The government's contribution to the National Pension Scheme has been raised to 14 per cent from the current 10 per cent of the basic salary, as announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Mondeay. He said that while the employee contribution will remain at 10 per cent, they can withdraw 60 per cent of the pension, tax free, upon retirement. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Jaitley said, “Changes made in the larger interest of employees. Contribution made by employees under Tier-II of NPS will now be covered under Section 80 C for deduction of up to Rs 1.50 Lakh for the purpose of Income-tax at par with other Schemes such as GPF, CPF, Employees Provident Fund and PPF provided that there is a lock-in period of 3 years.” There is no word on when the changes to the pension scheme would come into effect.
NRIs sending home around $80 billion this year: World Bank
The World Bank's latest report on migration and remittances reveals that India will witness a 16.18 per cent increase in remittance inflow this year. The remittance inflow last year was $68.9 billion, while this year it is expected to be $79.4 billion. India is followed by China with $67 billion, Mexico and the Philippines with $34 billion each, and Egypt with $26 billion. “The upsurge is driven by stronger economic conditions in advanced economies, particularly the United States, and the increase in oil prices having a positive impact on outflows from some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, which reported a 13 per cent growth in outflows for the first half of 2018.” The GCC is a regional inter-governmental political and economic bloc of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The report also added that Bangladesh and Pakistan might experience upticks of 17.9 per cent and 6.2 per cent in 2018 respectively.
DRT serves notice to Nirav Modi, family
The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) has served notice to absconder diamantaire Nirav Modi, his family members and his companies to recover over Rs 7000 Crore they scammed Punjab National Bank out of. The notice, sent by DRT-1 Registrar, A. Murali, came six months after the beleaguered PNB had moved the tribunal in July to recover around Rs 7029 Crore. The notice said all accused-defendents including seven individuals and nine group companies, and all are barred from disposing off, transferring, or entering into any transactions pertaining to the secured properties. They have been given time till January 15, 2019, to reply to the notice, failing which, the PNB plea would be decided ex-parte. Along with Modi, the notice has been issued to his wife Ami, their children Rohin, Ananya, and Apasha, his brothers Nehal Deepak Modi, Neeshal Deepak Modi, Deepak Keshavlal Modi, and sister Purvi Mayank Mehta. Also named in the notice are nine companies- Stellar Diamonds, Solar Exports, Diamond RUS, Firestar International Ltd., Firestar Diamond International Pvt. Ltd., ANM Enterprises, NDM Enterprises, all based in Mumbai.
