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Vol. XIII, Issue III March 2012 50 3/2012 Catch us also on M A R C H 2 0 1 2TRANSCRIPT
Editor: Roopa Vajpeyi
Chief EditorProf PK Ghosh
Mg. EditorProf Sri Ram Khanna
COOAshim Sanyal
Corporate HeadSisir Ghosh
EDITORIALEnglishLoyal LallHindiKeertana SharmaPriyanka MishraOnlineSapna SainiFood DeskAshok KanchanFinance DeskSunil PrabhakarIT DeskHemant Upadhyay
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ACCOUNTSMonender SinghSanjay Kumar
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SUBSCRIPTIONAshu BhagatFaraz Ahmed
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OFFICE SUPPORTAnna DuraiM. Shivaneshan
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FINANCE
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Total no. of Pages : 44
Mercury Decoded
PAGE 12
COMPARATIVE TEST
T-5 Fluorescent Tubes & Ballasts Lab Tested
PAGE 07
Dr. Premlata
PAGE 14
E 33
But Our Bodies are
not Fooled
DIY
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LEGAL FILE
Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 - Empowering Consumer
MA
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CONSUMER24 VOICE http://www.facebook.com/ConsumerVoiceIndia
make a city his or her home, then
investing in an apartment is a better
option than making the owner of the
rental place richer.
In the last few years, housing loan
scenario in India has changed dras-
tically. It has taken a front seat and
people are looking forward to own-
ing their own houses. It is no more
a dream that required lifetime saving
and a difficult decision to make. To-
day home loan is much easily avail-
able and is much cheaper than what
was available earlier. Banks are now
everywhere and the schemes are im-
plemented even in villages and small-
er towns.
Home loans are a major investment
even for the upper middle class, so
showing haste is like cutting the same
branch on which we are sitting. Cera-
tin points which should be taken into
consideration before you sign the dot-
ted line are:
• First things first; make sure you
know what you want before you
take the next step.
• Select the location, and then ze-
ro-in on 3 to 4 properties. Keep
accessibility, facilities, locality as
the criteria. Doing a lot of market
research always helps.
• It is better to check your credit
history/report before you pass
your file for a home loan. Nor-
mally 80% of the loan amount is
made available by the bank, but a
good credit history can stretch it
to 85 %.
T
Purchasing the home of your
dreams is not an easy task. Es-
pecially when you plan to buy a
home on loan. Home loan means that
you buy a house on instalments. In
simpler terms when you want to own
a home and can’t afford to pay the
amount in lump sum, you can pay it in
monthly instalments with an interest
rate. Many banks are providing home
loans whether commercial banks or fi-
nancial institutions to the people who
want to had a home.
Why is Investing on a Home Loan bet-
ter than Paying the Rent? Considering
a small apartment in a metropolitan
city in India, the home loan EMI is
more or less similar to the rent that
an individual pays for an apartment.
Now, if an individual has decided to
Home Sweet Home
here are different types of home loans available in the market to
cater borrower’s different needs.
• Home Purchase Loan: This is the basic type of a home loan
which has the purpose of purchasing a new house.
• Home Improvement Loan: This type of home loan is for the
renovation or repair of the home which is already bought
• Home Extension Loan: This type of loan serves the purpose when
the borrower wants to extend or expand an existing home, like
adding an extra room etc.
• Home Conversion Loan: It is that loan wherein the borrower has
already taken a home loan to finance his current home, but now
wants to move to another home. The Conversion Home Loan helps
the borrower to transfer the existing loan to the new home which
requires extra funds, so the new loan pays the previous loan & fulfills
the money required for new home.
• Bridge Loan: This type of loan helps finance the new home of the
borrower when he wants to sell the existing home, this is normally
a short term loan to the borrower & helps during the interim period
when he wants to sell the old home & want to buy a new one, It is
given till the time a buyer is found for the old home.
• Home Construction Loan: This type of loan taken when the
borrower wants to construct a new home.
• Land Purchase Loan: It is that loan which is taken to purchase a
land for construction & investment purposes.
Confucius said the strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home*
*but when that home comes with a bank loan, payble over years, then what? MA
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CONSUMER24 VOICE
Service Test
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CONSUMER VOICE 25http://www.youtube.com/VOICEConsumer
• Have some spare cash to pay for
miscellaneous aspects like taxes,
paperwork etc.
• Understand all the aspects of the
home loans through your bank/
Housing Finance Company
In order to assess the quality of serv-
ice provided by the Home Loan pro-
viders we conducted survey in twelve
states of India, namely, Delhi, Rajas-
than, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal,
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Ma-
harashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. About
3100 respondents who have taken
home loan from the Banks or Housing
Finance Companies were contacted to
find out the level of their satisfaction
with the kind of service provided by
the Bank/HFCs.
As shared earlier, taking a home loan
is not a difficult task now. However,
before taking a loan, one must real-
ize that the relationship with the bank
will be for a longer period usually 15
to 20 years so one must ensure faith
and integrity in bank. This faith comes
in the customer from his satisfaction
level with the services provided by
these Banks/HFCs. In our study, with
a mean score of 7.86, Housing De-
velopment Finance Corporation Lim-
ited (HDFC) has come out to be the
winner in overall satisfaction of the
customers with the Bank/HFCs. Close
on the heels is Central Bank of In-
dia with the mean score of 7.83. Not
far behind are Canara Bank and SBI
Home Finance Ltd, both of them scor-
ing 7.78 points on global satisfaction.
Others who have scored above aver-
age include LIC Housing Finance Lim-
ited, Axis Bank, State Bank Of India,
Punjab National Bank and Standard
Chartered Bank.
Nevertheless Housing Development
Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC)
is the top scorer Housing Finance
Key Findings
• The best score for customer
satisfaction goes to Housing
Development Finance Cor-
poration Limited (HDFC).
• Housing Development Fi-
nance Corporation Limited
(HDFC) scored high in all
the tests.
• SBI Home Finance Limited
is the best recommended
Home loan finance com-
pany amongst the others
surveyed, Housing Devel-
opment Finance Corpora-
tion Limited (HDFC) follows
closely.
• LIC Housing Finance Lim-
ited leads the race when it
comes to customer’s sat-
isfaction with respect to
Home Loan Procedure and
Payment procedure.
• Close to 91% of the cus-
tomers hold the view that
there is biased treatment
between a Government
employee and a Private em-
ployee when it comes to the
loan amount.
• Attractive interest rate
tempts the borrower to-
wards the Home loan pro-
viders, be it a Bank or a
HFC.
The study substantiates the fact
that public sector Banks/HFCs
are the most trusted ones to ap-
proach for home loan schemes.
The results of our survey show
that out of top 4 banks/HFCs to
get the highest overall satisfac-
tion level 3 were public sector
banks/HFCs. These were Cen-
tral Bank of India, SBI Home
Finance Ltd and LIC Housing
Finance Limited.
Company amongst other banks/HFCs
covered in the study.
SBI Home Finance Limited has
outrun others when it comes to
customer’s recommendation. It has
scored ahead of all other Banks/HFCs
as 97.6% of its customers have rec-
ommended the HFC to their friends
and relatives. Housing Development
Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC)
stands close by, with 97.5% of its cus-
tomers recommending the HFC. The
7.76
7.78
7.78
Central Bank Of India
SBI Home Finance Ltd
Housing Development Finance …
7.73
7.74
7.75
IDBI Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
LIC Housing Finance Limited
7 66
7.68
7.71
7.71
Union Bank
Punjab National Bank
HDFC Bank
Axis Bank
7.65
7.65
7.66
7.66
Bank Of India
ING Vysya Bank
ICICI Home Finance Company Limited
Union Bank
7.63
7.64
7.65
State Bank Of India
Canara Bank
Bank of Baroda
7.60
7.60
7.63
IDBI Home Finance Limited (IHFL)
ICICI Bank
Tata Housing Finance Ltd
All Banks/HFCs
7.33
7.55
Others
PNB Housing Finance Limited 7.68
Service Test
Over all Satisfaction Shown by Consumers
http://twitter.com/#!/consumervoice1
least recommended hospital is Bank
of India as only 65.3% of its customer
would recommend this Bank.
GOODBYE TO CUMBERSOME
HOME LOAN PROCEDURE!
Taking home loans these days has be-
come simpler. While applying for the
home loan, the home loan seeker has
to submit the necessary documents
to the bank which will be verified to-
gether with the details in the applica-
tion. Our study reveals that for more
than half of the respondent’s valida-
tion was done through verification of
residential address and for 33% vali-
dation was done through verification
of the place of employment. More
than 86% of the respondents have
also revealed that validation was done
within 8 to 15 days after submission
of application. However, despite the
fact that majority of the customers
(close to 68%) have revealed that
loan was disbursed within 8 to 15
days of submitting the sanction let-
ter by the Bank/HFC, substantial per-
centage of the customers (more than
85%) holds the view that there was
unnecessary delay in disbursement of
the home loan.
When it comes to recording the satis-
faction level of the customers with the
Home loan procedure of the
Banks/HFCs, LIC Hous-
ing Finance Limited
leads the race. With a
score of 8.05, it is the
highest scorer HFC
in terms of satisfac-
tion with Home Loan
Procedure. SBI Home
Finance Ltd, Housing
Development Finance
Corporation Limited
(HDFC), Canara Bank
and Central Bank of
India with scores in the range of 7.80
to 7.87 follow LIC Housing Finance
Limited.
RELAXATION IN THE PAY-
MENT PROCEDURE BY THE
BANKS/ HFCS
The strictness of banks in paying the
monthly instalments on due date has
changed over the years. Now the
banks have taken a somewhat leni-
ent approach by providing flexibil-
ity on due date of paying EMI. Our
study shows that more than 94% of
the surveyed customers accept that
their Bank/HFC provides this flexibil-
ity. Close to 91% of the customers
also disclosed that their Bank/HFC
approve postponing the EMI to the
subsequent month in order to avoid
default. Not only this, the Banks/
HFCs now also provide the option of
re-scheduling EMI as the customer’s
repaying capacity increases, substan-
tiated by more than 68% of the sur-
veyed customers. In addition, around
99% of the customers confirmed that
they did not have to pay any process-
ing fee. Bank/HFCs have also gone
ahead in informing their customers
the reduction in principal loan amount
by sending statements. Close to 80%
of the customers disclosed that they
receive monthly statement from their
Bank/HFC.
LIC Housing Finance Limited, with the
mean score 7.94, is again on top of
the satisfaction level with the payment
procedure. Not far behind is Housing
Development Finance Corporation
Limited (HDFC) with a mean score of
7.81. Apart from these two HFCs, six
more Banks/HFCs have scored above
the average score of 7.67.
GROWING AWARENESS
AMONG CUSTOMERS
The customers interested in taking
Home Loans from Banks/HCs should
make it a point to go through the
terms and conditions of the Bank/
29.6% 64.8% 94.4%SBI Home Finance Ltd
definitely yes probably yes
23 8%
21.3%
16.0%
43.0%
29.6%
67 8%
70.6%
76.5%
49.6%
64.8%
91 6%
91.9%
92.5%
92.6%
94.4%
IDBI Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
Central Bank Of India
HDFC Limited
d
20 5%
24.1%
39.4%
24.4%
23.8%
66 3%
63.0%
47.9%
63.8%
67.8%
%
87.1%
87.3%
88.2%
91.6%
HDFC B k
Axis Bank
Punjab National Bank
LIC Housing Finance Limited
IDBI Bank
22.7%
28.0%
46.0%
20.5%
61.8%
57.5%
39.6%
66.3%
84.5%
85.5%
85.6%
86.8%
IDBI Home Finance Limited …
Total
Canara Bank
HDFC Bank
26.2%
16.7%
26.5%
25.4%
57.0%
66.7%
57.3%
59.0%
83.2%
83.4%
83.8%
84.4%
Union Bank
Others
State Bank Of India
ICICI Home Finance …
27.3%
25.9%
30.9%
42.7%
54.5%
56.1%
51.5%
40.2%
81.8%
82.0%
82.4%
82.9%
PNB Housing Finance Limited
ING Vysya Bank
Tata Housing Finance Ltd
ICICI Bank
12.8%
26.1%
27.3%
56.4%
53.4%
54.5%
79.5%
8 .8%
69.2%Bank Of India
Bank of Baroda
PNB Housing Finance Limited
Service Test
HSCs/Banks Recommended to Friends
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CONSUMER26 VOICE
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CONSUMER VOICE 27
HFC providing Home loan before tak-
ing the loan. And it should be kept in
mind that signing documents of loan
means borrower has agreed to all
terms and conditions which include
amount of loan, repayment and ap-
proval inclusive of mandate that he
agrees to pay any kind of charge,
if mentioned. High level of aware-
ness on this aspect could be noted
amongst the surveyed customers, as
revealed by 95% of them. Also, close
to 91% of the customers hold the
view that loan amount differ on basis
of the applicant being a Government
or a Private employee.
On being asked whether they are
aware that the Bank/HFC has a right
to ask for additional margin or more
securities if the value of the collateral
goes down in the market even after
paying timely EMI, it was found that
95% of the customers are aware of
this. Of those who were aware, about
93% had been penalized for the same
in terms of bridging the shortfall.
The awareness of the borrowers on
the foreclosure charges (i.e. prepay-
ment penalty) that have to be paid to
the Bank/HFC in case the borrower
repays the full loan amount before
time period was also found to be
reasonably high. More than 86% of
the survey customers have affirmed
that they know about the foreclos-
ure charges. This shows that people
Did you ever have a problem with the Bank/HFC?
ING Vysya (39.6%)
IDBI Home Finance Limited (IHFL) (39.1%)
IDBI Bank (38.5%)
Standard Chartered Bank (38.2%)
Did you complain to the Bank/HFC about it?
SBI Home Finance Ltd (100.0%)
Tata Housing Finance Ltd (97.3%)
Axis Bank (96.9%)
IDBI Bank (96.4%)
Was your problem solved?
Canara Bank (92.9%)
Tata Housing Finance Ltd (85.4%)
Axis Bank (83.9%)
Bank Of India (82.7%)
of this decade are much more aware
and sincere when it comes to invest-
ing their hard earned money.
FIRST PREFERENCE TO
BANKS/HFCS OFFERING AT-
TRACTIVE INTEREST RATES
Attractive interest rate has emerged
as the foremost important reason
for a borrower to choose amongst
the gamut of Home Loan providers.
Around 38% of the borrowers have
revealed that they had chosen the
Bank/HFC based on their interest
rates on which they provide loan.
Early bird incentive, i.e., availing the
benefits of first come first serve, is
the second most important reason
for a borrower to decide his home
loan financer. Last but not the least
is the flexibility in payment proce-
dure which is the third most signifi-
cant reason for the borrower. The
top three reasons for selecting the
Bank/HFC are;
1st reason: Attractive interest rate
(37.6%)
2nd reason: Early bird incentive
(32.6%)
3rd reason: Flexibility, i.e. gestation
period (30.0%)
HOW WE TESTED
The study Assessment of Quality of
Home Loan was done by VOICE Soci-
ety with support from Union Ministry
of Consumer Affairs, Govt. of India.
A total of twelve states and more
than 20 Banks/HFCs were chosen.
The selection of states was based on
the amount of credit limit in that par-
ticular state. The state wise sample
was further divided in to those cities
where the major property develop-
ment activities are taking place. A
total of 3100 Home Loan borrowers
were selected who had taken home
loan from either bank or a housing fi-
nance company. This is the first test
of its kind in this sector.
Service Test
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CONSUMER28 VOICE
ELIGIBILITY
Age criteria:You must be least 21
years of age on sanction of loan. But
co-applicant can even bean 18 years
of age.
Home loan payments must be com-
pleted before or at 65 years of age or
age of retirement, which is earlier.
You must be earning: salaried or self-
employed with a regular source of
income.
ENHANCE YOUR ELIGIBILITY
Make your spouse co-applicant if
she is also earning, her income will
be considered to enhance your
eligibility.
For Joint ownership it is necessary
that all co-owners must be co-appli-
cants also, get their consent before
applying for home loan.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
In case you are an employee in regu-
lar job:
Application form with photograph duly
signed by all applicants , including co-
owners: whether earning or not.
Proof-Identity, Residence and Age
Last 3 months Salary-slips
Form 16/Income tax return
Last 6 months bank statements
Processing fees - 0.50% or maxi-
mum 1.00% + applicable service tax
and surcharge on amount of home
loan applied, this is upper limit can
be negotiate with bank to take small
lump-sum.
FOR SELF EMPLOYED OR
PROFESSIONALS
In place of salary slips, last 3 years
Income tax returns with computation
of income required.
Before You Get a Home Loan
Last 3 years CA Certified/Audited
Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Ac-
count.
Proof of business existence is re-
quired.
For Non- Professional self employed
Additionally business profile is re-
quired.
HOW MUCH MAXIMUM LOAN
YOU CAN TAKE?
Maximum home loan banks can sanc-
tion is 80% of value of your property.
i.e on Value of property of Rs 50 lack
you can apply upto Rs 40 lacs.
RBI CHANGES HOME LOAN
NORMS IN JANUARY 2012
Home loan borrowers were required
to bring 20% on their own as loan
to value ration, however in January
RBI directed bank not to finance
various home loan related transac-
tion charges like stamp duty, reg-
istration charges and various levies
like surcharges. This latest move by
RBI increases home loan borrower’s
contribution to 30% of the value of
property thus reduces maximum loan
amount to just 70%.
Have less money still take 90% loan
Consumers should take Advantage
by buying flat worth Rs 20 lacs, they
need to invest just Rs 2 lac rest Rs18
lacs they can take loan of.
ADVOCACY BY CONSUMER
VOICE
Consumer voice in interest of home
loan consumers is doing advocacy
to increase home loan limits under
priority sector from Rs 20 lacs to Rs
30 lacs due to steep hike in prices of
properties.
INCOME TAX BENEFIT FOR
HOME LOAN BORROWER
Interest paid on home loan can be
claimed as deduction from taxable in-
come unto Rs 1.50 lacs on self occu-
pied house. Even paying principle in
EMI (installment minus interest) can
be claimed from taxable income upto
Rs 1 lac.
PRE-PAYMENT PENALTY
STILL TO BE PAID
Under RBI directive banks are advised
not to charge foreclosure charges
from the home loan consumers who
have take home loan on floating rate
of interest. But consumers are still re-
quired to pay pre-payment charges if
they have taken home loan on fixed
rate of interest.
IF YOU DIE AND HOME LOAN
IS STILL PENDING
Your house is mortgaged to the bank
even if you die, co-owner can pay the
loan. Normally banks ask you to take
life insurance policy before sanction-
ing loan which is also pledged with
them, and death claim can be adjust-
ed against pending home loan.
Consumers must exercise their rights
as home loan borrowers under con-
sumer protection act 1986. Home loan
borrowers have a right to be treated
with respect , a bank may be held li-
able for deficiency in services owing
to rude behavior by its officials and
compensation for the mental agony
and discomfort can be claimed.
Also under COPRA home loan bor-
rower can hold the bank liable for
deficiency in services in case, after
repaying whole amount of home loan,
the bank fails to return title deed and
other security documents back to the
borrowers.
By Sunil Prabhakar
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Service Test
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CONSUMER30 VOICE
World Consumer Rights Day SPECIAL
http://www.facebook.com/ConsumerVoiceIndia
India support wholeheart-
edly: *Our money, our
rights: campaigning for real
choice in financial serv-
ices which is theme for
World Consumer Rights Day
(WCRD) 2012*
India received the most remittances
(US $ 55 BILLION) during 2010 from
Indian workers around the world.
The amount is significant since it is
just 0.9% of Indian population out
of Total Indian Population of 1155.3
(MILLIONS, 2009), which is even
lower than population average annual
growth rate of 1.5 % (2000-09).
Besides United States, top most
destinations for Indian Workers are
United Arab Emirates & Saudi Arabia.
Working in alien and sometimes hostile
environment surely calls for stopping
exorbitant charges for sending money
home. Due to a lack of an alternate
rule non- resident Indians are forced
to send money through Western
Union Money Transfer which has a
monopolistic position. This campaign
highlights lack of real choice in
financial services.
INDIAN SAVING ABROAD
NEEDS PROTECTION
Action on money transfers requires
making a right choice so the cost of
sending money home is addresses,
which is the most pressing need
of Indian workers, whose hard-
earned savings are pocketed first
by unfavorable exchange rate and
secondly through high transaction cost
in form of hidden handling charges.
It is pertinent to know that campaign
for real choice in the financial
services is extremely important as in
some mode, invariably also includes
cost paid by the receiver in the form
of handling charges. Because cost of
transfer also include charges levied
by the receiving bank when the
beneficiary is customer of another
domestic bank. And the charges
become steeper if the receiver is in
remote locations where the funds are
delivered by the receiving bank by
making a rupee demand draft.
OPTIONS USED TO SEND
MONEY TO INDIA
Gulf Region which is number 1 des-
tination of Indian workers, operates
through special arrangement with
overseas correspondent banks and
MONEY
TRANSFER....
Finance
World Consumer Rights Day SPECIAL
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local private exchange houses be-
cause very few Indian banks have
presence in the region. banks in
India have entered into Rupee
Drawing Arrangements (RDA) with
PEHs (PRIVATE EXCHANGE HOUS-
ES) in the Gulf Region and also in
Singapore and Hong Kong. The
Tie-ups are with the agencies such
as UAE Exchange Centre, Al- Fardan
Exchange, UAE, Bahrain, Oman/Gulf,
Exchange Company, Kuwait India
International Exchange, Mustafa Sul-
tan Exchange Co. At Present, around
35 banks have entered into 200 RDA’S
with Exchange Houses. The use of
such formats is rising significantly in
the case of Kerala – in India. In north-
ern part of India Xpress Money, Re-
mit 2 India, Money Gram are used as
option, where as many bank branch-
es of north-eastern regions have
made arrangements with Western
Union Money Transfer to facilitate
remittance into India.
RAMITTANCE MODE
Instruments used for sending
remittance to India are SWIFT/
Electronic Wires, Drafts, Cheques,
Debit/Credit Cards, Money Orders,
Direct Transfer to Banks.
VARIANTS OF SENDING
MONEY TO INDIA
Hawala, by law is banned in India but
was most attractive to customers as
it bypasses official exchange rates,
avoids any fixed bank charges and of
–course service tax on those charges.
The unique feature of the system is
that no promissory instruments are
exchanged between the Hawalas
brokers; the transaction takes place
entirely on personal power equations.
As the system does not depend on the
legal enforceability of claims, it can
operate even in the absence of a
legal and juridical environment, Trust
and extensive use of connections,
such as family relations and regional
Comparative TestFinance
affiliations, are the components that
distinguish it from other remittance
systems.
In other parts of the world, Hawala
is the only option available for
legitimate funds transfers, and has
even been used by aid organizations in
areas where it is the best functioning
institution.
Hundis, the most important legal
financial instruments evolved in India
was used in twelfth century, and has
continued till today. In real sense,
Hundis represent the oldest surviving
form of credit instrument. Hundis
were used as remittance instruments
to transfer funds from one place to
another. Like Hawala they are part
of informal system, have no legal
status, and were not covered under
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
Nevertheless, unlike Hawala, Hundis
escape ban in India.
Sunil Prabhakar
Date: Feb 29,2012
Sd/
MA
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CONSUMER32 VOICE http://young.consumer-blog.blogspot.com/
MANAGEMENT QUOTA: BANKS
WITHDRAW EDUCATION LOANS
In a move that will impact future management and
engineering hopefuls, students who opt for these
subjects under the management quota in India and
abroad will no longer be given education loans. The
apex body of banks, the Indian Banks Association
(IBA), has debarred the Management quota from
the education loan scheme in a bid to bring down
increasing bad assets from education loans.
NEW RBI HOME LOAN NORMS A DAMPENER
It's going to get a little more difficult to buy a home. Home
loan seekers will now have to fund about 30% of the total
cost of a house from their own resources for the Reserve
Bank has just mandated that banks should exclude stamp
duty and registration charges while calculating the property
value. Earlier, banks would include these in the Property
value, and expected home loan borrowers to bring in
20% of the total
value as margin
money. The ratio
of the loan amount
to the value of the
property, called loan
to value, cannot
exceed 80%.
The RBI's move
is an attempt
to introduce an
additional lever
to ensure that
the buyer does
not overstate the
realizable value of the property. This is an
important metric for banks in the
event that the borrower
defaults.
COMPANIES
TO RESERVE 15%
IN SHARE BUYBACK OFFER FOR
SMALL INVESTORS: SEBI
In a investor friendly move securities
exchange board of India made 15% in share
buyback reservation for small investors. ""..
fifteen percent of the number of securities
which the company proposes to buy back
or number of securities entitled as per their
shareholding, whichever is higher, shall be
reserved for small shareholders," Sebi said in
its revised regulations.
RESERVE
BANK
EASES RULES FOR
REPAYMENT OF FIXED
DEPOSITS.
In yet another customer-friendly move, the Reserve
Bank of India said signatures of both depositors are not
needed for repayment of fixed or term deposits on maturity if
such accounts are opened with instructions "either or survivor".
In a recent notification, the RBI said that some banks insist on the signatures of both the
depositors to allow repayment of money in fixed/term deposits, though the deposit account
is opened with operating instructions (sometimes called 'repayment instructions'), 'either or
survivor' or 'former or survivor'. "Such insistence on the signatures of both the depositors has
the effect of making the mandate given by the depositors redundant. This, in turn, results in
unjustified delays and allegations of poor customer service," said the notification.MA
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