Byapaar.com -The Indian Business Blog

Just imagine what happens if the “title” of this post comes true sooner than later in India. Heard of Credit Rating? Being an Indian, I have only read about it on newspapers occasionally and sometimes found irritating SPAM mails on my inbox by some companies who were enticing me to make my credit score higher even if I had bad debt.

But don’t be surprised if you are denied a bank loan in the near future because of your bad credit score caused by intentional default or irresponsible financial management by you. On the other hand your loyal driver has been paying his mobile bills, gas bills regularly and hence he gets a a very high credit score. He gets cheaper bank loans, but you are denied.

Yes you guessed it right. If everything goes according to the plan the biggest names in credit rating industry ( such as Equifax and Experian ) will be opening their shops very soon infront of your office desk and decide on your eligibility for loans Quite scary! But thats what Indian government has been contemplating based on an assessment by a consortium of banks and financial institutions. They have already filed an application with the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI). So far there has only been one credit rating agency operating in India known s Credit Information Bureau Of India Ltd. (CIBIL). But its work has been limited due to absence of proper regulations. The government passed The Credit Information companies Act. only in 2005 that enables banks and financial institutions to reduce risks of bad debt and fraudulent activity. They can now share sensitive personal information of consumers with a recognized agency without taking permission from the person concerned. These agencies are to analyze the data and collect further information to build profiles of individuals to judge their eligibility for loans. People who gets higher score are to receive bank loans quicker and cheaper. On the other hand those with low scores might even get denied.

However the concept is still new in India and it remains to be seen how willing are banks and other institutions to part with the database. Another factor in this regard is how serious will the bank take on the analysis provided by these credit rating agencies. The government on the other-hand is trying to formulate a more detailed regulation making it mandatory for all banks to subscribe to at least one such agency.

So its going to be bad times for loan defaulter pretty soon. Be careful!

The Union Budget for the financial year 2008-09 has brought few smiles on the faces of middle class people. It is clear that, the UPA government has an eye for early national pools -may be by end of this year and hence there is lots of cheers for the all powerful middle class.

The Finance Minister has not only raised the taxable income level from that of last year, but it has also offered some schemes to lessen tax liability. For example, if someone is earning a monthly income of Rs. 25,00/month, his current tax liability is around Rs. 3,347.50/month. In the new taxation syste, the liability for the same income will be Rs. 1,287.50/month and that too without claiming any tax benefit on offer.

So how to save this extra money?

The best way, according to analysts is to invest in real estate. Due to higher interest rates - the rela estate market has been going through a price adjustment or correctional phase over the last few months. So price is quite stable at the moment. The new budget is not offering any extra benefit under Sec. 80 C or Sec 80 D - but due to lower tax liability, the taxpayer can easily utilize the fund judiciously.

The Sec. 80 C has been facilitating tax benefits for certain saving instruments including repayment of home loans. But only Rs. 1,00,000/annum can be accounted for this purpose. One can also claim benefit for Rs.1,50,000/annum as repayment of interest for the housing loan. So thats a cool benefit for Rs. 2,50,000/annum.

Another attractive factor in this regard is that, some banks are already lowering interest rates for housing loans and it seems that, the home loan interest rate might come down further due to global meltdown trend.

Now, we may consider how one gains through investment in real estate properties. Studies have shown that value of Indian real estate properties has seen a compounded annual growth rate of around 15-18 percent. S, the value is always increasing.

Just one point to be cautious is that, the government is giving these sops for personal or live in properties only. If some one buys a property and sells it within next five years, then he/she will have to pay taxes for all these years.

If you have a house and are pondering at what to do - just go ahead, take home loans, buy a nice property and rent it out. The rent will help you pay the EMI (Easy Monthly Installment) and by the time you are ready to settle down, your home loan liability will be NIL. You can enjoy your superannuiation benefits for your recreations. Just remember one thing - the tax implications in this case will have to be worked out after deducting the rent you get. Still you are the winner.

True to its name, the booming Indian economy has demonstrated its strength once again by putting four Indians in the top 10 of Forbe’s list of top 10 wealthiest people in the world. Just for information, Warren Buffet, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and the Bridge partner and fellow philanthropist pal of Bill Gates, the Microsoft Founder has pushed his friend to third position to claim the title of world’s richest man with a net worth of a staggering $ 62 billion, an increase of $10 billion over last 12 months. The Mexican telecommunication tycoon Mr. Carlos Slim is estimated to be worth $60 billion enabling him to surge ahead of Bill Gates, worth $58 billion.
But there is no surprise in the list which has seen lots of changes in the top 10 over the last 13 years except Bill Gates holding the number one position during this long period. The surprising element is the rise of four Indian into the top 10 richest billionaires club. The booming Indian economy has resulted into a scorching stock market that shored up values of these four Indian business moguls. Heading the list of Indians at number four in the Forbe’s list is L.N. Mittla, the steel baron ( ArcelorMittal) with a net worth of $ 45 billion. Following him at number five is Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of RIL at $43 billion thus making him the richest resident Asian. His estranged sibling Anil Ambani who broke away from the main RIL group is the sixth richest person in the world worthy of $ 42 billion a net gain of 12 places and $23.8 billion during last 12 months. K.P Singh, who is leading Indian real estate boom with DLF has become the fourth Indian in the top ten ( at number eight) as his fortune rose to $30 billion due to stock market boom.
The list of Billionaires club is now pegged at 1,125 and not surprisingly the US heads the list with 475 billionaires, followed by Russia (87) and Germany (59). India heads the list of billionaires in Asia with 53, 19 of them making their debut. This takes India to fourth in overall position in the Forbe’s list.

Resources:-

Most of the refinance schemes are based on the assumption that multiple creditcard withdrawls can do the trick. This is common sense. Whether one is in real estate or health industry, one should know that debt consolidation is not a good way of removing money kinks. And great houses for sale this season are certainly no reason to take this risk.