Revised Transaction Fees on Stock Exchanges, New TDS Rates Take Effect From Oct 1, 2024

Indian stock exchanges have revised their transaction fees for cash, futures, and options trading, effective from Tuesday. Changes related to Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) and government bonds also came into force.

According to the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the updated transaction fees are as follows:

  • Cash market: ₹2.97 per ₹1 lakh of traded value.
  • Equity futures: ₹1.73 per ₹1 lakh of traded value.
  • Equity options: ₹35.03 per ₹1 lakh of premium value.
  • Currency derivatives (futures): ₹0.35 per ₹1 lakh of traded value.
  • Currency derivatives (options, including interest rate options): ₹31.10 per ₹1 lakh of premium value.

In the Union Budget, the government announced an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options to 0.02% and 0.1%, respectively.

Regarding TDS, a 10% rate will now apply to certain Central and State government bonds, including floating rate bonds, once the ₹10,000 threshold is crossed.

Additionally, TDS on rent payments by Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) or individuals under Section 194-IB has been reduced to 2%, down from 5%. Similarly, under Section 194G, the commission on lottery ticket sales has also been lowered to 2% from the previous 5%.

The interest rates for post office savings deposits and Public Provident Fund (PPF) remain unchanged at 4% and 7.1%, respectively.

From October 1, Indian citizens no longer need to provide their Aadhaar enrollment ID when applying for a PAN card or filing income tax returns.

India and Japan Partnership in ‘Specified Skilled Worker’: Details of areas

The Union Cabinet of India  has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of India and Government of Japan, on a Basic Framework for Partnership for Proper Operation of the System Pertaining to “Specified Skilled Worker”. Here are the details:

Details:

The present Memorandum of Cooperation would set an institutional mechanism for partnership and cooperation between India and Japan on sending and accepting skilled Indian workers, who have qualified the required skill and Japanese language test, to work in fourteen specified sectors in Japan. These Indian workers would be granted a new status of residence of “Specified Skilled Worker” by the Government of Japan.

Implementation Strategy:

Under this MOC, a Joint Working Group will be set up to follow up the implementation of this MOC.

Major Impact:

The Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) would enhance people-to -people contacts, foster mobility of workers and skilled professionals from India to Japan.

Beneficiaries:

Skilled Indian workers from 14 sectors viz. Nursing care; Building cleaning; Material Processing industry; Industrial machinery manufacturing industry; Electric and electronic information related industry; Construction; Shipbuilding and ship-related industry; Automobile maintenance; Aviation; Lodging; Agriculture; Fisheries; Food and beverages manufacturing industry and Food service industry would have enhanced job opportunities to work in Japan.

Aadhar Card Enrolls 111 Crore Out of 125 Crore Indians

With 68th Republic Day celebrated, India can bask upon its Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) or Aadhaar Card that has covered 111 crore of the 125 crore population in the country.

Ushered in 2009, the Aadhaar card has emerged as the world’s largest and unique biometrics based identification programme with a real time online authentication infrastructure which was recognised as a highly potential tool for financial inclusion in UN Report on World Social Situation, 2016.

Though a Manmohan Singh government’s initiative, the Aadhaar Card remained politically neutral and was adopted by the successive government to take it to the current level of instant identification online, that was used by private sector too to cite Reliance Jio recently.

“It has come a long way in less than six and a half years of its journey from being a unique identification programme to transform itself into a critical development tool of public–centric good governance and targeted delivery of services/benefits/subsidies,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Electronics & IT and Law & Justice.

UIDAI has 28,332 Permanent Enrolment Centres where people may go for enrolment, updation and other Aadhaar related services. UIDAI has a capacity of generating and dispatching over 15 lakh Aadhaars every day.

“Aadhaar which began in its first phase as a unique identification programme with an authentication infrastructure grew into its second phase as the tool of public sector delivery reforms by becoming the permanent financial address of the Aadhaar holder;and as a tool for de-duplication, e-KYC anddirect benefit transfer in its third phase, it started contributing to the management of the fiscal budget by generating saving to the Government exchequer to the tune of 36,144 crore in a few welfare schemes only in just two years,” he said.

“Now in its fourth phase, with demonetisation and Digital India drive towards less-cash economy, Aadhaar is all set to be the game changer with Aadhaar Pay – a non-traditional digital payment system without a need of card, pin, password or mobile with the consumer”, he added.

Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) on which 119 banks are live, more than 33.87 crore transactions have taken place. While only 7,406 AEPS points were available in May 2014, currently over 1,65,000 agents are available in the villages.

Secondly, the opening of bank accounts with Aadhaar eKYC, in which 97 banks are live and 4.47 crore bank accounts have been opened till now, which was only 1 lakh in May 2014.

Thirdly, Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) or Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), has shown considerable growth in the past two years at 167.36 crore worth Rs.44,967 crore which has risen by ten folds in value since 31st May 2014 (7 crore transactions, worth Rs.4,000 crore).

Fourthly, with the Aadhaar Pay, soon to be launched, any person with his Aadhaar number linked to Bank account, can make and / or receive payment, with his thumb impression alone.