Global Warming and its effects on the coastal areas

Indian Coastal areas would be severely affected, if the climate change or increase in the temperature by 4%, the sea would engulf major cities across the Globe.

An US-based non-profit research and journalism organization, Climate Central,  has warned that the climate change threatens nearly 55 million people in India's coastal areas and increase in temperature could submerge a whopping 145 million in China also.  This could lock in enough rise of sea level to submerge land currently home to more than half a billion people globally if the temperature spikes by four degrees Celsius, which is humanity's current trajectory and remains a serious challenge environmentalists.

The report further stated that A 4C warming scenario could lock in enough sea level rise to submerge land inhabited by half or more of today's population in Shanghai and Shantou, China; Haora (Howrah), Calcutta and Mumbai, India; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Khulna, Bangladesh.

HAPPY DIWALI

SOVEREIGN GOLD BONDS

GOLD BONDS – SOVEREIGN GOLD BONDS !!!!

RBI/2015-16/218
IDMD.CDD.No.939/14.04.050/2015-16

October 30, 2015

The Chairman & Managing Director 
All Scheduled Commercial Banks
(Excluding RRBs)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Sovereign Gold Bonds, 2015-16

It has been decided by the Government of India, as per their Notification F.No. 4(19)-W&M/2014 dated October 30, 2015, to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds, 2015 (“the Bonds”) with effect from November 05, 2015 to November 20, 2015. The Government of India may, with prior notice, close the Scheme before the specified period. The terms and conditions of the issuance of the Bonds shall be as follows:

1. Eligibility for Investment:

The Bonds under this Scheme may be held by a person resident in India, being an individual, in his capacity as such individual, or on behalf of minor child, or jointly with any other individual. “Person resident in India” is defined under section 2(v) read with section 2 (u) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

2. Form of Security

The Bonds shall be issued in the form of Government of India Stock in accordance with section 3 of the Government Securities Act, 2006. The investors will be issued a Holding Certificate (Form C). The Bonds shall be eligible for conversion into de-mat form.

3. Date of Issue

Date of issuance shall be November 26, 2015.

The investors can apply for the Bonds in receiving offices from November 05, 2015 to November 20, 2015. The issuance can be closed by Government of India earlier than November 20, 2015 with a prior notice.

4. Denomination

The Bonds shall be denominated in units of one gram of gold and multiples thereof. Minimum investment in the Bonds shall be 2 grams with a maximum subscription of 500 grams per person per fiscal year (April – March). In case of joint holding, the limit applies to the first applicant.

5. Issue Price

Price of the Bonds shall be fixed in Indian Rupees on the basis of the previous week’s (Monday – Friday) simple average closing price for gold of 999 purity, published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd. (IBJA).

6. Interest

The Bonds shall bear interest at the rate of 2.75 per cent (fixed rate) per annum on the amount of initial investment. Interest shall be paid in half-yearly rests and the last interest shall be payable on maturity along with the principal.

7. Receiving Offices

Scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) and designated Post Offices (as may be notified) are authorized to receive applications for the Bonds either directly or through agents.

8. Payment Options

Payment shall be accepted in Indian Rupees through Cash or Demand Drafts or Cheque or Electronic banking. Cheque or draft should be drawn in favour of the bank / post office (Receiving Office), specified in paragraph 7 above and payable at the place where the applications are tendered.

9. Redemption

i.            The Bonds shall be repayable on the expiration of eight years from the date of issue. Pre-mature redemption of the Bond is allowed from fifth year of the date of issue on the interest payment dates.

ii.            The redemption price shall be fixed in Indian Rupees on the basis of the previous week’s (Monday – Friday) simple average closing price for gold of 999 purity, published by IBJA.

10. Repayment

The receiving office shall inform the investor of the date of maturity of the Bonds, one month before its maturity.

11. Eligibility for Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)

The investment in the Bonds shall be eligible for SLR.

12. Loan against Bonds

The Bonds may be used as collateral for loans. The Loan to Value ratio will be as applicable to ordinary gold loan mandated by the RBI from time to time. The lien on the Bonds shall be marked in the depository by the authorized banks.

13. Tax Treatment

Interest on the Bonds shall be taxable as per the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Capital gains tax treatment will be the same as that for physical gold.

14. Applications

Subscription for the Bonds may be made in the prescribed application form (Form ‘A’)  or in any other form as near as thereto stating clearly the grams of gold and the full name and address of the applicant. The receiving office shall issue an acknowledgment receipt in Form ‘B’ to the applicant.

15. Nomination

Nomination and its cancellation shall be made in Form ‘D’ and Form ‘E’, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of the Government Securities  Act, 2006 (38 of 2006) and the Government Securities Regulations, 2007, published in part III, Section 4 of the Gazette of India dated the 1st December, 2007.

16. Transferability

The Bonds shall be transferable by execution of an Instrument of transfer as in Form ‘F’, in accordance with the provisions of the Government Securities Act, 2006 (38 of 2006) and the Government Securities Regulations, 2007, published in part III, Section 4 of the Gazette of India dated the 1st December, 2007.

17. Tradability in Bonds

The Bonds shall be eligible for trading from such date as may be notified by the Reserve Bank of India.

18. Commission for distribution

Commission for distribution shall be paid at the rate of rupee one per hundred of the total subscription received by the receiving offices on the applications received and receiving offices shall share at least 50% of the commission so received with the agents or sub-agents for the business procured through them.

19. All other terms and conditions specified in the notification of Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs) vide number F. No.4(13) W&M/2008, dated the 8th October, 2008 shall apply to the Bonds.

Yours faithfully,

(Chandan Kumar)
Deputy General Manager

RBI-Sovereign Gold Bonds -2

The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with Government of India, has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds. The Bonds will be issued on November 26, 2015. Applications for the bond will be accepted from November 05, 2015 to November 20, 2015. The Bonds will be sold through banks and designated post offices as may be notified. The borrowing through issuance of the Bond will form part of market borrowing programme of Government of India.

It may be recalled that Honourable Finance Minister had announced in Union Budget 2015-16 about developing a financial asset, Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasing metal gold. The features of the Bond are given below:

Sl.No.	Item	Details
1.	Product name	Sovereign Gold Bond
2.	Issuance	To be issued by Reserve Bank India on behalf of the Government of India.
3.	Eligibility	The Bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities including individuals, HUFs, trusts, Universities, charitable institutions.
4.	Denomination	The Bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram.
5.	Tenor	The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option from 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
6.	Minimum size	Minimum permissible investment will be 2 units (i.e. 2 grams of gold).
7.	Maximum limit	The maximum amount subscribed by an entity will not be more than 500 grams per person per fiscal year (April-March). A self-declaration to this effect will be obtained.
8.	Joint holder	In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 500 grams will be applied to the first applicant only.
9.	Frequency	The Bonds will be issued in tranches. Each tranche will be kept open for a period to be notified. The issuance date will also be specified in the notification.
10.	Issue price	Price of Bond will be fixed in Indian Rupees on the basis of the previous week’s (Monday–Friday) simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd. (IBJA).
11.	Payment option	Payment for the Bonds will be through electronic funds transfer/cash payment/ cheque/ demand draft.
12.	Issuance form	Government of India Stock under GS Act, 2006. The investors will be issued a Stock/Holding Certificate. The Bonds are eligible for conversion into de-mat form.
13.	Redemption price	The redemption price will be in Indian Rupees based on previous week’s (Monday-Friday) simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by IBJA.
14.	Sales channel	Bonds will be sold through banks and designated Post Offices, as may be notified, either directly or through agents.
15.	Interest rate	The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.75 per cent per annum payable semi-annually on the initial value of investment.
16.	Collateral	Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time.
17.	KYC Documentation	Know-your-customer (KYC) norms will be the same as that for purchase of physical gold. KYC documents such as Voter ID, Aadhaar card/PAN or TAN /Passport will be required.
18.	Tax treatment	The interest on Gold Bonds shall be taxable as per the provision of Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) and the capital gains tax shall also remain same as in the case of physical gold.
19.	Tradability	Bonds will be tradable on exchanges/NDS-OM from a date to be notified by RBI.
20.	SLR eligibility	The Bonds will be eligible for Statutory Liquidity Ratio.
21.	Commission	Commission for distribution shall be paid at the rate of 1% of the subscription amount.

WOMEN SHARE IN ANCESTRAL PROPERTIES - AN UPDATE

The Supreme Court of India in a ruling that will restrict the right of women seeking equal share in ancestral property, said that the 2005 amendment in Hindu law will not give property rights to a daughter if the father died before the amendment came into force.(2005)

The father (Coparcenor) must be alive on the date of amendment (2005) and the daughter must also be alive to claim her share in the ancestral properties.

The court held that the amended provisions of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, could not have retrospective effect despite it being a social legislation.

The court said the father would have had to be alive on September 9, 2005, if the daughter were to become a co-sharer with her male siblings.

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, originally did not give daughters inheritance rights in ancestral property. They could only ask for a right to sustenance from a joint Hindu family. But this disparity was removed by an amendment to the Act on September 9, 2005.

The apex court judgment has now added another disqualification for women regarding their right of inheritance. Until now, they could not ask for a share if the property had been alienated or partitioned before December 20, 2004, the date the Bill was introduced. This judgment makes it imperative for the father to have been alive when the amendment came into force.

Settling the law in the wake of a clutch of appeals arising out of high court judgments, a bench of Justices Anil R Dave and Adarsh K Goel recently held that the date of a daughter becoming coparcener (having equal right in an ancestral property) is “on and from the commencement of the Act”.

The bench overruled the view taken by some high courts that the amendment being a gender legislation that aimed at according equal rights to the daughter in ancestral property by removing discrimination, should be applied retrospectively.

Interpreting statutory provisions, the top court shot down the argument that a daughter acquires right by birth, and even if her father had died prior to the amendment, the shares of the parties were required to be redefined.

“The text of the amendment itself clearly provides that the right conferred on a ‘daughter of a coparcener’ is ‘on and from the commencement’ of the amendment Act. In view of plain language of the statute, there is no scope for a different interpretation than the one suggested by the text,” it said.

Further, there is neither any express provision for giving retrospective effect to the amended provision nor necessary intent, noted the court, adding “even a social legislation cannot be given retrospective effect unless so provided for or so intended by the legislature”.

About applicability of the amendment to the daughters born before it was brought, the bench held that the new law would apply irrespective of the date of birth.

“All that is required is that the daughter should be alive and her father should also be alive on the date of the amendment,” it said.

The court also held that alienation of ancestral property, including its partition, which may have taken place before December 20, 2004, in accordance with the law applicable at that time, would remain unaffected by the 2005 amendment, and those partitions can no longer be reopened by daughters.