SBI improved its ranking from 70th to 57th position
Even as the world financial markets have seen either the total disappearance or the loss of positions of top banks and financial institutions due to ongoing subprime crisis, it is now time for the Indian state owned banks and financial institutions to scale heights in global markets.
State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank and GIC Re, the sole official reinsurer, have improved their global rankings. SBI with over Rs 7 lakh crore assets has improved its ranking from 70th to 57th position, according to the latest annual top 1,000 bank list prepared by the UK based leading banking publication The Banker. Also in the latest list of top 40 global reinsurers prepared by the prominent rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, GIC Re with assets over Rs 36,000 crore, has moved up from 22nd to 16th position. The global list is prepared on the basis of global premium earned by the reinsurers.
GIC Re which has emerged as the leading reinsurer in the Afro-Asia region has improved its ranking over Japanese reinsurance majors like Mitsui Sumitomo , Sompo Japan Insurance and now has aggressive plans to expand into different parts of the world. ‘Our international business contributes 27 % to our revenues and we expect growing it to 50% in next five years ,’ said Yogesh Lohiya, chairman & managing director, GIC Re. The company’s total premium in 2007-08r was Rs 9,300 crore.
However in the list of top 1000 banks, ICICI Bank , country’s second largest commercial bank has fallen by three notches from 147th to 150th. during 2007-08. Similarly state owned Bank of Baroda, has fallen by 21 notches to 280 from 259th position during the same period. HDFC Bank, after the merger with Centurion Babnk of Punjab, has moved up hugely from 336th to 219th postion. The other bank which have moved up in the rankings ladder are Punjab National Bank (250, 255), Oriental Bank of Commerce ( 348, 378), Bank of India (373, 411), Union Bank of India (431, 496), Corporation Bank(498, 507). Together there are 22 Indian banks which have been featured in the top 1,000 banking list . The 1,000 global banking rankings are based on the definition of Tier 1 capital as defined by Basel’s Bank for International Settlement (BIS). The object of the survey is to show the bank’s soundness in relation to the Basel requirement of a minimum Tier 1 capital on risk weighted assets of 4% and minimum ratio of capital to risk weighted assets of 8%
SBI’s Bhatt declared as Indian of the Year 2007
Shri O P Bhatt, has been declared the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2007 in the Business category ahead of Vijay Mallya and the Ambanis .
After much deliberation, the jury voted for the maverick banker Shri O P Bhatt, at the helm of the State Bank of India since 2006, as the CNN-IBN’s businessman of the Year. He has been credited with doing the impossible.
Shri Bhatt took over at a time when India’s largest bank was faced with tough competition from fast growing private players. The mammoth challenge was to arrest SBI’s falling market share, raise funds for expansion and look for new avenues of growth.
In another daring move, Shri Bhatt has started the merger of all seven associate banks with the parent bank. Once the merger is completed, the combined entity will have a balance sheet of over 8 lakh crore rupees, and a countrywide network of 14,000 branches - enough to take on global banks looking to penetrate the Indian market after 2009.
Bhatt is the only SBI chairman since liberalisation who has been given a five year term. He is setting himself some tough targets. One of the targets is to up SBI’s market share by one per cent every year. Under him the bank is also looking at new business streams like general insurance, pension funds & mobile banking.
It’s a vision to make SBI a truly global bank and the man behind that dream is CNN-IBN’s Indian of the Year in the Business category for 2007.
SBI’s 1000 days Fixed Deposit(FD)
Until a few years ago, FD rates were quoted in either number of months or years, but ICICI Bank took the initiative to launch specific days FD with launch of 390/ 590/ 890 days FD.
With the turmoil in US financial market and its impending effect on India, Indian customers are now more inclined to invest in public sector banks rather than private sector or foreign bank, as such the new scheme may prove to be a hit in today’s times.
State Bank of India on Saturday announced a 1,000-day term deposit scheme with an interest rate of 10.5 per cent a year. The new scheme, which will begin from October 1, will be the term deposit of SBI carrying the highest interest rates. For senior citizens, the rate of interest will be 11 per cent. Earlier, it was offering 9.5 per cent on deposits of two years to less than three years.
How to apply for a PAN card?
Personal Account Number(PAN) is mandatory for all who are coming under the Income Tax liability. To pay the TAX to indian government, you must attain PAN card first by applying through filling PAN card application. It is also compulsory to quote PAN in all documents pertaining to economic or financial transactions notified from time-to-time by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. The following persons not required to obtain the PAN card:
- Persons having only agricultural income and do not have any taxable income.
- Non-residents;
- Central Government, State Governments and Consular Offices in transactions in which they are the payers.
The Income Tax department has authorized UTI Technology Services Ltd (UTITSL) to set up and manage IT PAN Service Centers in all cities or towns where there is an Income Tax office. You can locate the list of PAN application centers here.
Online PAN Application form - You can apply for the PAN application in this link.
Online PAN Application Status - You can track the status of the PAN application in this link.
If you have any doubts regarding the PAN application, Please post your comments.
What are the documents required for PAN application?
Along with Form 49A, you need to attach the following documents:
(i) Proof of Identity – Copy of any one of the following:
a. school leaving certificate
b. degree certificate
c. depository account
d. credit card
e. bank account
f. water bill
g. ration card
h. property tax assessment order
i. passport
j. voter identity card
k. driving licence
l. certificate of identity signed by a MP/ MLA/Municipal Councillor/ Gazetted Officer
(ii) Proof of Address – Copy of any one of the following:
a. Electricity bill
b. Telephone bill
c. Depository account
d. Credit card
e. Bank account
f. Ration card
g. Employer certificate
h. Passport
i. Voter identity card
j. Property tax assessment order
k. Driving licence
l. Rent receipt
m. Certificate of address signed by a MP/ MLA/Municipal Councillor/ Gazetted Officer
Note: If the application is for a minor, any of the above documents of any of the parents or guardian will be accepted.
Factors needs to consider for computing taxable income
The following factors need to be taken into consideration for the computation of total income:
(i) Residential status: This will determine what kinds of income of an assessee are taxable in India. It is important to remember that residential status is different from citizenship, and that it has to be determined separately for every assessment year.
(ii) Heads of Income: There are five heads under which any income of an assessee is classified. They are:
• Income from Salaries
• Income from House Property
• Profits and Gains from Business or Profession
• Capital Gains
• Income from Other Sources
Within each head of income, certain deductions have been given. Income under each head is to be computed separately taking into account the specific provisions.
(iii) Deductions from total income: The Act allows certain deductions on account of certain payments like investments, insurance premia, school fees, etc. (These are loosely referred to as tax saving investments.) These are also to be considered for computing tax payable.
(iv) Apart from the above, it is important to take note of the following points:
• There are certain incomes which are totally exempt from tax. These are contained in section 10.
• An assessee may be assessable for certain other persons’ incomes, e.g minor child, spouse, etc.
• Some losses are eligible for being set off against income in subsequent years. You may take advantage of these provisions.
List of banks in India
In this post I am presenting list of popular nationalised and private banks in India. It is not the complete list but it will be more helpful if you want to find most popular banks in india. Wikipedia has detailed explanation on Banking in india. The following are the list of nationalised banks in India:
Allahabad Bank
Andhra Bank
Bank of Baroda
Bharat Overseas Bank Ltd.
Canara Bank
Indian Bank
Deveopment Credit Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd.
Karnataka Bank Ltd.
Oriental Bank of Commerce
Punjab and Sind Bank
State Bank of India
State Bank of Mysore
State Bank of Saurashtra
Syndicate Bank
Union Bank of India
Corporation Bank
Dena Bank
UCO Bank
Vijaya Bank
Kerala Banking
The following are the list of private banks in India:
Centurian Bank of Punjab
Corporation Bank
Dena Bank
Export-Import Bank of India
Guardian Sahakara Bank Niyamita
HDFC Bank
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
IndusInd Bank Ltd.
ING Vysya Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Punjab and Maharashtra Bank Ltd.
Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd.
Thane Janta Sahakari Bank, Ltd.
Times Bank
UTI Bank
Yes Bank
The following are the list of foreign banks in India:
ABN AMRO Bank
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
American Express Bank
ANZ
BNP Paribas
Citibank India
DBS Bank
HSBC
Standard Chartered Bank
Learning Fixed Deposits(FD) Interest Rates in Indian Banks
What is Fixed Deposits(FD)?
Fixed Deposits (FD) is a system where a person – known as a depositor – deposits a lump sum amount of money in bank at a predetermined fixed period. The longer the period of the fixed deposit, the higher is the interest rate the depositor earns. The number of days an amount may be entered into a fixed deposit scheme ranges from 15 days to 5 years. After maturity period of the fixed deposit, the depositor then acquires the lump sum amount equal to his principal deposit, plus interest thereon.
The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) ensures an effective policy and restriction for the safety of these bank fixed deposits. Interest rates on fixed deposits differ from various banks depending on the maturity periods and the amount of deposits. The amount of fixed deposits range from Rs.10 to as high as 100 million rupees. Interest rates for bank fixed deposits are dependent on the amount of the investment and its maturity period which ranges from 4 to 10 percent. (Effective October 1st 2008, State Bank of India (SBI) offers 10.5% for normal FD and 11% for the senior citizen). Below is a presentation of the interest rate a fixed deposit can yield for a given period of maturity: These rates taken while writing this article. Period of Maturity Annual Interest Rate (in percent)
Interest Rates for Fixed Deposits(FD)
15 - 29 days 4.00%
30 - 45 days 4.75%
46 - 90 days 5.25%
91 - 120 days 6.00%
121 - 180days 8.00%
181 - 364 days 8.50%
1 year – not more than 2 years 9.00%
2 years – not more than 3 years 9.25%
3 years – not more than 5 years 9.50%
Above five years 10.00%
All bank deposits in India are covered with insurance by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Scheme of India and is, therefore, considered to be the safest investment form a depositor or investor can work on. Opening a Fixed Deposit Account is like opening a savings account after complying with the requirements where a deposit receipt is given to the depositor and is subject to updating within the period of the fixed deposit. It is necessary to update the account to verify if all transactions have been accounted for correctly.