Finance Forum India

In India, the telecommunication market is dominated by Airtel with 29.9 % market share, Vodafone (23 %), Idea (15.7 %), Tata (8.2 %) and Reliance (7.8 %).  There is a growth of 3.7 % in the industry gross revenues.  A total of Rs 38,750 crore were earned in the last quarter of the FY-2012-’13. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently announced that the roaming rates will be slashed by at least 57 %. This news has made telecom services subscribers happy, but for major telecom players in the market, it will hurt their profits. However, the telecom companies are heaving...

Indian currency experienced an all time low in May-2013.  The depreciating value of the currency is a sure-shot sign that something is amiss in the economy. The trend, as experts predict, will continue for some time in spite of heavy foreign fund flows. Indian currency is shoved down because of one prime reason, i.e. the continuous surge in gold imports. In April 2013, India imported a total gold of worth $7.5 bn. It was a sharp jump from $3.1 bn in March 2013. The total trade deficit of the country was amounting to a total of $17.8 bn in April 2013....

Some years ago, if you bought or sold shares of a company, it took at least three weeks for you to get the share certificate or money for your trade. Today, instant communication allows you to trade through the online and mobile platforms from the convenience of your home, car or office. In a fast-paced world, it takes just a few minutes for things to turn on its head. In that context, all investors should be able to get in and out of the market whenever they want to. The new online and mobile trading platforms bring a level playing field...

Written by: Linette Lopez

There comes a time in a Wall Streeter's life when he or she must make a decision about how to advance their career.

For many that means deciding whether to head to Business School for a Masters in Business Administration, or to take the Chartered Financial Analyst exams — the CFA.

These are two completely different ways of skinning a cat, and there are pros and cons to each.

NRI investments in the Indian capital markets continue to be a minuscule number compared to the inflows seen in bank fixed deposits or other avenues of investment.   The primary reasons attributed to the subdued interest in stock market investments is the lack of clarity and know-how as well as people being largely unaware of the immense potential the stock market has to offer in terms of returns on investment. And quiz any NRI investor about his reluctance to invest in the Indian share market and most would echo similar sentiments that point towards the exhaustive paperwork and documentation as well as...

There has been a lot of buzz lately surrounding the new Section 80 CCG introduced in last year’s Union Budget that allowed investors to claim deductions in lieu of investments made in the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme. Popularly known as the RGESS, the investment scheme was launched with the ultimate objective of providing investors an additional avenue to save tax as well as grow their investments.  There have been a lot of queries revolving around the nitty-gritty of how exactly one can go ahead and make investments in the scheme and whether it would be worthwhile to invest in the...

Investment in Gold and Related Tax Issues When an Assessee makes an investment in gold, it does not have any tax implications. However, any income received from the sale of items made of gold does attract taxes. The Income Tax Act of 1961 clearly states that silver, gold, and platinum ornaments or ornaments made from any other precious metal, precious or semi-precious stones, whether standalone or part of any furniture, utensils and any other articles, or worked upon or sewn into clothes etc. are considered Capital Assets. The taxable income that one receives upon sale can therefore be treated as Short-term...

Every bank adheres to the interest rate set by the central bank, in its country. The central bank in India is the RBI that decides the interest rate, which other banks have to abide by. In case of shortage of funds, banks borrow funds from the RBI, and the money is lent at the repo rate that is then deemed as the benchmark rate. Hence, every increase and the decrease in the repo rate have its repercussions on the life of a common man. An increase in repo rate will make it difficult for banks to borrow from RBI, resulting in...

Aashish Ramchand is the Co-founder of MakeMy Returns, an e-filing and online tax advisory website (recognized by Govt. of India). A chartered accountant by profession, he has worked with KPMG and JRC advisory both in international and domestic taxation respectively with a cumulative experience in taxation of more than 5 years. He has also completed CFA (USA) level 1 exam. Professional Tax or Tax on employment [Sec. 16 (iii)] As per Article 276 of the Constitution, Professional tax or Tax on Employment is levied by the state and is allowed as a deduction. The below mentioned factors are important with regards...

This article has been written by Kabir Sharma. Financial markets over the course of time have changed significantly, both with the development of new financial instruments and advancement of technology being employed. In terms of technology the markets have moved from human outcry mechanism to the modern day’s electronic exchanges with ultra high frequency computers being deployed to execute trades, minimizing the human intervention for trade execution. One of the recent developments in financial markets is algorithmic trading which now forms a major chunk of the total trades being executed across the most developed financial markets of the world. Algorithmic trading...