Tag: indian express

Categories
Delhi News

Odisha train accident: Govt seeks data to shell out insurance claims

Odisha train accident, insurance claims, Life Insurance Council, government insaurance schemes, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, booking through IRCTC, indian express, indian express news


The government has asked insurance companies to immediately report about their exposures in terms of coverage and claim payments towards the victims of the triple train accident in Odisha on June 2.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has asked the General Insurance Council, the official representative body of general insurers, and Life Insurance Council, the official representative life insurers, to collect data from their members about their exposures to the accident victims by June 12. The government is planning to shell out the insurance amount through three government schemes.

According to insurance sources, insurers are responsible for three kind of insurance coverage. General insurers, as part of government financial inclusion programme, provide some basic cover under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) through the banks. The coverage under the scheme is Rs 2 lakh for accidental death and full disability and Rs 1 lakh for partial disability. The premium of Rs 20 per annum is to be deducted from the account holder’s bank account through ‘auto-debit’ facility in one instalment.

Similarly, life insurers also through banks provide cover under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJY). In this, the policy holder gets life cover of Rs 2 lakh in case of death due to any reason against a premium of Rs 436 per annum. EnrolLments under the scheme are be done by banks or at the post office in case of post office savings bank account.

Besides, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) provides optional personal accident cover to the passengers of Indian Railways at a minimal cost — 35 paise — since FY 2021-22 while buying tickets online.
IRCTC floats a bidding process and selects couple of general insurers every year for providing this cover and, in FY22, had covered over 16 crore passengers who paid Rs 6.56 crore of premium. One of the insurers for IRCTC’s passengers, SBI General Insurance has said it is dealing with any claims expeditiously and all assistance are being provided to their needy policy holders.

Insurers suggest cover provided through IRCTC online ticket platforms should be made compulsory as the premium is very minimal. The policy provides a coverage of Rs 10 lakh in case of death, Rs 10 lakh for permanent disability, Rs 7,50,000 for partial disability, Rs 2 lakh for hospitalisation expenses for injury.

Almost 90 per cent of tickets of Indian Railways are booked through IRCTC online platform. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is one of the largest insurers in PMJJY category.

The railways on Sunday said that even ticketless travellers on board involved in the Odisha accident will receive compensation. This is in line with a Supreme Court order, officials said.

“Irrespective of the passengers being ticketless (or not), they will receive compensation,” a Railway spokesperson had said.

“To mitigate the hardships of the claimants of State Bank of India (SBI) Life policies, the company has taken immediate steps to ease the claim settlement and documentation process which includes receiving alternate valid proofs of the claimants and support the family members of the deceased in this crucial time,” SBI Life said. The kin of the victims can connect with the company officials via email balasoretrainaccident@sbilife.co.in and toll-free number 1800 267 9090.

Liberty General Insurance, IRCTC’s second insurer has also given phone number and e-mail ID for reporting any claims. Roopam Asthana, CEO and Whole Time Director, said, “We remain fully committed to provide quick claims settlement in the face of this tragic event. Our helpline number <+91-9324968286> is a quick point of contact for our policyholders, where a trained team of executives will sensitively guide them with their claim-related issues.”
Siddhartha Mohanty, chairperson, LIC, announced many concessions to mitigate the hardships of the claimants of

LIC policies and also of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. In lieu of registered death certificates, list of casualties published by Railway authorities, police or any state or central government authorities will be accepted as proof of death, he said.

LIC is committed to supporting those affected and will expedite claim settlements to provide financial relief, he added.

The collision involving two passenger trains and a stationary goods train has led to the loss of life of at least 275 people so far and left over 1,100 injured. The accident involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. The site is about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

LIC eases claim process norms for Odisha train accident victims


National insurer LIC on Saturday announced many relaxations for the claim settlement process for the victims of the Balasore train tragedy. The accident involving two passenger trains and a stationary goods train has led to the loss of life of at least 288 people so far and left over 1,100 injured.

In a late evening statement, LIC chairman Siddhartha Mohanty announced a slew of relaxations to the claim settlement process for the kin of the victims.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic train accident in Balasore, Odisha on Friday. LIC is committed to supporting those affected and will expedite claim settlements to provide financial relief”, Mohanty was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Corporation also announced many concessions to mitigate the hardships of the claimants of LIC policies and also of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. It said in lieu of registered death certificates, a list of casualties published by the Railways, police or any state or Central authorities will be accepted as proof of death.

The Corporation has also set up a special help desk and a call centre number (022-68276827) at the divisional and branch levels to respond to claim-related queries and for providing assistance to claimants.

All efforts will be taken to ensure that the claimants are reached out and claims are settled expeditiously to the affected families, the statement said.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

LIC relaxes claim settlement process for victims of Balasore train accident


The national insurer said it will expedite claim settlements to provide financial relief to the victims of the train accident.

To mitigate the hardships of the claimants of LIC policies and also of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, LIC has announced various concessions for claim settlements.

“In lieu of registered death certificates, list of casualties published by Railway Authorities, Police or any State or Central Government Authorities will be accepted as proof of death,” the life insurer said in a release.

LIC has also set up a special help desk at divisional and branch levels to respond to claim related queries and for providing assistance to claimants.

According to the latest report, at least 288 people died and more than 800 were injured after two passenger trains – Coromandel Express and Yesvantpur-Howrah Express, and a freight train collided with one another on Friday night. It is one of the worst railway tragedies of the country.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

After TN, Telangana and Andhra, Karnataka latest state to join DBT bandwagon


Targeted direct benefit transfers (DBT) enabled by the so-called JAM trinity of Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar and mobile numbers may have been originally pushed by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, but it is the states — the newly-elected Congress government in Karnataka being the latest — that seem to be the most enthusiastic adopters on the ground.

The Siddaramaiah-led government on Friday formally cleared the implementation of two DBT schemes: Gruha Lakshmi (transferring Rs 2,000/month to women heads of all households) and Yuvanidhi (unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000/month for graduates and Rs 1,500/month for diploma holders).

The two schemes — along with the other three Congress manifesto “guarantees” of 200 units of free power per month to all houses, 10 kg grain/person/month for below-poverty-line families and free public transport bus travel for women — are estimated to cost around Rs 50,000 crore.

Karnataka had 1.34 crore households in the 2011 Census. The annual tab for Gruha Lakshmi alone, if one crore of those households are covered, will be Rs 24,000 crore. Gruha Lakshmi, to be rolled out from August 15, is a variant of the Tamil Nadu government’s Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme. The latter, which gives Rs 1,000 per month to women heads of “eligible households”, was promised in the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s 2021 assembly election manifesto. But its actual launch is scheduled only this September. Also, the scheme, with a budget of Rs 7,000 crore for 2023-24, covers only women of “eligible” households, not all of them.

These DBT schemes, however, pale in comparison to those of neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP).

Telangana has since May 2018 been implementing a Rythu Bandhu scheme for farmers, providing an “investment support” of Rs 4,000 per acre per crop season that was raised to Rs 5,000/acre/season from 2019-20. Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, the K Chandrashekar Rao-headed government has cumulatively disbursed Rs 65,559 crore over 10 seasons, with the money deposited into the Aadhaar-seeded accounts of around 65 lakh land-owning farmers in the state.

Rythu Bandhu has inspired similar agriculture-DBT schemes, including the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) and AP’s YSR Rythu Bharosa.

PM-Kisan, launched in December 2018, months before the last Lok Sabha elections, extends an annual income support of Rs 6,000 to about 11.25 crore land-holding farming families across India. YSR Rythu Bharosa also gives financial assistance on a per-farmer basis as opposed to per-acre without any size limit under Rythu Bandhu. The amount paid is higher at Rs 13,500 per year – Rs 6,000 through PM-Kisan and the AP government’s top-up of Rs 7,500.

Apart from Rythu Bandhu, Telangana is implementing a host of welfare schemes under DBT mode: Asara monthly pensions of Rs 2,016 for nearly 45 lakh senior citizens, widows, beedi workers, toddy tappers and other targeted beneficiaries (it is Rs 3,016/month for disabled persons); Rythu Bima (group life insurance with Rs 5-lakh cover) and debt relief for farmers; and Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubarak (Rs 100,116 one-time-grant for newly-wed brides from Scheduled Castes/Tribes, backward and minority communities); among others.

During 2019-20 to 2022-23, the Telangana government has transferred a total of Rs 78,965 crore under various DBT schemes other than Rythu Bandhu.

But India’s most DBT-advanced state is probably AP. Between June 2019 and March 2023, since it came to power, the government of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has transferred a cumulative sum of Rs 210,177.89 crore to some 7.89 crore beneficiaries under 28 DBT schemes, named mostly after himself or his late father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

The schemes to register the highest DBT payments are YSR Pension Kanuka for the old aged and other vulnerable sections (Rs 70,318.84 crore); YSR Aasara, Sunna Vaddi and Cheyutha for women self-help groups and entrepreneurs (Rs 36,922.57 crore); YSR Rythu Bharosa (Rs 27,062.08 crore); Jagananna Ammavodi Rs 15,000-per-annum assistance for mothers of Class 1-12 schoolchildren from low-income families (Rs 19,674.34 crore); Jagananna Vidya Deevena for reimbursing higher education fees of students from poor households (Rs 9,947.84 crore); and Dr YSR Aarogyasri Rs 5-lakh/family/year cashless health insurance (Rs 8,845.53 crore).

The AP government even maintains a community-wise beneficiary break-up under its different DBT schemes: Out of the Rs 210,177.89 crore payments, Rs 99,141.62 crore has gone to backward communities, Rs 34,921.52 crore to SCs, Rs 20,460.45 crore to Kapus, Rs 10,363.82 crore to STs, Rs 11,886.84 crore to minorities and Rs 33,403.63 crore to others.

The appeal of DBT schemes lie both in their JAM-enabled technical feasibility (of identifying beneficiaries and transferring money at large-scale in real-time) and potential political dividends (from beneficiaries “seeing” the money in their accounts). The southern states have been the quickest to latch on the idea.

A criticism of DBT schemes is that it has reduced state capacity and voter expectations pretty much to making and receiving cash transfers. To that extent, they have detracted from the traditional brick-and-mortar government responsibilities of building schools, hospitals, roads and irrigation canals or investing in farm research and extension.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

SBI Life to take over Sahara’s insurance business: Regulator


Insurance regulator Irdai has identified SBI Life Insurance to acquire the business of Sahara India Life Insurance (SILIC) to protect the interest of 200,000 policyholders.

“…SBI Life shall take over the policy liabilities of around 2 lakh policies of SILIC, backed by policyholder’s assets, with immediate effect,” Irdai said in a statement on Friday.

Sahara India Life Insurance was granted a certificate of registration in 2004. But due to concerns over financial propriety and governance, the insurance authority had to appoint an administrator to manage the insurer’s business  in 2017, and bar it from underwriting any new business.

The administrator had flagged concerns such as a diversion of `78.15 crore in the name of security deposits and shareholders and board of directors not being keen on recovery. The report had said the company was surviving with release of reserves, which was not sustainable since new premium had decreased significantly, and the affairs of the company were being managed by the non-executive chairman rather than the board.

“Despite being provided ample opportunities and sufficient time to ensure compliances, SILIC has failed to comply with directions of the authority and take any affirmative steps to protect the interests of its policyholders. Further, the policy data of SILIC reveals that the company’s portfolio is showing run-off trend,” Irdai said in its statement.  It said the company’s financial position has been deteriorating with rising losses and higher percentage of claims to total premium.    FE





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

From highs to lows, Everest record breaker sees ‘no future’ in Nepal


Kami Rita Sherpa had stood at the top of world just days earlier, exultant at having summited Mount Everest for a record 28th time.

The Nepali climber was given a hero’s welcome on his return to Kathmandu, but all that joy appeared to have deserted him as he surveyed life’s highs and lows from an armchair in the small, neat living room of his rented apartment, while his wife poured tea.

“There is no future in Nepal,” the 53-year-old father of two told Reuters over the weekend.

“Why stay here?” he asked, speaking in his native Nepali and a smattering of broken English. “We need a future for ourselves… for our children.”

Wearing a baseball cap bearing the legend “Everest Man”, and his face blackened by wind and snow burns, Kami Rita is clearly proud of his achievements. But he is also grateful that money he made as a guide with mountain expeditions helped him move to Nepal’s capital so that his children could have the education he never received.

His son, 24, is studying tourism and his daughter, 22, is doing an Information Technology course.

“This would not have been possible had I continued to stay at Thame and not taken to climbing,” said Kami Rita, who left school in his moutain village when he was around 12 years old.

Awards and Guinness World Record certificates fill the showcase behind him, and posters of Kami Rita on Mount Everest adorn the walls, but he talked of immigrating to the United States to find new opportunities for his family.

Kami Rita Sherpa, is pictured on the summit of Mount Everest during his 28th summit in Everest, May 23, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS)

Kami Rita was born in the same Himalayan village as Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa who together with New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary made the first summit of Mount Everest 70 years ago.

The village of Thame is in Solukhumbu, a district that has become a Mecca for mountaineers since that first successful ascent on May 29, 1953.

Located on the border with China’s Tibet, Solukhumbu’s crowning glory is Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,849 metres (29,032 feet), but it also hosts Lhotse (8,516 metres), Malaku (8,481 metres), Cho Oyu (8,201 metres), Gyachung Kang (7,952 metres) and Nuptse (7,855 metres) – all names that any top mountaineer would want on his CV.

Sherpas, an ethnic group living in the Everest region, have always been the backbone of mountain expeditions. They fix ropes, ladders, carry loads and also cook, making anything between $2,500 and $16,500 or more, depending on experience, during a single expedition.

But young sherpas, according to Kami Rita, are turning away from that life.

“The new generation of sherpas is not taking to climbing. They want to go abroad in search of a better career,” he said. “In 10-15 years there will be fewer sherpas to guide climbers. Their number is already low now.”

Many renowned sherpa guides have left Nepal in search of better opportunities in the West, mainly in the United States. Indeed, the famous Tenzing Norgay also immigrated, but only as far as neighbouring India, where he worked for a climbing school.

Mountain climbing and trekking attract thousands of foreigners to Nepal every year, contributing more than 4% to the $40 billion economy. The country earned $5.8 million in permit fees – $5 million from Mount Everest alone – during this year’s March-May climbing season.

Kami Rita Sherpa with his wife Lhakpa Jungmu Sherpa sits inside the room of their rented apartment during an interview with Reuters in Kathmandu, Nepal May 28, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS)

Hiking tour company officials reckon more than 500,000 people are employed in tourism, but many remain economically vulnerable in this impoverished nation of 30 million people.

“The government does little for the welfare of the sherpas,” Kami Rita said, urging authorities to launch welfare schemes like a provident fund, retirement benefit and education facilities for their children.

Expeditions hiring sherpas must take out life insurance for them, but the pay out is just 1.5 million Nepali rupees (about $11,300). Three sherpas died last month crossing the treacherous Khumbu Icefall on Everest.

“This should be increased to 5 million rupees (about $38,000),” said Kami Rita, gently rubbing a bruise on his cheek.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

Delhi sees another thunderstorm, records over 200% excess rainfall this May


The Safdarjung weather observatory, which provides a marker for the city, recorded 7.2 mm of rainfall early on Monday, taking the total for the month to 86.7 mm, an excess of 209 per cent over the normal or long-period average of 30.7 mm for May, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows.

Even for the pre-monsoon season as a whole, from March to May so far, the Safdarjung weather station has recorded excess rainfall this year, having seen 160 mm, which is 98.2 per cent over the normal of 61.8 mm for the season so far at the Safdarjung weather station. The IMD data shows that Delhi has recorded a ‘large excess’ rainfall for the season so far.

Of the nine districts in Delhi that the IMD considers, seven have recorded ‘large excess’ in rainfall – Central Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi, North Delhi, Northwest Delhi, South Delhi, and Southwest Delhi. While Northeast Delhi has recorded rainfall in the ‘normal’ category, West Delhi is an outlier this season, the only district in the city to have recorded a rainfall deficit this pre-monsoon season.

West Delhi has recorded 29.9 mm of rainfall, 45 per cent below the normal of 54.8 mm for the district. In contrast, Central Delhi has recorded 161.1 mm, the highest amount among the districts.

IMD marks a ‘large excess’ when rainfall is 60 per cent or more above the normal, while a deficit is marked when rainfall is 59 per cent to 20 per cent below the normal or the long-period average.

While the pre-monsoon season from March to May has seen rainfall in Delhi because of western disturbances that have affected northwest India, the IMD forecast for northwest India for June indicates that rains over the region are likely to be below normal. Maximum temperatures, kept in check by rains and cloudy skies for part of the summer, are likely to be above normal in June, according to the IMD forecast.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

Delhi sees another thunderstorm, records over 200% excess rainfall this May


The Safdarjung weather observatory, which provides a marker for the city, recorded 7.2 mm of rainfall early on Monday, taking the total for the month to 86.7 mm, an excess of 209 per cent over the normal or long-period average of 30.7 mm for May, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows.

Even for the pre-monsoon season as a whole, from March to May so far, the Safdarjung weather station has recorded excess rainfall this year, having seen 160 mm, which is 98.2 per cent over the normal of 61.8 mm for the season so far at the Safdarjung weather station. The IMD data shows that Delhi has recorded a ‘large excess’ rainfall for the season so far.

Of the nine districts in Delhi that the IMD considers, seven have recorded ‘large excess’ in rainfall – Central Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi, North Delhi, Northwest Delhi, South Delhi, and Southwest Delhi. While Northeast Delhi has recorded rainfall in the ‘normal’ category, West Delhi is an outlier this season, the only district in the city to have recorded a rainfall deficit this pre-monsoon season.

West Delhi has recorded 29.9 mm of rainfall, 45 per cent below the normal of 54.8 mm for the district. In contrast, Central Delhi has recorded 161.1 mm, the highest amount among the districts.

IMD marks a ‘large excess’ when rainfall is 60 per cent or more above the normal, while a deficit is marked when rainfall is 59 per cent to 20 per cent below the normal or the long-period average.

While the pre-monsoon season from March to May has seen rainfall in Delhi because of western disturbances that have affected northwest India, the IMD forecast for northwest India for June indicates that rains over the region are likely to be below normal. Maximum temperatures, kept in check by rains and cloudy skies for part of the summer, are likely to be above normal in June, according to the IMD forecast.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

IRDAI set to launch single policy covering life, health & property


The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is looking to launch a bundled product which will provide life, health, casualty and property cover in a single insurance policy at an affordable price, its Chairman Debasish Panda said.

IRDAI is working on the product along with the General Insurance Council  and Life Insurance Council, Panda said.

He said the ‘Bima Trinity’ will include Bima Sugam, the digital platform, Bima Vistaar, a comprehensive cover for the rural population on benefit based/parametric structure and Bima Vahak, a women-centric distribution channel to focus on reaching untapped/rural areas.

“Bima Sugam will be the protocol or the platform. Bima Vistar is a product where we are trying to design it in a manner which will be accessible to the common man. It will be a bundled product of life, health, causality and property,” Panda said at a CII event on May 25.

In October 2022, IRDAI had set up a committee to explore and recommend on how to bring about synergies in the working and operations of Bima Vahak, Bima Vistaar and the digital platform, Bima Sugam.

“We are trying to design it in a manner which will be a parametric trigger. So, you don’t need a surveyor or assessor to assess the loss. If there is a loss, the defined benefit immediately goes to the bank account of the policyholder,” he said





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here

Categories
Delhi News

As yield on 10-yr govt security falls, what should retail investors do?


While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in November 2021 allowed retail investors to participate in the government securities market – both primary and secondary – retail investors have not shown enthusiasm.

Should retail investors consider investing in government-backed securities?

Why are retail investors shying away?

On November 12, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the RBI Retail Direct (RBI-RD), a one-stop solution to facilitate investment in government securities by individual investors. The total number of registrations in the retail direct scheme since its inception stands at 99,371 as on May 22, 2023.

The number of accounts opened so far are 84,158. On average, retail subscriptions to government securities in every G-sec auction held over the past few months have been around Rs 42 crore.Total cumulative primary market subscriptions stood at just Rs 2,112.83 crore as on May 22, when the last G-sec auction was held. The total traded volume on a cumulative basis in the secondary market was Rs 351.58 crore.

“Though the RBI has developed a platform, a layman finds it complicated to invest in government bonds. They need some guidance, maybe through intermediaries, for investing in government bonds,” said Marzban Irani, Chief Investment Officer (Fixed Income), LIC Mutual Fund.

Bankers said retail investors are not enthusiastic as the G-sec market lacks liquidity. “After being allotted government securities in the primary auction, a retail investor might not always get a buyer in the secondary market at a level they want to sell and so, they are stuck. When you need money, you may not be able to get it immediately,” said a banker.

Experts believe that the scheme can pick up if the government gives retail investors some tax sops or if the investment process in G-secs is simplified like for fixed deposits.

The RBI Retail Direct platform is beneficial for an informed investor who understands the government securities market, but for an uninformed participant, investment in G-secs is advisable only through mutual funds.

Why are yields on government securities falling?

The yield on the 10-year government security, which was trading at 7.4% in early March 2023, fell to 7.3% after the government on March 24 announced changes in the taxation of debt mutual funds. The benefit of indexation in the calculation of long-term capital gains on debt mutual funds was removed. The 10-year G-sec yield eased to 7.2 % following the RBI’s surprise move to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 % in its April 6 monetary policy. Currently, the 10-year G-sec yield is trading at around 6.96-6.99 %.

The yield on 5-year G-sec has fallen from 7.4 % to 6.93 %, and on one-year government bonds from 7.23 % to 6.79 %.

Besides, the fall in inflation has also pushed the yield downwards. “The yields on sovereign papers have eased as there is an expectation the RBI may go for a longer pause after April inflation fell to 4.7 %. The 10-year G-sec yield may further ease to 6.5 %,” said a banker.

Is it the best time for retail investors to go for G-secs?

Experts say that the yield on 10-year G-sec at 6.96-6.99% is a good proposition for retail investors if they want to wait till maturity. “Earlier, the yield on 10-year paper was at 7.5 %, which was very attractive for investment. You are now getting a sovereign asset at 7 %, which is still a good rate for retail investors to invest,” Irani said.

He, however, said investors should prefer investing in longer papers, having maturities of 20 or 30 years.

Apart from government bonds, he said, investors can also invest in state development loans (SDLs) through mutual fund schemes.

What are the other investment options?

“The broad advice right now is to lock into these (G-sec) rates since they are not likely to climb too much hereon,” BankBazaar’s CEO Adhil Shetty said.

One can also look at fixed deposits (FDs), where banks have started raising interest rates following the 250 basis points rise in the repo rate since May 2022.

SBI, the country’s largest lender, has been offering an interest rate of 6.8% to 7% for deposits less than Rs 2 crore and maturing between one year to less than three years. For longer-term deposits — three years and up to 10 years — SBI has been offering an interest rate of 6.5%. Senior citizens can get an additional interest rate of 0.5% on these tenors.

Similarly, private sector lender HDFC Bank has been offering interest rates of 6.6% to 7.1% on deposits maturing between one year and up to 18 months. From 18 months to up to 10 years, the bank is offering 7%. Senior citizens will get 50 basis points higher interest rates.

“If you’re going for an FD, pretty much every bank now offers 7.5 % on select tenors to senior citizens. Some banks are offering these rates for 5-10 years as well. It makes sense to lock into those tenors even for an FD, which is typically treated as a short-term instrument. In a high-rate scenario such as this, the FD can also be a long-term income generator,” Shetty said.

He said one can watch out for new bonds and NCDs being launched. AAA-rated issues in particular should be interesting. “Lastly, there’s always the option of turning to the humble post office. The 5-year deposit is being offered at 7.5%, which most large banks don’t match at this moment,” he said.





Source link

For more information call us at 9891563359.
We are a group of best insurance advisors in Delhi. We are experts in LIC and have received number of awards.
If you are near Delhi or Rohini or Pitampura Contact Us Here