What is Public Provident Fund (PPF)?   The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is a popular long-term investment option offered by the Government of India to promote savings and provide financial security to individuals. is a government-backed savings scheme introduced in 1968 under the PPF Act. It is available to residents of India and offers attractive interest rates, tax benefits, and a long-term investment horizon of 15 years, which can be extended further in blocks of five years.   Today, we’ll take a look at the various aspects of PPF, including its features, calculation methods, taxat ..read more

In this edition, we talk about the general elections that kicked off this week as well as the Israel-Iran crisis and their impact on the economy and the stock markets. We also talk about Tesla’s and Tata Motors’ EV plans for India, and the business settlement that the Godrej family is trying to stitch.   Welcome to Kuvera’s weekly digest on the most critical developments related to business, finance, and the markets.   tl;dr Hear the article in brief instead?   https://kuvera.in/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/April-19-Kuvera-Audio-compress-1.mp3   “I would like to di ..read more

Data discoveries of the week, presented in charts. We look at data on MPC’s inflation estimates, forest area growth in India, India’s automobiles sales and more.    1. Inflation estimates by Monetary Policy Committee RBI's MPC anticipates resilient growth, projecting inflation to drop to 4.5% in FY25 from 5.4% in FY24, aligning closely with its 4% target. Since Feb, the inflation forecast has been modestly lowered.#ChartOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/9Cy1QLA1dt — Kuvera (@Kuvera_In) April 15, 2024   2. 2 wheeler sales saw a significant decline in sales in March 2024. Wheelie stat ..read more

Top news SIP inflows jumped 35% on Y-o-Y basis to Rs 19,271 crore in March 2024 compared to inflows of Rs 14,276 crore in March 2023. Open ended equity mutual funds witnessed inflows of Rs. 5,583 crore in March 2024. The net Asset Under Management (AUM) of the overall Mutual Fund industry stood at Rs 23.49 Lakh crore. India’s foreign exchange reserves (Forex) reserves rose for the seventh straight week to hit a record high of $648.56 as of 5th April 2024. Index Returns Index 1W 1Y 3Y P/E P/B NIFTY 50 -1.7% 25.7% 14.8% 22.7 3.9 NIFTY NEXT 50 -1.9% 60.9% 21.2% 23.1 4.0 S&P ..read more

In accordance with the latest Master Circular on KYC requirements by SEBI and recent updates from the Income Tax Department regarding PAN validation, it is now mandatory to use the exact Name(s) and Date of Birth (DOB) as mentioned on your PAN card to initiate any transaction. Mutual fund houses are required to verify the name and DOB against the PAN records maintained by the Income Tax Department. Please ensure that your name and DOB is correct and consistent across your PAN Card, Bank Account, Aadhar, and KYC records.   1. Steps to update your name   Contact the intermediary who h ..read more

Index investing, or passive investing, has grown rapidly in India’s mutual fund industry over the last few years. Not only more investors than before are choosing this option to put their money to work but they are also increasing the amount allocated to index funds compared to actively managed mutual funds. This trend has prompted mutual fund companies to launch more passive investing schemes to attract investors. In turn, this has led financial planners, personal finance advisors, and even social media influencers to point out the advantages and disadvantages of index funds. But if you have ..read more

Top news The RBI's MPC decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% as on 5th April 24. Large-cap funds experienced the highest inflows of FY24, totaling ₹2,128 crore. Tata AMC and Bandhan AMC has launched the NFOs for  Tata Nifty Auto, Tata Nifty 500 Multicap India Manufacturing, Tata Nifty Midsmall Healthcare, Tata Nifty Financial Service, Tata Nifty 500 Multicap Infrastructure, Tata Nifty Realty, and Bandhan Innovation. The Tata NFOs closes on 22nd April 2024 and Bandhan NFO closes 24th April 2024 Index Returns Index 1W 1Y 3Y P/E P/B NIFTY 50 0.0% 26.4% 15.1% 23.1 4.0 ..read more

Did you know retail loans in India are rising rapidly?    A growing economy like India needs funds and majority of these funds come in the form of loans from banks and NDFCs.    As of November 2023, banks had lent over ₹50 trillion to individuals and households. The amount given in personal loans was about 40% higher than the ₹36 trillion lent to industries, as reported by Mint.        RBI data also shows a notable increase in credit card transactions, rising from Rs 1.61 trillion in November 2023 to Rs 1.66 trillion in January 2024.    This i ..read more

In this edition, we talk about how Apple can provide direct and indirect employment to lakhs of more people in India over the next three years. We also talk about how Merc’s sales in India are surging, why gold prices are at an all-time high, and the reasons behind a decline in equity mutual fund inflows in March this year.    Welcome to Kuvera’s weekly digest on the most critical developments related to business, finance, and the markets.   tl;dr Hear the article in brief instead?   https://kuvera.in/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/April-12-Kuvera-Audio-compress-1.mp3 ..read more

Data discoveries of the week, presented in charts. We look at data on Recession probability, direct taxes, GDP growth in India, the world population projections and more.   India has the least probability of recession. Here is how key economies stack up. Recent data shows India has the least probability for a recession. Here is how key economies stack up #ChartOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/HtoMo0dvIj — Kuvera (@Kuvera_In) April 8, 2024   2. How much each city collected in direct taxes in FY22. Here's how much each city collected in direct taxes in FY22.#ChartOfTheDay pic.twitter.com ..read more