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Business Standard : What is SIP? SIP or Systematic Investment Plan is a plan through which a person can invest a small amount in a mutual fund at regular intervals (monthly/quarterly). SIP averages your investment cost over the investment duration and gives the flexibility of choosing your own amount and frequency, making it an ideal investment option for any investor. Benefits of SIP Invest small : SIPs can be started with as little as ₹500 each month. you can choose the frequency as monthly or quarterly for investing. Some Mutual Funds also give the facility of Daily SIP. Achieve your goals : Achieve your long-term financial goals as your investments are broken down into smaller, regular investments. No need to time the market : SIPs offer freedom from being on the constant look out for opportunities to time the market. Discipline yourself financially : SIPs inculcate financial discipline making you invest a fixed amount consistently at regular ...

The much-awaited movie 'Agnyaathavaasi' of leading Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan was released on Wednesday at 1 am. Hundreds of his fans danced on the roads outside the movies halls in excitement. The film will have seven shows in cinema theatres here in Andhra Pradesh and five in Telangana. While the Andhra Pradesh government granted permission to the cinema halls to screen three special shows from 1 am to 10 am, in addition to four regular shows between 10 am to midnight, the Telangana government on Tuesday allowed theatres to screen a special show from 8 am. The star's fans and cinema enthusiasts in both the Telugu states are expected to enjoy 'Sankranthi' holidays as both the states have relaxed the rules for screening the movie between January 10 and January 17. Telugu is leaving no stone unturned to cash in on the craze and make 'Agnyaathavaasi' a big hit at the US box office. They are promoting the movie heaving and as a part ...

A little over a month after entering into the digital payment ecosystem in India, Google’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app Tez has racked up 7.5 million users who have made over 30 million transactions. In a call with investors on Friday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that he was “really excited about the potential this (Tez) brings for India's mostly cash-based economy” while also revealing the growth figures for the app. While Google has not been able to demolish rival BHIM’s record of getting 10 million installs in just 10 days thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi backing, but it’s a commendable feat considering that Tez has lacked several features at launch. But coming into the UPI payments space a little more than a year late, Google has demonstrated that there still is space for growth in India’s digital payments ecosystem. Tez also sets the precedent for Google to invest in more region specific products, which it has rarely done before. “ We see...

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's)   landslide victory in the key state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is likely to intensify the government's war against black money / cash, suggests the latest Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) equity strategy report co-authored by Sanjay Mookim and Anand Kumar. The crackdown, the report suggests, could entail more transaction disclosure, increased tax on cash, restrict cash holdings (remaining un-implemented proposal of SITon black money). This war on cash, BofA-ML feels, will be beneficial for banks as it would result in more financial inclusion, more fees and potential lending. Better reporting can allow private banks to compete with the public sector units (PSUs) for SME (small and medium enterprises) business, it says. Also Read: UP poll result has made a mockery of the criticism that demonetisation got: Chris Wood "Loan waivers (if large enough and if replicated outside of UP) can be taken negativ...

The government on Monday asked  State Bank of India (SBI) to reconsider its decision to levy penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance, which the bank plans to hike manifold from April 1 impacting over 310 million savings bank account holders. SBI, according to a source, has also been asked to reconsider charges it proposes to levy on cashtransactions and ATM withdrawals over specified limits. The country’s largest lender has announced imposing penalty ranging from Rs 20-100 on non-maintenance of minimum average balance (MAB) in savings bank accounts from April 1. The penalty is as high as Rs 500 in case of current accounts. The penalty for breach of MAB is being reintroduced after a gap of five years. The bank has also increased the minimum balance requirement by many times, which is as high as Rs 5,000 for account maintained with branches in six metro cities.  Read More

Banks , including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, from March 1 started imposing a minimum charge of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month. The new charges would apply to savings as well as salary accounts. The bank would also cap the third party cash transactions at Rs 25,000 per day, while cash handling charges would be withdrawn. You can read about then details of this move here:  Banks to levy Rs 150 after 4 cash transactions Business Standard did a quick poll on Twitter yesterday and the results show how unpopular this move is  We asked: Are banks justified in charging customers for cash transactions in their own accounts? Out of 575 responses, 78 per cent replied in the negative while 22 per cent supported the banks' move.   Read more