Atal Pension Yojana - All Your Questions Answered

In the previous article, we covered the Atal Pension Yojana in great detail. As mentioned at the end of the article, there may still be a few unanswered questions in your mind about this subject. The purpose of this article is to help you get those questions answered.

If you have any further questions on this Atal Pension Yojana, feel free to sound off in the comments section and as always, I would be more than happy to answer the same.

1. Who can Subscribe to the Atal Pension Yojana 

Anyone who is a citizen of India can join this scheme. The following are the eligibility criteria:
• Age of the subscriber should be between 18 and 40 years
• He/She should have a savings bank account
• He/She should have a mobile number (for notification purposes)

2. Is the additional contribution of Rs. 1000 from the Government of India available for everyone?

No. People who are covered under statutory social security schemes are not eligible to receive this contribution from the government. The list of schemes under which an individual, if enlisted, is not eligible for this additional grant of Rs. 1000 are:
• The Employees Provident Fund
• The Coal Mines Provident Fund
• Assam Tea Plantation Provident Fund
• Seamens Provident Fund
• Jammu Kashmir Employees Provident Fund
• Any other social security scheme

3. How are my contributions to the Atal Pension Yojana invested?

The corpus collected as part of this scheme will be invested as per the guidelines prescribed by the Finance Ministry. Don’t worry, your money is 100% safe as the Government of India provides a guarantee for your pension once you attain the age of 60.

4. Can I choose how my money is Invested? For ex: Can I opt for my money to be invested in the stock market for higher growth/returns?

No, you cannot. As the returns are guaranteed by the Government of India, the investment is also done according to the directions of the Ministry of Finance of India.

5. I don’t have an Aadhar Card. Can I still enrol in this scheme?

Yes you can. Though Aadhar is the primary KYC expectation, it is still not mandatory (since the Aadhar coverage is still not 100%). You can still open your account without the Aadhar card but you are expected to get the card soon and update your records ASAP. This is done to avoid pension payout disputes in the future.

6. I don’t have a bank account. Can I still enrol in this scheme?

No, you cannot. Having a bank account is a minimum expectation and hence you will be expected to open an account first before you can enrol in this scheme.

7. What will happen if required or sufficient amount is not maintained in the savings bank account for contribution on the due date? 

Non-maintenance of required balance in the savings bank account for contribution on the specified date will be considered as default.

Banks are required to collect additional amount for delayed payments, such amount will vary from minimum Re 1 per month to Rs 10/- per month as shown below:
i. Re. 1 per month for contribution upto Rs. 100 per month.
ii. ii. Re. 2 per month for contribution upto Rs. 101 to 500/- per month.
iii. iii. Re 5 per month for contribution between Rs 501/- to 1000/- per month.
iv. iv. Rs 10 per month for contribution beyond Rs 1001/- per month.

Discontinuation of payments of contribution amount shall lead to following:
i. After 6 months account will be frozen.
ii. After 12 months account will be deactivated.
iii. After 24 months account will be closed.
Subscriber should ensure that the Bank account to be funded enough for auto debit of contribution amount

8. Is it required to furnish nomination while joining the scheme? 

Yes. It is mandatory to provide nominee details in APY account. The spouse details are also mandatory wherever applicable. Their aadhaar details are also to be provided.

9. How many APY accounts I can open? 

A subscriber can open only one APY account and it is unique

10. Will there be any option to increase or decrease the monthly contribution for higher or lower pension amount? 

The subscribers can opt to decrease or increase pension amount during the course of accumulation phase, as per the available monthly pension amounts. However, the switching option shall be provided once in year during the month of April.

11. When does the scheme mature?

The scheme ends when you reach 60 years of age wherein the entire corpus is used to subscribe to an Annuity product which will provide you with the pension – as agreed.
In case of the death of the subscriber (even if this happens before attaining 60 years age) the pension will be payable to the survivor (usually the spouse) and in case both the subscriber and his/her spouse is not alive, the corpus will be returned to the nominee.

12. How will I know the status of my contributions?

The status of your contributions will be intimated to your registered mobile number via regular SMS alerts. You will also receive a Physical Statement – which is expected once every year.

13. Are there any limitations for governmental contributions?

If you are a part of any other social security scheme and a tax payer, then you are not entitled for government contribution. For instance, members of the Social Security Schemes under the following enactments would not be eligible to receive Government co-contribution:  

1. (i) Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952.
   
2. (ii)  The Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1948.
   
3. (iii)  Assam Tea Plantation Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision, 1955.
   
4. (iv)  Seamens’ Provident Fund Act, 1966.
   
5. (v)  Jammu Kashmir Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1961.
   (vi) Any other statutory social security scheme. 

However, you can still signup for the plan, there is nothing stopping you. 

Hope this article was able to answer your queries about the Atal Pension Yojana. If you have any further queries, do post a comment and I will try my best to answer your queries.

Atal Pension Yojana – Explained

The Atal Pension Yojana is a Pension Scheme offered by the Government of India to help Indian Citizens receive a pension in their old age. This is yet another Social Security scheme launched by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Modi. The purpose of this article is to help understand the details of this scheme.

Before we Begin – Why this scheme?

India is one of those countries that does not offer any nationwide Social Security scheme where citizens are protected in their old age. Many western countries offer this facility and our Hon’ble prime minister had promised to address this after he took charge.

The purpose of this scheme is to help the low income group working class of India who are employed in the unorganized sector and do not have any formal life savings like EPF or any other schemes.

So, what is this Atal Pension Yojana?

The Atal Pension Yojana is a Pension Scheme that is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through NPS architecture. Citizens can signup for the National Pension Scheme or NPS (which has been covered in great detail in this blog – click here to know more) when they are aged between 18 and 40 years. The amount of pension they receive will be a combination of the amount they contributed and the no. of years they contributed towards their NPS account.

The Government of India would guarantee the pension that the citizens who enrol in this Atal Pension Yojana are supposed to get post retirement. The minimum monthly pension that subscribers could get would be between Rs. 1000/- and Rs. 5000/- per month.

Who is Eligible for Atal Pension Yojana?

The Atal Pension Yojana is open to all Citizens of India who hold bank accounts who are aged between 18 and 40 years. The exit age and start of the pension will be 60 years. This makes the minimum contribution period as 20 years (Assuming someone signs up at 40 years of age)

How to Subscribe to the Atal Pension Yojana?

All Points of Presence (service providers) of the NPS Swavalamban scheme would be eligible to enroll subscribers for the Atal Pension Yojana.

The amount you wish to contribute will be automatically deducted from your account. Based on the amount of pension you wish to receive (Between Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000) and your age, the monthly contribution expected from your side will get determined. You are expected to make this contribution every month without fail. You can however choose to increase or decrease your future monthly pension amount and based on this, your monthly contributions will get adjusted automatically. A point to note here is that this change in pension amount (And contribution) can only be done Once every year during the month of April.

Are there any special benefits for signing up for the Atal Pension Yojana?

Yes, there are. As this scheme is specifically targeting the lower income groups from the unorganized sectors, the government is offering to contribute 50% of the amount contributed in a year or Rs. 1000/- (whichever is lower) every year for the first five financial years of the scheme – FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20. This extra contributions is available for all new joiners who enrol into the scheme between 1st June 2015 and 31st December 2015 and who are not members of any statutory Social Security Scheme and who are not Income Tax Payers (People who fall below the minimum income group to fall into any tax bracket).

Atal Pension Yojana and the NPS Swavalamban Scheme

Existing Swalamban subscribers will be given an option to automatically migrate to the Atal Pension Yojana scheme. However, a key point to note here is that, the total additional Rs. 1000/- contribution each year will be limited to a maximum of 5 years. So, if someone received this Rs. 1000/- once as part of NPS Swavalamban, they will get the benefit for only 4 years under Atal Pension Yojana.

Swavalamban subscribers who are aged above 40 and those who do not wish to continue may opt out of the Swavalamban scheme by complete withdrawal of the entire corpus or may prefer to wait until they reach 60 years of age to start receiving the annuities (pension).

Missed Payments and Penalties

As with any investment scheme, the subscriber is expected to make timely contributions towards their accounts. As the amount is auto-debited from your bank account, you are expected to maintain sufficient amount in your account.

In case, the monthly payments are missed, the penalties would be as follows:

1. Rs. 1 per month for contributions up to Rs. 100 per month

2. Rs. 2 per month for contributions between Rs. 101 to Rs. 500 per month

3. Rs. 5 per month for contributions between Rs. 501 to Rs. 1000 per month

4. Rs. 10 per month for contributions above Rs. 1001 per month

By paying the penalty plus the delayed amounts, the subscriber can continue investing in the scheme. For ex: If someone paying Rs. 500 per month missed 3 monthly payments, he/she is expected to pay Rs. 1506 to revive their account.

In case the monthly contributions are missed continuously the following happens:

- After 6 months, the account gets Frozen

- After 12 months, the account gets De-activated

- After 24 months, the account gets Closed

Exit from the Scheme and Receipt of Pension Payments

Upon completing 60 years of age the subscribers will need to submit a request to the associated bank to start receiving their monthly pension.

Note: Closure of the account before achieving 60 years of age is only allowed in case of death of account holder or terminal illnesses.

Expected Monthly Contributions:

As mentioned earlier, the amount you are expected to contribute each month would vary based on your age and the amount of pension you wish to receive. As the minimum pension is Rs. 1000 and maximum Rs. 5000, the following would be the amount you are expected to contribute each month.

Age	Monthly Contribution for Pension
	Rs. 1000	Rs. 2000	Rs. 3000	Rs. 4000	Rs. 5000
18 years	42	84	126	168	210
19 years	46	92	138	184	228
20 years	50	100	150	198	248
21 years	54	108	162	215	269
22 years	59	117	177	234	292
23 years	64	127	192	254	318
24 years	70	139	208	277	346
25 years	76	151	226	301	376
26 years	82	164	246	301	376
27 years	90	178	268	356	446
28 years	97	194	292	388	485
29 years	106	212	318	423	529
30 years	116	231	347	462	577
31 years	126	252	379	504	630
32 years	138	276	414	551	689
33 years	151	302	453	602	752
34 years	165	330	495	659	824
35 years	181	362	543	722	902
36 years	198	396	594	792	990
37 years	218	436	654	870	1087
38 years	240	480	720	957	1196
39 years	264	528	792	1054	1318
40 years	291	582	873	1164	1454

Though this article covered the basics of the Atal Pension Yojana, you may still have a few open questions on this topic. The next article will be helpful in answering all your Questions on this subject.

The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana - All Your Questions Answered

In the previous article, we covered the basics of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Scheme. As this scheme is quite new, you may have some unanswered questions about the same. The purpose of this article is to help clarify them. If you have any further queries about this scheme, feel free to sound off in the comments section and I will be more than happy to clarify them.

1. What is the nature of the scheme? 

The scheme will be a one year cover Life Insurance Scheme, renewable from year to year, offering protection against death of the policy holder. Death may be due to natural causes or illnesses or due to an accident.

2. What are the benefits under this scheme?

As this is a life insurance product, the only benefit of this scheme is the compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs that will be paid out to the nominee of the life insured in case of death of the policy holder.

3. Can I Pay the Premium as Cash every year?

No, you cannot. The premium can only be paid via Auto-Debit from your savings account that is linked to this scheme. No other mode of payment will be accepted.

4. If I do not join this scheme now, can I join next year or a few years later?

Sure you can. The enrolment period is usually the May of each year and you can enrol any year in the future that you like. Note that the benefits of the scheme will only start after you signup for the same.

5. I have a Life Insurance policy with another Insurance Company. Can I still avail this scheme?

Sure you can. There are no limitations on existing insurance policies that customers may have. This policy will be over and above the ones you already have.

6. I accidentally signed up for this schemes in 2 of my banks. What happens now?

As per the Terms & Conditions of this scheme, an individual can sign up only once for this scheme. In your case, even if something happens to you, you cannot make 2 claims. You can only make One claim. The second premium you have paid will stand forfeited.

7. What are the major exclusions on this policy?

This policy covers death arising out of Natural causes or Accidents or due to illnesses only. Death arising out of Intentional Self Injury or Suicide or Attempted suicide is not covered. Any loss of life that happened while the Insured was under the intoxication of any drugs or liquor is not covered. Similarly, any loss of life that occurred because the policy holder was involved in an illegal activity, is not covered.


8. Can I Nominate someone against my policy?

Sure you can. In fact, you cannot sign up for this Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana scheme if you do not have a Nominee assigned to your Savings Account. This person will be the default nominee for your policy. If you want to change the nominee, you can do that too.

9. Does the Insurance Company have the option to cancel the policy?

Yes, they have the power to cancel the policy at any time if:
- The policy holder is found to have enrolled with multiple banks for the same product
- The policy holder is found to have provided incorrect information (Ex: Date of birth or any other personal information)
- The premium was not received on time

10. What are the roles of the Insurance Company and the Bank in administering this policy?

The Insurance Product is provided as a shared partnership between your bank and a partner insurance company. For ex: If you sign up with ICICI bank, the insurance is provided by ICICI Lombard Life Insurance. Similar to this, each bank has a tie-up with an Insurance provider who provides the policy.

The Banks takes up the responsibility of gathering information from account holders, their premium amounts (and any other info – as requested by the insurance company) and shares them with the Insurance company. The Insurance company in turn provides the bank with a Master Policy that covers all the individuals who have paid their premiums on time.

Similarly, when there is a claim, the bank will collect the claim form from the policy holder (or the nominee) and helps settle the claim in conjunction with the insurance provider.

Hope this article helps answer your queries on the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana scheme. If you have any further questions on this topic, do feel free to leave a comment and I will definitely try to answer your queries.

The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana – Explained

The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is a Life Insurance product that is being made available for all Indian Citizens by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. This policy/product covers the loss of life of the insured individual due to any cause. The purpose of this article is to cover the key details about this scheme that you should know… 

What is this Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti  Bima Yojana?

As mentioned above, the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is a life insurance policy that covers the life of the insured individual. The scheme would be offered through Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGIC’s) and other General Insurance Companies willing to offer the product on similar terms and with necessary approvals. The scheme is available for purchase through all banks across India. 

Who can enroll in this Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti  Bima Yojana?

Any Indian citizen with a Savings Account aged between 18 and 50 years can enrol in this scheme. In case an individual has multiple savings accounts with different banks, he/she is eligible to enrol through only one bank account. 

What is the Enrollment Period?

The scheme is a year on year insurance product where the individual is expected to make yearly premium payments in order to keep the policy active. As of now the scheme is available for enrollment until August 2015 and the insurance coverage will start from the 1st of the following month of enrollment for a period of One Year. 

As a policy holder, you can choose to exit the scheme any time you want and sign-up again any time in the future. 

What are the Benefits of this Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti  Bima Yojana Scheme?

As this is a simple life insurance policy, in case of the death of the insured individual, his/her family will be paid out a sum of Rs. 2 lakhs. 

What is the Yearly Premium for this scheme?

The premium to be paid by individuals will be Rs. 330 per year and the same will be reviewed by the insurance companies based on the claims experience in the coming future. However, the government has instructed the insurance companies to do all they can to ensure that the premiums don't go up drastically. 

The premium can only be paid via Auto-Debit from your Savings Account. No other modes of payment will be accepted. 

Things You Should Know About the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Bima Yojana:

The following are some key points you should know about this scheme..

• You can enrol in this scheme only until the point where you reach 50 years of age

• The Insurance Coverage will cease at the point where you reach 55 years of age

• The Insurance Coverage will cease at the point where you close your Bank Account or if your account does not have sufficient funds to pay the premium for this scheme 

• In case any individual is found to have enrolled in this scheme through multiple banks, only one claim will be entertained. Any premiums paid via other banks shall be forfeited. 

• Premiums will be deducted during the month of May every year and the bank will remit the premium on your behalf to the insurance company

• The bank through which you signed up will be the Master Policy Holder and all members who have signed up by paying the yearly premium will be subscribers to the same. 

Hope this article helped you get an understanding of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti  Bima Yojana. You may still have some unanswered questions about this scheme. The next article will help you get those answered… 

The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana - All Your Questions Answered

In the previous article, we covered the basics of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Scheme. As this scheme is quite new, you may have some unanswered questions about the same. The purpose of this article is to help clarify them. If you have any further queries about this scheme, feel free to sound off in the comments section and I will be more than happy to clarify them.

1.      What is the nature of the scheme?

The scheme will be a one year cover Personal Accident Insurance Scheme, renewable from year to year, offering protection against death or disability due to accident.

2.      What are the benefits under this scheme?

The following are the benefits of this scheme:

1.      Accidental Death – 2 Lakhs

2.      Total and Permanent loss of vision in both eyes or loss of use of both hands or feet or loss of one eye and one hand/feet – 2 lakhs

3.      Total and permanent loss of vision in one eye or loss of one hand or one feet – 1 Lakh

3.      Can I Pay the Premium as Cash every year?

No, you cannot. The premium can only be paid via Auto-Debit from your savings account that is linked to this scheme. No other mode of payment will be accepted.

4.      If I do not join this scheme now, can I join next year or a few years later?

Sure you can. The enrollment period is usually the May of each year and you can enroll any year in the future that you like. Note that the benefits of the scheme will only start after you signup for the same.

5.      I have a Personal Accident policy with another Insurance Company. Can I still avail this scheme?

Sure you can. There are no limitations on existing insurance policies that customers may have. This policy will be over and above the ones you already have.

6.      I accidentally signed up for this schemes in 2 of my banks. What happens now?

As per the Terms & Conditions of this scheme, an individual can sign up only once for this scheme. In your case, even if something happens to you, you cannot make 2 claims. You can only make One claim. The second premium you have paid will stand forfeited.

7.      What are the major exclusions on this policy?

This policy covers death or disability arising out of Accidents only. Death or disability arising out of Intentional Self Injury or Suicide or Attempted suicide is not covered. Any accidents that happened while the Insured was under the intoxication of any drugs or liquor is not covered. Similarly, any accidents that occurred because the policy holder was involved in an illegal activity, is not covered.

8.      Can I Nominate someone against my policy?

Sure you can. In fact, you cannot sign up for this Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana scheme if you do not have a Nominee assigned to your Savings Account. This person will be the default nominee for your policy. If you want to change the nominee, you can do that too.

9.      Does the Insurance Company have the option to cancel the policy?

Yes, they have the power to cancel the policy at any time if:

-        The policy holder is found to have enrolled with multiple banks for the same product

-        The policy holder is found to have provided incorrect information (Ex: Date of birth or any other personal information)

-        The premium was not received on time

10.   What are the roles of the Insurance Company and the Bank in administering this policy?

The Insurance Product is provided as a shared partnership between your bank and a partner insurance company. For ex: If you sign up with ICICI bank, the insurance is provided by ICICI Lombard Life Insurance. Similar to this, each bank has a tie-up with an Insurance provider who provides the policy.

The Banks takes up the responsibility of gathering information from account holders, their premium amounts (and any other info – as requested by the insurance company) and shares them with the Insurance company. The Insurance company in turn provides the bank with a Master Policy that covers all the individuals who have paid their premiums on time.

Similarly, when there is a claim, the bank will collect the claim form from the policy holder (or the nominee) and helps settle the claim in conjunction with the insurance provider.

Hope this article helps answer your queries on the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana scheme. 

The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana – Explained

The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is an accidental insurance product that is being made available for all Indian Citizens by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. This policy/product covers both death or disability arising out of an accident for the insured individual. The purpose of this article is to cover the key details about this scheme that you should know…

What is this Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana?

As mentioned above, the Pradhan Mantri Surakhsa Bima Yojana is an accidental insurance policy that covers both accidental death or disability. The scheme would be offered through Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGIC’s) and other General Insurance Companies willing to offer the product on similar terms and with necessary approvals. The scheme is available for purchase through all banks across India.

Who can enroll in this Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana?

Any Indian citizen with a Savings Account aged between 18 and 70 years can enrol in this scheme. In case an individual has multiple savings accounts with different banks, he/she is eligible to enrol through only one bank account.

What is the Enrollment Period?

The scheme is a year on year insurance product where the individual is expected to make yearly premium payments in order to keep the policy active. As of now the scheme is available for enrolment until August 2015 and the insurance coverage will start from the 1^st of the following month of enrolment for a period of One Year.

As a policy holder, you can choose to exit the scheme any time you want and sign-up again any time in the future.

What are the Benefits of this Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Scheme?

The following are the benefits of this scheme:

1.      Accidental Death – 2 Lakhs

2.      Total and Permanent loss of vision in both eyes or loss of use of both hands or feet or loss of one eye and one hand/feet – 2 lakhs

3.      Total and permanent loss of vision in one eye or loss of one hand or one feet – 1 Lakh

What is the Yearly Premium for this scheme?

The premium to be paid by individuals will be Rs. 12 per year and the same will be reviewed by the insurance companies based on the claims experience in the coming future. However, the government has instructed the insurance companies to do all they can to ensure that the premiums don't go up drastically.

The premium can only be paid via Auto-Debit from your Savings Account. No other modes of payment will be accepted.

Things You Should Know About the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Bima Yojana:

The following are some key points you should know about this scheme..

·        The Insurance Coverage will cease at the point where you reach 70 years of age

·        The Insurance Coverage will cease at the point where you close your Bank Account or if your account does not have sufficient funds to pay the premium for this scheme

·        In case any individual is found to have enrolled in this scheme through multiple banks, only one claim will be entertained. Any premiums paid via other banks shall be forfeited.

·        Premiums will be deducted during the month of May every year and the bank will remit the premium on your behalf to the insurance company

·        The bank through which you signed up will be the Master Policy Holder and all members who have signed up by paying the yearly premium will be subscribers to the same.

Hope this article helped you get an understanding of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. You may still have some unanswered questions about this scheme. The next article will help you get those answered…

Analyzing the Past One Year’s Performance of the Modi Government

Last year in May, the BJP Lead coalition with Mr. Narendra Modi at its helm swept the Indian National Elections and Mr. Modi took charge as the Prime Minister of India. The past one year has been a tumultuous ride to say the least. He took over with the expectations of over a billion people on his shoulders and has been a very busy man. The purpose of this article is to analyze the performance of the Modi Government…

Before we Begin: This is not a Politically Motivated Article. I am not affiliated to any political party and the opinions in this article are entirely mine and do not reflect the opinion of any group or political outfit. This analysis is purely based on the government’s financial policies and the economic situation of the country. Please be civil with your opinions about the performance of the Modi Government in the comments section of this article. Hateful or Abusive comments WILL NOT be Published. Thanks.

Ruling a Country is not an easy feat. It is like a Marathon Race of 5 years or maybe even more. Judging the governments performance after just the first year is not ideal because there is still 4 more years to go. So, definitely we will have another review of this governments performance at the end of 5 years and maybe a few times in between also.  In a Marathon the guy who crosses the 1 km mark first is not the winner, the guy who can endure the full distance and cross the finish line is always the winner. But, based on the first 1 km performance we will be able to identify how well a runner will perform until he reaches the finish line – am I right?

The Situation – Before 2 years:

The Narendra Modi led government has been bashed left and right by opposition parties esp. Congress but that is politically motivated and is mainly based out of short-term memory. Just a couple of years ago India was among the “Fragile Five” countries that had the following:

1.  High Inflation
2.  Large Current Account Deficits
3.  Weak Economic Growth Prospects
4.  Challenging Capital In-Flow Situation
5.  Widespread Accusations of Corruption and Mismanagement
6. Political Uncertainty

In short, our future was bleak and everyone considered us among the most vulnerable of the Emerging Market nations. Fast forward to the present date India is among the fastest growing countries in the Emerging Market. Such a transition is nothing short of Phenomenal. Obviously the political party that was responsible for this mess wouldn’t accept that – or would they?

Last year when this Mr. Modi led BJP Government took over, they did so with beyond sky-high expectations. People were fed up of the many different points I just listed down and obviously all of them cannot be satisfied in just one year. So, the judgment of the governments performance should be on absolute terms rather than what may happen 5 or 10 years down the line.

A Cynics Point of View – Of the Current Situation:

Ok, let me be the devils advocate here. An argument can be made that this economic revival is due to the fall in commodity prices especially Crude Oil. Along with this, our RBI Governor has taken a few tough stands to rein in the country’s inflation which may have also contributed to the situation.

The Reality of the Situation:

Of course yes, these two aspects have helped improve the economic situation of the country. But, this alone cannot make the situation better. Any expert can tell you that the biggest contributing factor to the situation has been the governments conscious effort in cutting its spending. Factors like curtailing the food inflation by preventing hoarding, increasing minimum support prices on agricultural produce and supplying enough food to the market as and when required has played a major role in reining in the nations uncontrolled inflation. This lower inflation helped our RBI Governor to cut interest rates twice in the last five months and the real interest rate is positive again after many years…

The Government is consciously taking up efforts to push our PM Modi’s dream initiative – “MAKE IN INDIA”. Ease of doing business in India was at an all time low. Large conglomerates were reluctant to set up shop in India due to the high levels of bureaucracy and corruption. The governments effort of improving the ease of doing business in India is helping address the capital inflow situation. Foreign institutions are now lining up to establish themselves in India.

The Highlight – Hike in Infrastructure Spending:

A country of the size of India where still 2/3rds of the population live in Tier II or III towns or villages with not much infrastructure requires tons of dedicated spending to improve the situation. Considering our countrys size, such an improvement requires a vision and a farsighted plan that should be followed by meticulous implementation. The good thing for us is that, in the last one year the Modi government has taken a lot of decisions in this direction.

The government has fast tracked the construction of freight corridors and has also proposed a master plan for interconnecting coastal cities through road. Along with this numerous rail and road transmission projects have been awarded. New ports are being built and even the Ganges River cleaning project could open up new navigation channels for the northern part of India. Many other projects that were stalled during the previous regime have also been cleared.

The Future:

Decades of bad governance and short-sighted planning had left India in a state of disarray. To be honest, it is practically impossible to rectify such a situation in just one year.  But, based on how the government has performed in the past one year, it is obvious that our Prime Minister has a long-term vision and a plan that could revive the fortunes of the 2^nd most populous country of the world our beloved India. If this plan is put into action and implemented as expected, then I am pretty sure our Country will be among the largest and strongest economies in the world.

A Laymans Guide to Insurance in India

The Insurance Industry in India is probably one of the fastest growing industries not just in India but across the world. With so many insurance companies each trying to sell their product, We the customer need to analyze all our options before making this decision. 

Purely by definition, Insurance is nothing but an arrangement by which a company undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for the Specified Loss in return for payment of a specified premium. This Specified Loss could be anything and is agreed between the Insurance Company and the individual taking up the Insurance Policy.

There are many different types of Insurance.

1. Life Insurance
2. Automobile Insurance
3. Accident & Disability Insurance
4. Property Insurance
5. Credit Insurance
6. Travel Insurance and 
7. Health Insurance

Each of us would need more than one form of insurance and in most cases we just go by what our insurance advisor says. The purpose of this book is to help you understand what Insurance is, what these different types of insurance products mean, how to buy insurance and a lot more. 

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Best Wishes
Anand