Personal Finance

Affluent homebuyers in India are purchasing luxury homes for lifestyle use and long-term wealth preservation rather than short-term capital appreciation, according to Nibhrant Shah, Managing Director and Co-CEO, Isprava. The shift reflects a broader change in investment behaviour among high-net-worth individuals, who are treating luxury real estate as a combination of personal consumption and long-term…

The Department of Posts will launch a new premium delivery offering, ‘24 Speed Post’, from March 17, aiming to provide faster and more reliable parcel and document delivery across major cities. Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia and Minister of State for Communications Chandrasekhar Pemmasani will formally launch the service at an event in New…

Gold and silver prices in international markets traded higher on March 17, supported by geopolitical tensions and cautious investor sentiment ahead of key central bank decisions this week. On the commodities front, COMEX gold rose 0.40% to $5,022.10 per ounce. COMEX silver gained 0.83% to $81.35 per ounce, with prices moving in a range of…

A growing number of younger Indians are facing not just a medical emergency but a financial one. A new multi-city data from Apollo Home Healthcare highlights a sharp rise in stroke cases among working-age adults and widespread gaps in insurance coverage. The data shows that stroke cases among people aged 20 to 45 have risen…

Gold and silver prices in India moved higher on March 17, tracking firm global trends and continued geopolitical uncertainty, while investors assessed the outlook for inflation and interest rates. On the domestic bourse, MCX gold contracts for April 2026 delivery rose about 1% to trade near ₹1.56 lakh per 10 grams. MCX silver contracts for…

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued an advisory clarifying how taxpayers should account for payments made during investigations when filing appeals, after complaints that the GST portal continues to demand pre-deposit amounts despite prior payments. The issue arises when taxpayers voluntarily pay dues during the investigation stage using Form GST DRC-03. After…

A return of about 306–312% has accrued to investors opting for premature redemption of Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) 2019–20 Series IV, based on the latest redemption price announced for March 17. The government has set the premature redemption price at ₹15,814 per unit, calculated as the simple average of the closing price of 999 purity…

Several banks, including HDFC Bank and Punjab National Bank, have announced changes to ATM-related rules effective April 1, impacting how customers use cash withdrawal services across channels. The revisions cover how transactions are counted, applicable charges, and daily withdrawal limits on select debit cards. HDFC Bank said it will begin counting UPI-based cash withdrawals at…

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has clarified that biometric Aadhaar authentication (eKYC) for LPG connections is required only for customers who have not yet completed the process, and not for all consumers. In a statement, the ministry said recent reports suggesting mandatory eKYC for all LPG users are incorrect, adding that the communication…

Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka will see wider acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) across merchants, as NPCI International Payments Limited steps up efforts to deepen its footprint in the country. UPI-enabled payments via LankaQR were launched in Sri Lanka in 2024. The latest development focuses on expanding merchant coverage, particularly across high-traffic segments such…