Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a series of reductions in customs duties as part of Budget 2024 and also announced which items are going to be costlier in financial year 2024-25.Among the notable changes, customs duties on essential items such as cancer medicines and mobile phones have been substantially lowered, promising to bring down their retail prices and make them more accessible to the general public. This measure is expected to provide much-needed relief to patients requiring expensive cancer treatments and to consumers looking to purchase mobile devices and accessories. Furthermore, the reduction in import duties extends to other key items, including gold, silver, and leather goods. These changes are anticipated to invigorate retail demand, particularly in the bullion market, while also addressing issues such as smuggling. Here we are providing detailed information about what gets cheaper and what gets costlier after Union Budget 2024.Items Getting Cheaper:Cancer medicines: Major reduction in customs duty, with 3 more cancer treatment drugs exempt from customs duty.Mobile phones, chargers, and other mobile parts: Basic customs duty reduced.Imported gold and silver: Import duties slashed to 6%.Platinum: Customs duty reduced to 6.4%Leather goods and seafood: Prices reduced due to lower customs duties.Ferro nickel and blister copper: Basic customs duties removedCapital goods for solar panel manufacturing: Expanded list of exemptions25 critical minerals: Customs duties fully removedShrimp and fish feed: Customs duty reduced to 5%Items Getting Costlier:Ammonium nitrate: Customs duty increased by 10%Non-biodegradable plastics: Customs duty increased by 25%Telecom products: Basic customs duty on certain equipment raised from 10% to 15%Plastic products: Customs duty increasedIndustry Impact:Gold and silver: Reduction in import duties expected to boost retail demand and help curtail smuggling.Global gold prices: Higher demand from India could support global prices but may increase India's trade deficit and affect the rupee.List of Items That Will Cheaper and Costlier After Budget 2024Here is the full list of items that will get cheaper and costlier in FY 2024-25:What’s CostlierWhat’s CheaperCancer MedicineAmmonium nitrateTelecom productsNon-biodegradable plasticsImported Gold and SilverMobile Phone and Mobile PartsPlatinumPlastic productsLeather Goods Seafood Ferro nickel and blister copper Capital goods for solar panel manufacturing 25 critical minerals Shrimp and fish feed Gold Rate After Budget 2024Today, gold prices faced significant selling pressure following the announcement of the Union Budget 2024. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed a reduction in customs duty on gold and silver from 15 percent to 6 percent. This led to a sharp decline in gold prices.

Investors, traders, market analysts, and corporate leaders are keeping an eye on the stock market ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's presentation of the Union Budget 2024 on 23rd July. This budget is a fiscal plan of the newly elected coalition government; it will lay down the economic roadmap for the country in the financial year 2024-25. There are expectations from the Union Budget 2024, like focus on infrastructure expenditure, modernisation of defence and railways, divestment of public sector undertakings, changes on capital gain tax, deductions for new tax regime, GST optimisation, encouraging policies for start-ups and more. The announcements by the finance minister on budget day could fulfil these expectations, but they could be against them. Either, they will affect the stock market. Here, we provide the history of the stock market on budget days in the last 12 years, which focuses on how government announcements have impacted the market on budget days in the previous decade. A dedicated section on analysis of some of the market experts is also there.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sets a fixed internal reference rate for banks. This interest rate is, then, used by banks and lending institutions that come under RBI to define the minimum interest rate applicable to different loan types.This rate is updated by RBI every once in a while when there is a drastic change in the country’s economic activities. Banks are usually not allowed to lend money at a rate below this reference rate called the MCLR.                 Know more about MCLR, its implementation, and how it is different from the base rate here!  What is MCLR?Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) is the minimum lending rate below which a bank is not permitted to lend. MCLR replaced the earlier base rate system to determine the lending rates for commercial banks.RBI implemented MCLR on 1 April 2016 to determine rates of interests for loans. It is an internal reference rate for banks to determine the interest they can levy on loans.

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has made it easy for you to download Aadhar card. Aadhar card holders can provide their Aadhar digitally for many services and verification. They can download Aadhar by using their Mobile number. Aadhar card can be downloaded online, but not without OTP. The process of downloading Aadhar card with phone number is given below.How To Download Aadhaar Card with Mobile Number?You can easily download your Aadhar card on UIDAI website.

To use online Aadhaar facilities, it is necessary to link your mobile number with UIDAI. If your old mobile number is no longer active or you need to update your mobile number in your Aadhaar card, you can easily do so. However, please note that the facility to update the mobile number in Aadhaar online is no longer available as it has been discontinued by UIDAI. You can now only change your mobile number in Aadhaar offline. How to Change Mobile Number in Aadhaar Card?Here is the process to change/update/ add mobile number in Aadhar Card:Go to your nearby Aadhaar Enrolment centre  Fill out the Aadhaar update or correction form. Authenticate your details by Biometrics verification. Submit this form to the respective Aadhaar executive along with a service charge of Rs 50. You will receive an acknowledgement slip containing the Update Request Number (URN).

Latest Updates7th June 2024 – Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the Eighth time kept the Repo rate unchanged at 6.50%.5th April 2024 – Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintains the repo rate at 6.5% without any changes.8th February 2024 – Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintains the repo rate at 6.5% without any changes.Current Repo Rate & Reverse Repo RateCurrent repo rate is at 6.50%Current reverse repo rate is at 3.35%Reserve Bank of India Lends money to Commercial Banks at Repo rate, i.e. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to maintain liquidity, in case of shortage of funds or due to some statutory measures. It is one of the main tools of RBI to keep inflation under control.Click here to read about: Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) & Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)This article covers the following:What is BPS or Basis Point?Basis points, also referred to as “bps” are a unit of measurement used in finance to express the rate of change in an index or other benchmark or the percentage change in the value of financial instruments. In decimal notation, one basis point is equal to 0.0001 or 0.01% (1/100th of a percent).How Does Repo Rate Work?When you borrow money from the bank, the transaction attracts interest on the principal amount. This is referred to as the cost of credit.

The 7th Pay Matrix presents a detailed yet straightforward table that shows all pay levels of government employees in a single table. The 7th Pay Matrix is a new way to organise salaries for central government employees in India, introduced by the 7th Pay Commission. It looks like a grid with 18 horizontal rows and 40 vertical columns. Each row represents different job ranks in government service, and each column shows yearly increments or advancements employees can achieve within their respective levels. The salary for each rank starts at a base amount, which was set following the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission and an updated calculation method called the fitment factor.7th Pay Commission Pay MatrixCentral government employees received a hike on their pay scale from 6th to 7th CPC. The Government designed a pay matrix table to make the new pay scale accessible and understandable for the employees.

Retail Mutual Fund Investors are rising rapidly in India. In March 2024, there were 17.8 crore mutual fund accounts, out of these 91.4 percent were those of retail investors as per the Association of Mutual  Funds of India (AMFI). Retail investors are those who have a ticket size of less than Rs.2 lakhs. In this scenario, understanding the types of mutual funds has become more important for investors to diversify their portfolio and reduce the risk. But first, let's discuss what Mutual Funds are. A mutual fund is formed when an asset management company (AMC) pools money from several individual and institutional investors to purchase securities such as stocks, debentures and other similar assets.

The total Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) amount consists of the contribution made by the employer and employee and the accumulated interest on the amount. Under the Employee Provident Fund Act 1952, once you attain 58 years of age, you can claim the total PF corpus on retirement. However, in certain conditions, you can claim it before attaining the age of 58.You can withdraw your entire PF amount after 2 months of resignation from a job provided you are still unemployed. If you want to know the procedure to withdraw PF online after resignation, scroll down and read further. Eligibility For PF Withdrawal After ResignationYou need to fulfil certain conditions to be eligible to withdraw your PF amount after Resignation, which is as follows:You must serve a notice period of one month or pay the corresponding amount to the employer.You must complete two months of continuous service with your current employer. Your personal details must be updated on the EPFO portal. You have not joined another company or job.You can withdraw 75% after one month of resignation and the entire amount after two months of resignation.Procedure For PF Withdrawal After ResignationHere is the procedure for PF withdrawal after your resignation:The first step towards withdrawing your PF balance is to submit Form 19 (PF Settlement Form) to your current employer. You can easily obtain this form from the official website of EPFO or the nearest EPFO office. Before submitting it to your current employer, you must sign the form.

A mutual fund is formed when an asset management company (AMC) pools money from several individual and institutional investors to purchase securities such as stocks, debentures and other similar avenues. The AMCs have fund managers to manage the pooled investment. Mutual fund investors are assigned with fund units corresponding to their quantum of investment. Investors are allowed to purchase or redeem fund units only at the prevailing net asset value (NAV).Top 10 Best Performing Mutual FundsHere we are listing best mutual funds in India on the basis of our research and available data which includes, NAV, returns, risk, exit load and required minimum investment amount. Below tables of best mutual funds belongs to three categories; Equity, Debts and Hybrid.The Table below shows the best equity funds:The table below shows the best debt funds:Mutual fund5 Yr.