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Hike in premium exemption, indication on GST cut on premium budget expectations of insurers

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GST

An indication on reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on health insurance, giving infrastructure status to healthcare facilities, hiking tax deduction for insurance premium are some the budget wishes listed out by the insurance sector.

Senior industry officials also urged the government to take steps to increase the insurance penetration in the country.

Even though the GST rates does not form part of the union budget, insurers want an indication towards slashing of the rates on insurance premium in the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech.

“Health insurance is an essential commodity and needs to be slotted in the five per cent GST tax slab to make it more affordable to access quality healthcare,” said Anup Rau, MD & CEO, Future Generali India Insurance

A significant reduction in the GST on all personal lines of products-from the existing 18 per cent to five per cent will encourage more people to buy health insurance. For senior citizens, it should be exempted.

According to Rau, increasing the tax deduction limit in Section 80D of the Income Tax Act – from Rs 25,000 to Rs 150,000 – can further help in penetration of health insurance.

“The rising medical costs and the increase in the incidence of critical illnesses make it an unmanageable expense for middle-income and lower-income groups. So, a higher tax deduction limit for health insurance plans is the need,” he argued.

Given the under-penetration of insurance in India and the need to bring a wider gamut of population under the safety net, small ticket size insurance products like micro-insurance, sachet products, etc. can be exempted from GST, Rau added.

The services by the healthcare providers don’t fall under the GST radar while at the same time buyer of the health insurance product pays the same given a large portion of the coverage is directed towards the cost of hospital bills, remarked Yogesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Onsurity, an insurance-health tech startup.

“In the upcoming union budget, we request the Government to intensify steps towards increasing insurance penetration in the country, since even today a large part of the population in the country still remains underinsured or uninsured,” Roopam Asthana, CEO & Whole-Time Director, Liberty General Insurance said.

Citing the 2020-21 annual report of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Asthana said, the insurance penetration in India stands at 4.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) as against a global average of 7.4 per cent.

Asthana said as of March, 2021 the non-life insurance penetration in India stood at barely one per cent and urged the government to slash the GST from 18 per cent.

“Further even though GST is not covered under budget, however policy makers’ should also look towards exempting or lowering GST rates on life insurance products and these should ideally be classified under essential product category,” Tarun Rustagi, Chief Financial Officer, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance said.

According to Rustagi, life insurance premium should be given a separate deduction limit of Rs 100,000 under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

Also, pension products should be given parity with NPS in tax incentives.

Further, for annuity products, deduction for principal component should be allowed and only the interest accretion should be taxed similar to fixed deposits.

Suitable changes should also be made under section 10(10D) to allow exemptions for all Life Insurance products where life insurance coverage is present which may be on the basis of policy term and sum assured ratio.

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ED arrests real estate firm MD in PMLA case, accused sent to 14-day custody

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New Delhi, Nov 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ocean Seven Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. (OSBPL) Managing Director Swaraj Singh Yadav after conducting searches at nine locations across Delhi-NCR and other regions in a money-laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, an agency statement said on Saturday.

The action stems from allegations that Yadav diverted and laundered funds collected from homebuyers across multiple projects, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

The searches on Thursday led to the recovery of Rs 86 lakh in cash, suspected to be proceeds of crime, along with incriminating documents and digital evidence.

According to the ED, Yadav orchestrated a large-scale diversion of homebuyer funds through fraudulent cancellation and resale of units at inflated prices, cash-based premiums collected outside banking channels, and misuse of escrow accounts.

He allegedly routed substantial sums into shell entities and concealed cash proceeds with relatives, the ED statement said.

Investigators also found a pattern of rapid liquidation of assets held personally and through company entities in Gurugram, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, which the agency believes was intended to secure illicit gains and evade legal scrutiny.

His wife and children have already relocated to the United States, the probe revealed.

The agency said Yadav operated a dual-payment mechanism in the resale of PMAY flats and even in the sale of parking spaces — routing only nominal amounts through banks while collecting the bulk in cash. These activities form part of a wider probe linked to multiple FIRs alleging cheating, forgery, and other predicate offences.

Following his arrest, Yadav was produced before the Court of ASJ-06 at Patiala House Courts on Friday, in compliance with Supreme Court directions.

After detailed submissions from both sides and a pass-over granted to allow him legal assistance, the court sent him to ED custody for 14 days, until November 28.

The agency has been directed to produce him before the court at 2 p.m. on the date of expiry of remand.

The ED said it is pursuing further investigation to trace, freeze, and attach assets acquired from the laundered funds, to ensure recovery and restitution to affected homebuyers.

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IndiGo to start flights from Navi Mumbai International Airport from Dec 25

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Mumbai, Nov 15: Low-cost airline IndiGo on Saturday announced flight operations from the newly-opened Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) starting December 25, connecting the airport to 10 cities across the country.

IndiGo will connect the future-ready airport to 10 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, North Goa (Mopa), Jaipur, Nagpur, Cochin, and Mangalore, the airline said in a statement.

The airline said it plans to expand operations at NMIA progressively by adding direct routes to more destinations in due course.

NMIA, the second airport in the Mumbai metropolitan area, is designed to complement Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and meet growing demand for air travel from India’s financial capital.

NMIA is expected to enhance regional connectivity and support economic development in western India due to its strategic location.

By enhancing regional connectivity and supporting economic development in western India, the launch of IndiGo’s operations will connect the airport to its vast domestic network of 95 airports across the country, it added.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, as a major achievement in India’s economic development and “a symbol of Bharat’s aspirations”.

PM Modi said that Mumbai welcomed its second international airport, marking a significant milestone in its journey to becoming Asia’s premier connectivity hub. “Through this new airport, the farmers of Maharashtra will be able to connect with supermarkets in Europe and the Middle East as well,” he observed.

NMIA will ease congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and significantly increase India’s aviation capacity.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport Private is designed to accommodate both domestic and international passengers, featuring state-of-the-art facilities. It includes a 3,700-metre runway capable of handling large commercial aircraft, modern passenger terminals, and advanced air traffic control systems.

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Stock markets end week on a strong note as NDA secures landmark win in Bihar

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Mumbai, Nov 15: Indian equity markets ended the week on a strong note, with benchmark indices gaining on the resolution of the US government shutdown, supported by strong domestic fundamentals, better-than-expected Q2 earnings, easing inflation and NDA’s historic victory in Bihar, according to analysts.

Record-low October inflation reinforced expectations of an RBI rate cut, adding momentum to domestic equities.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, sectoral momentum was broad-based, led by gains in IT, Pharma, healthcare and Auto stocks.

“Toward the week’s close, the NDA’s Bihar election victory bolstered investor confidence, but fading expectations of a U.S. Fed rate cut triggered profit booking in IT stocks, tempering their earlier gains,” he mentioned.

The indices remained under pressure for most of the session on Friday, oscillating between losses and brief recoveries, before a strong late-afternoon rebound pushed them into the green.

Volatility picked up as markets tracked the Bihar election outcome, the day’s key trigger.

Sentiment was also weighed down by weak global cues after Wall Street fell sharply overnight, led by declines in Nvidia and other tech majors as investors dialled back hopes of near-term rate cuts amid lingering inflation worries, according to a note by Bajaj Broking Research.

At close, the Sensex ended 84 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 84,563, while the Nifty finished 31 points up at 25,910. Sectoral trends were mixed, with PSU banks leading gains at 1.17 per cent, followed by firm moves in pharma and FMCG.

Energy and infrastructure saw mild upticks. On the downside, IT declined 1.03 per cent, while auto, metal, and realty ended lower.

Among the broader market space, Nifty Small-cap 100 rose 0.38 per cent, while the Midcap 100 gained 0.08 per cent.

According to analysts, Nifty on the weekly chart has formed a strong bull candle with a higher high and a higher low signaling pullback after two weeks of corrective decline, “in line with our expectations from the key support area of 25,400-25,300”.

Going ahead, bias continues to remain positive and a follow through strength above last month high of 26,100 will open upside towards the previous all-time high of 26,277 in the coming week.

Looking ahead, market direction will hinge on key macro triggers such as India’s PMI data, US jobless claims, FOMC minutes and progress on US–India trade negotiations.

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