Tax free Rs 20 lakh gratuity for employees may be a reality soon

Payment of Gratuity Amendment Bill 2017 is likely to be passed in the forthcoming Budget session, which will make formal sector workers eligible for tax free Rs 20 lakh gratuity. 

At present formal sector workers with five or more years of service are eligible for Rs 10 lakh tax free gratuity after leaving job or at time of superannuation. "The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 will be passed in the Budget session of Parliament, expected to begin by the end of this month," a source said. The source further said, "The government wants to provide tax free gratuity of Rs 20 lakh to organised sector workers at par with Central government". 

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in winter session of Parliament last month. Once the bill is passed by Parliament, the government will not be required to go to it again for deciding the quantum of tax free gratuity. 

The bill seeks to allow the government to notify the period of maternity leave and gratuity that can be availed by employees under a central law. 

The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced by labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 2017. 

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, was enacted to provide for gratuity payment to employees engaged in factories, mines, oilfields, plantations, ports, railway companies, shops or other establishments. 

The law is applicable to employees, who have completed at least five years of continuous service in an establishment that has ten or more persons.The amendment will also allow the central government to notify the maternity leave period for "female employees as deemed to be in continuous service in place of existing twelve weeks". The proposal comes against the backdrop of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 enhancing the maximum maternity leave period for "female employees as deemed to be in continuous service in place of existing twelve weeks". The proposal comes against the backdrop of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 enhancing the maximum maternity leave period to 26 weeks. 

With respect to gratuity, the amount is calculated on the basis of a formula which is 15 days of wages for each year of completed services, subject to the ceiling of Rs 10 lakh. This limit was fixed in 2010. 

After implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, the ceiling of gratuity amount for central government employees has been increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

Source : Economic times

Budget may set aside more for home-loan sop

In Budget 2018-19, the Centre may have to redo its math on the allocations to the interest subvention scheme on housing loans.

While the credit-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) [or PMAY(U)] for the middle-income group (MIG) is off to a weak start, the number of beneficiaries for the economically weaker section (EWS) and low-income group (LIG) has shot up in the past year.

MIG beneficiaries numbered a mere 9,944 and received a subsidy of ₹204.6 crore till date, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Lok Sabha last month. However, Budget 2017-18 had allocated a larger sum of ₹1,000 crore as interest subsidy for MIG beneficiaries.

Interestingly, the number of beneficiaries under CLSS for EWS and LIG — the beneficiaries originally envisioned under PMAY(U) — rose sharply from 17,634 in 2016 to over 53,000 accounts in 2017. The ₹400 crore earmarked in last year’s Budget for this segment appears to grossly fall short of the actual disbursement.

With industry players expecting a better response to the scheme in the middle-income category, too, the Centre could end up allocating a far higher amount for CLSS in the upcoming Budget.

BUDGETARY ALLOCATION

In June 2015, the Centre had launched the CLSS under PMAY(U) for EWSs and LIGs. However, to placate the common man reeling under the impact of demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended the scheme to middle-income home buyers.

Budget 2017-18 had reduced the allocation to the EWSs and LIGs to ₹400 crore from ₹475 crore in 2016-17, and instead, apportioned ₹1,000 crore to MIGs under the CLSS.

Given that a total of 80,680 beneficiaries have availed interest subsidy under the CLSS schemes for all categories until now, it would seem that a little over 53,000 EWS and LIG beneficiaries claimed interest subsidy in 2017.

This would imply a subsidy of around ₹1,300 crore disbursed against the budgeted ₹400 crore for the EWS and LIG category (assuming an average of ₹2.5 lakh per beneficiary).

The Centre had recently increased the eligible carpet area from 90 sq m to 120 sq m for MIG I and from 110 sq m to 150 sq m for MIG II.

“Based on the feedback given by industry players, the Centre has fine-tuned the scheme to cover more beneficiaries under the MIG scheme,” says Sriram Kalyanaraman, Managing Director & CEO, National Housing Bank (NHB).

He adds that there has been a significant step-up in the pace of construction of houses under the scheme, which should lead to more takers in 2018.

The NHB, one of the Central Nodal Agencies to channel the subsidy to lending institutions, has covered 42,481 accounts and disbursed ₹906 crore subsidy between April 2017 and 5 Jan 2018 under EWS and LIG.

Sudhin Choksey, Managing Director, Gruh Finance says: “The CLSS under PMAY (Urban) has been a vast improvement over the earlier schemes. Higher awareness and increase in supply of houses should see more beneficiaries being covered under the scheme”.

Gruh Finance continues to focus on the EWS and LIG segment, which constitutes 85 per cent of their loans. In 2017-18 (so far), it disbursed 25,768 loans, of which 40 per cent have availed of the interest subsidy under CLSS.

Source:Hindu Business line

Beware: New Android malware targeting banking apps from SBI, HDFC and more

The newly discovered Android malware is targeting 232 banking apps including several Indian banks. Some of the banking apps being targeted by new Android malware include Axis Mobile, HDFC Bank MobileBanking, SBI Anywhere Personal, HDFC Bank MobileBanking Lite, iMobile by ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank GO Mobile+, Abhay by IDBI Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank GO Mobile, Baroda mPassbook, Union Bank Mobile Banking, and Union Bank Commercial Clients. 

The new Android Banking Trojan known as "Android.banker.A9480" was discovered by Quick Heal Security Labs and it is claimed to be designed for stealing login credentials, hijacking SMSs, uploading contact lists and SMSs on a malicious server. 

"Android.banker.A9480 is being distributed through a fake Flash Player app on third-party stores. This is not surprising given that Adobe Flash is one of the most widely distributed products on the Internet. Because of its popularity and global install base, it is often targeted by attackers," Quick Heal explains in a blog post. 

Explaining how the new Android malware disgiuses as a Flash Player, the malicious app after being installed asks the user to activate administrative rights. In case, user denies the request or kills the process, the app will keep throwing continuous pop-ups until the user activates the admin privilege. Once this is done, the malicious app hides its icon soon after the user taps on it. 

After getting admin rights, the malicious ap in the background carries out tasks like keep checking the installed app on the victim’s device and particularly look for 232 apps which include banking and some cryptocurrency apps. 

"If any one of the targeted apps is found on the infected device, the app shows a fake notification on behalf of the targeted banking app. If the user clicks on the notification, they are shown a fake login screen to steal the user’s confidential info like net banking login ID and password," explain Quick Heal. 

The report further adds that the malware can intercept all incoming and outgoing SMSs from the infected device. This enables attackers to bypass SMS-based two-factor authentication on the victim’s bank account (OTP).  

Quick Heal claims that apart from banking apps, Android.banker.A9480 malware also targets cryptocurrency apps. We recommend our readers to stay safe from Android Banking Trojans by avoiding downloading apps from third-party app stores or links provided in SMSs or emails. Users should also keep the Setting for "Always keep ‘Unknown Sources’" disabled. As expected, enabling this option will allow installation of apps from unknown sources. 

Android users with banking apps installed on their devices should also verify app permissions before installing any app even from official stores such as Google Play. Users should always keep device OS and mobile security app up-to-date. 

Source: Timesnow

Real estate still remains desirable asset for all India: Report

NEW DELHI: In a year marked with a series of policy changes to bring in more transparency, real estate remained a desirable asset for Indians as more than 15 lakh people actively searched to buy property in 2017, according to a report released on Wednesday.

"How India searched for Homes in 2017", prepared by online realty site Magicbricks, analyzed consumer behavior over the last 12 months to capture interesting consumer trends in 2017.

According to it, Maharashtra occupied the top spot with seven of its localities being the most preferred localities around the country. New Delhi remains a winner when it comes to rented properties while Navi Mumbai and Hyderabad are high on the buying meter.

"In a year marked with several policy changes, the fact that there was more than 15 lakh active searches for a property in 2017 debunks the myth that buyers have exited the market and establishes that real estate continues to be a desirable asset for Indians," said the property site's Head Marketing Prasun Kumar.

With prices remaining flattish over the last one year and demand-supply equation balancing out due to fewer project launches, it is certainly the right time for home buyers to invest in their home, he said.

The report also revealed that residents are also especially particular about the type of property.

Bengaluru is the one city open to mostly all building types. When it comes to specific choices, Hyderabad and Chennai prefer residential houses, plots, and villas. multi-story apartments are popular in Pune and Navi Mumbai, whereas Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Chennai prefer builder floors. Metro cities like Ahmedabad and Mumbai favour penthouses, the report said.

Source: ET Realty

PPF, other small savings to fetch lower interest rate from January 1,2018

The government on Wednesday slashed interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, by 0.2 percentage point for the January-March period from the rates applicable in the previous quarter, a move that will prompt banks to lower deposit rates.

At the same time, investments in the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme has been retained at 8.3 per cent. The interest rate on the senior citizens' scheme is paid quarterly. A finance ministry notification said rates have been reduced across the board for schemes such as National Savings Certificate (NSC), Sukanya Samriddhi Account, Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and Public Provident Fund (PPF). However, interest on savings deposits has been retained at 4 per cent annually.

Since April last year, interest rates on all small savings schemes have been recalibrated on a quarterly basis. As per the notification, PPF and NSC will fetch a lower annual rate of 7.6 per cent while KVP will yield 7.3 per cent and mature in 11 months.

The girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Account will offer 8.1 per cent from existing 8.3 per cent annually. Term deposits of 1-5 years will fetch a lower interest rate of 6.6-7.4 per cent, to be paid quarterly, while the five-year recurring deposit is pegged at 6.9 per cent. "On the basis of the decision of the government, interest rates for small savings schemes are to be notified on a quarterly basis," the ministry said, while notifying the rates for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2017-18.

While announcing the quarterly setting of interest rates, the ministry had said that rates of small savings schemes would be linked to government bond yields. The move is expected to see banks lowering their deposit rates in line with the small savings rate offered by the government.

On Wednesday, the government also said that it will borrow an additional Rs 50,000 crore from the market in the current fiscal year, triggering fears that the move may lead to a widening of the deficit target.

Source : TOI

Got money stolen from your ATM/card? Here's how much your bank is liable

Bank thefts are getting sophisticated by the day. Let alone retrieving your money, you can't even get to know how it was stolen in many cases. Two weeks ago, several people complained about having lost money from their accounts after using an ATM in Kalkaji in Delhi. But the police has yet to find out how the money was stolen as no prevalent ways such as a cloning device were used. Some customers even lost lakhs of rupees after using that ATM. Police suspect a gang might have hacked the machine's computer system.

With new security threats emerging every day, customers must know how much liability the bank shares in cases of unauthorized transactions. In July, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had revised its norms to limit the liabilities of consumers for unauthorized electronic transactions in their bank accounts, establishing a safety net for the citizens amid the national drive toward digital transactions and rising incidents of fraud. Read below to know how much the bank and the customers are liable in cases of unauthorized transactions.

Zero liability 

A customer will be entitled to zero liability where the unauthorised transaction occurs in the following events—contributory fraud/ negligence/ deficiency on the part of the bank (irrespective of whether or not the transaction is reported by the customer); third-party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorised transaction 

Limited liability 

A customer will have limited liability for the loss occurring due to unauthorized transactions in the following two cases: 

1. In cases where the loss is due to negligence by a customer, such as where he has shared the payment credentials, the customer will bear the entire loss until he reports the unauthorized transaction to the bank. Any loss occurring after the reporting of the unauthorized transaction shall be borne by the bank. 

2. In cases where the responsibility for the unauthorised electronic banking transaction lies neither with the bank nor with the customer, but lies elsewhere in the system and when there is a delay (of four to seven working days after receiving the communication from the bank) on the part of the customer in notifying the bank of such a transaction, the per transaction liability of the customer shall be limited to the transaction value or the amount mentioned on the website of RBI,, whichever is lower.

Further, if the delay in reporting is beyond seven working days, the customer liability shall be determined as per the bank's Board approved the policy. Banks shall provide the details of their policy in regard to customers' liability formulated in pursuance of these directions at the time of opening the accounts. Banks shall also display their approved policy in public domain for wider dissemination. The existing customers must also be individually informed about the bank's policy. 

Source: Economic Times

5 housing finance companies dominate mkt, lend 78% of home loans: ICRA

HDFC, LIC own assets worth over Rs 1 lakh cr, cornering around 57%.

The housing finance market in India is fragmented, with 80-plus players. However, two large companies, HDFC and LIC, each has assets over Rs 1 lakh crore, cornering 57 percent, according to rating agency Icra. The next batch, of three HFCs — DHFL, Indiabulls, and PNB HFL — with a book size of Rs 15,000-50,000 crore each — have a combined market share of 21 percent.

Sector executives said though these five have a dominant share, the thrust on affordable housing finance will gradually change the scenario. A little more than 25 HFCs have been set up since 2015.
The growth also comes with some risk, such as more laxity in underwriting standards in the midst of effort to expand books. The seasoning of affordable loans will throw up the challenge of slippages. Also, credit to developers (also known as developer loans) could be in default on account of consolidation and churn in real estate, due to regulatory reforms, they said.

Further down the ladder, eight players with an asset base of Rs 5,000-15,000 crore have a combined 12 percent share in the market. The prominent ones here include Gruh, HDFC’s subsidiary, Tata Capital Housing, Canfin Homes, India Infoline and ICICI Home. Rating agency data show those having a loan book below Rs 5,000 crore hold a small share of 10 percent in all. The reported capital adequacy of HFCs remains comfortable, given the relatively lower risk weight for home loans.

By Icra’s estimate, HFCs will require Rs 9,000-16,000 crore of external capital (11-19 percent of existing net worth) to grow at a compounded annual rate of 20-22 percent for the next three years. The internal capital generation level (after dividend) would be 15-16 percent and the gearing level is eight to nine times. Most of this incremental capital requirement would be for the small HFCs, including those operating in affordable housing. HFCs compete with commercial banks in home loans and their market share has grown gradually. With the spawning of new companies, especially for affordable housing, their share in an expanding pie is expected to grow at a faster pace. HFCs' share in total housing loans was 33 percent in March 2012 and 37 percent in March 2017. Commercial banks’ share went from 67 percent to 63 percent.