Markets regulator SEBI has suggested the establishment of a Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant (MITR) in an effort to increase transparency and assist investors in recovering their unclaimed mutual fund investments.

To facilitate the management and transfer of financial assets in the event of a death, market regulator Sebi has suggested utilising DigiLocker, a government digital storage system. Financial documents, such as statements for mutual funds and demat accounts (which hold stocks), are supposed to be safely kept in DigiLocker.

Easy of transfer to designated succesor

DigiLocker will automatically update the deceased person’s account and alert the designated successor (such as a family member) to handle the assets.

The nominee will be able to work with the appropriate agencies to transfer the assets and access the deceased’s financial information in this way. Sebi’s mission is to make sure that assets are distributed to the appropriate heirs and to stop unclaimed assets (such as stocks or funds) from being left behind.

Need of the tracking system

Many investors eventually lose sight of their mutual fund investments, particularly those made in physical form with scant KYC information. Due to out-of-date information, such as a missing PAN, invalid addresses, or no email address, some investments are still inactive.

These folios are frequently overlooked because of this disconnect, which keeps them from showing up in consolidated account statements.

Unless the investor, nominee, or legal heir contacts the appropriate Asset Management Company (AMC) for redemption or transfer, investments in open-ended growth schemes may remain dormant indefinitely.

Such folios are susceptible to fraudulent activities because of the inactivity that may result from investors losing track of their investments or even the death of the account holder.

Functionality of retrievel mechanism

In order to solve this issue, SEBI has recommended that the MITR platform be developed and hosted by two Qualified Registrar and Transfer Agents (QRTAs): ComputerAge Management Services Ltd. (CAMS) and KFin Technologies Ltd.

Through links on important websites like MF Central, specific AMCs, AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India), and SEBI itself, the service would function as an industry-level searchable database.

New Delhi, Dec 16: The main macro drivers remain healthy and India’s GDP growth is likely to move closer to the trend growth of 6.5-7 per cent this fiscal, a Crisil Insight report said on Monday.

Trend GDP growth is the average sustainable rate of economic growth over time.

Private consumption growth in the country has fared better than last year in the first half of the current fiscal (FY25).

“While investment growth has moderated relative to last year, its share of GDP remains higher than the pre-pandemic decade,” the report mentioned.

Technical factors contributed to an above-trend GDP growth last year. They are expected to have a moderating effect on GDP growth this current fiscal as they normalise.

“GDP growth had averaged 6.6 per cent in the pre-pandemic decade. This fiscal is likely to see GDP growth move closer to trend growth of 6.5-7 per cent,” according to the report.

It is worth noting that the main macro drivers of growth remain healthy. Private consumption grew 6.7 per cent on average in the first half of this fiscal, compared with 4.1 per cent in the corresponding period last year. Its share in GDP at 56.3 per cent this fiscal has been higher than 56.1 per cent in the pre-pandemic decade.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation has also been normalising. The last fiscal saw a decline in WPI inflation to -0.7 per cent.

This fiscal WPI inflation has averaged 2.7 per cent, closer to the pre-pandemic 5-year average of 3.2 per cent. In November, India’s annual rate of inflation based on WPI eased to 1.89 per cent, compared to 2.36 per cent in October, as the rise in food prices slowed during the month with the fresh crop arriving in the market.

“We expect improving consumption demand to drive growth momentum this fiscal. In particular, agriculture and rural demand are poised to improve after a healthy monsoon. This means growth will be more balanced this fiscal, even if it is lower than last year,” said the Crisil report.

New Delhi, Dec 16 Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission has driven toilet cleaner usage in Indian households by 53 per cent in 2024, according to a report.

The report by Kantar, a market research firm, showed that the country has seen a dramatic rise in the use of toilet cleaners and floor cleaners. From 19 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively of households using these in 2014, it more than doubled to 53 per cent using toilet cleaners and 22 per cent buying floor cleaners in 2024.

Launched by the government on October 2, 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management and to create Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages.

The report attributed the growth of toilet cleaner usage in households to the mission’s success, coupled with marketing efforts. It said the mission significantly improved hygiene awareness and product penetration, particularly in rural areas.

As per the report, over 128 million new households have been added in the toilet cleaners, and 52 million homes in the floor cleaners segment.

The report said the surface cleaner market is about Rs 4,200 crore, with toilet cleaners accounting for half the segment at Rs 2,000 crore.

Kantar said the category was largely urban-centric a decade ago — that’s changed drastically.

A decade ago, 82 per cent of households that bought toilet cleaners were in urban areas, it was 90 per cent for floor cleaners.

“Urban is no longer the dominant source of the category with rural contributing to 52 per cent,” said K Ramakrishnan, managing director, South Asia, world panel division at Kantar. “Clearly, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan drove the importance of cleanliness to the Indian households, and simultaneously helped manufacturers to drive penetration of household hygiene categories as well.”

Since its inception in 2014, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has led to over 500,000 villages achieving ODF (Open Defecation-Free) plus status with rural sanitation rising from 39 per cent to 100 per cent.