be an impact on short-term money market rates and liquidity

Gold bonds open at ₹3,835 per gram of gold. Income tax benefits explained

• Gold bonds have a maturity period of eight years
• TDS is not levied on interest from gold bonds

Is it time to increase the bank deposit guarantee amount?

After the recent crisis that hit the PMC Bank, there have been demands from various quarters that the deposit guarantee limit, which was last revised in 1993, be increased. Ashwini Kumar Sharma asked experts if it’s the right time to do so

Home loan interest rates: Top 15 banks that offer the lowest

• A home loan is called a ‘good’ loan because it helps you acquire a tangible asset that can appreciate over the long term
• A look at the latest home loan interest rates of some leading banks

Obtain TAN if you are deducting TDS for rent payment made to non-resident

• Any person making payment to an NRI is obligated to deduct taxes at the rates in force, at the time of credit of such income to the individual
• Please note that buying a land is, however, not a specified eligible investment, unless the asset being sold and re-invested is agricultural land

What to do if you haven’t got tax refund yet

• More often than not, income tax refunds are not issued or are rejected due to mistakes made in the bank account details provided in the ITR form
• If you have not received your tax refund yet, you first need to check the status of your refund online

Can you fit a luxury cruise into your holiday budget?

• Some of the domestic cruise holidays would suit price-conscious Indians’ budgets
• Domestic cruises might not always live up to the expectations you have based on experiences on foreign cruises

New rule on market conduct does little to curb insurance mis-selling

Insurers should ideally disclose the actual return on investment in life insurance

Income tax deduction on HRA and home loan: Can you claim both?

• Tax experts say that there should be a good reason for not living in the house you own
• From this year, the government allowed treatment of two properties as self-occupied in terms of income tax implications

Why PPF investors should be aware of Form H

• PPF accounts have a maturity of 15 years
• It can be extended with or without making further contributions

Income tax department reveals 9 individuals earned more than ₹100 crore salary

• More than 49,000 individuals pocketed an annual salary of at least ₹1 crore
• The income tax department analysed this data from income tax returns (ITR) filed by assessees

How to transfer your SBI account online to another branch

• Now you can transfer your SBI savings account online, from one branch to another
• Online transfer of SBI account is only possible if your account is KYC compliant