Articles by News18,Varun Yadav

Politics

Delhi Red Fort Blast: Are Ex Gratia Payments To Victims Exempt From Tax? Here’s What Rules Say

Red Fort Delhi Blast: A powerful explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday evening left several people dead and many injured. In response, the Delhi government has stepped in to support the victims and their families. The blast, triggered by a high-intensity explosion in a car parked near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro station, sent shockwaves across the area. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced an ex-gratia payment for those affected as a financial relief. Families of the deceased will receive Rs 10 lakh as compensation, while Rs 5 lakh will be provided to those left permanently disabled. Victims with serious injuries will be granted Rs 2 lakh. The government has also pledged to cover all medical expenses for the injured, ensuring they receive the best possible care. An ex gratia payment is a voluntary financial relief offered by the government or an organisation as a humane gesture. But Is Ex Gratia Amount Taxable? Prashant Thacker, Partner at Thacker & Associates explains to News18.com that the taxability of ex gratia compensation depends on the nature and context of the payment under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (IT Act). In the context of non-employees, he adds, where ex gratia payments made as relief for death, injury, or natural calamities, the amount is generally treated as a capital receipt and not taxable, “since it does not constitute income”. Thacker says ex gratia compensation paid to non-employees or their families on account of death or injury is generally not taxable, as such payments are made purely on compassionate or humanitarian grounds and represent a capital receipt rather than income. “Since the payment is not in consideration of any services rendered or business relationship, it does not fall under any specific head of taxable income,” he adds. But in general context of employees, where ex gratia received by an employee during service, such as a performance-linked or discretionary bonus, is fully taxable as salary income under Section 17(1) of the IT Act. However, ex gratia received at the time of retirement or termination may be exempt, partially exempt, or fully taxable depending on the circumstances. Thacker points out that if paid in lieu of retrenchment, it is exempt under Section 10(10B), and if paid on voluntary retirement, it is exempt under section 10(10C), subject to the conditions prescribed therein. “Further, where the payment is made purely as a gesture of goodwill or compassion, without any contractual obligation, it may be regarded as a capital receipt and not taxable, provided it is not compensation for loss of employment or arrears of salary,” he adds.

4 hours ago

Technology

Gold Price Today: Check 22K And 24K Rates In Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Other Cities

Gold and Silver Rates Today, October 24: Gold prices on Friday fell slightly amid the correction phase post Diwali festival after the record rally. In Mumbai, the price of 24-carat gold stood at Rs 1,25,070 per 10 grams, while 22k gold was available at Rs 1,14,640 per 10 grams. Silver also jumped Rs 1000 to touch the record high of Rs 1,58,900 per kg. On the MCX, gold futures expiring on December 05, 2025, was trading lower by 0.34% to trade at Rs 1,23,683 per 10 grams around 9:23 AM, whereas silver futures expiring on December 05, 2025, fell 0.83% to Rs 1,47,278 per kg. What Is The Price Of 22kt, 24kt Gold Rates Today In India Across Key Cities On October 24? 22K Gold (per 10gm) 24K Gold (per 10gm) Rs 1,14,790 Rs 1,25,220 Rs 1,14,790 Rs 1,25,220 Rs 1,14,690 Rs 1,25,120 Rs 1,14,690 Rs 1,22,070 Rs 1,14,640 Rs 1,25,070 Rs 1,14,640 Rs 1,25,070 Rs 1,14,640 Rs 1,25,070 Rs 1,14,640 Rs 1,25,070 Rs 1,14,640 Rs 1,25,070 International Gold Prices Today In the international market, US spot gold gained almost 1,65% after the crash to trade at $4,117 per ounce as of 9:20 IST. Silver also gained 1.09% to trade at USD 48.62 per ounce. What Factors Affect Gold Prices In India? International market rates, import duties, taxes, and fluctuations in exchange rates primarily influence gold prices in India. Together, these factors determine the daily gold rates across the country. In India, gold is deeply cultural and financial. It is a preferred investment option and is key to celebrations, particularly weddings and festivals. With constantly changing market conditions, investors and traders monitor fluctuations closely. Staying updated is crucial for effectively navigating dynamic trends.

Oct 24, 2025

Technology

PFRDA Proposes 'Dual Valuation Framework' For NPS, APY Investments In Govt Securities; What It Means

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has proposed to apply ‘dual valuation’ framework for government securities held in NPS (National Pension Scheme)/APY (Atal Pension Yojana) schemes managed by the pension funds. In Simple terms, it means to do fair valuation on both – mark to market and accrual basis for Government securities. In a consultation paper “Alignment of Valuation Guidelines with the core objectives of Long-only Funds when investing in government securities and calculation of Net Asset Value (NAV)” released on Wednesday, October 22, the regulatory body has pitched the dual valuation methodology, aimed at minimizing the impact of short-term volatility of interest rate on scheme NAV, depicting to subscribers a simple and stabilized accumulations of pension wealth during their contribution phase or working years and aligning the role of Pension Funds in converting long term savings into productive long gestation capital formation. National Pension System (NPS) is a Defined Contribution (DC) pension plan wherein the investment risks are fully borne by subscribers. Pension Fund are required to invest the contributions made by subscribers in those asset classes (i.e instruments permitted by PFRDA) as chosen by the subscriber. Upon completion of the accumulation phase, the pension wealth or outstanding corpus is utilised by subscriber to receive periodic payouts through a variety of mechanisms permitted by PFRDA. How Does It Work? Currently, the investments held under NPS are ‘mark to market’ and the pension funds are mandated to declare scheme NAVs at the close of each working day. In this scenario, the investment returns to subscribers are thus directly linked to the market conditions of each day. Thus, the performance of pension fund (in managing the scheme portfolios) gets adjudged for each day instead of a holistic evaluation of performance during the entire accumulation phase of the subscriber. Typically defined contribution pension plans, have a long accumulation phase spanning between 20 to 40 years and the method of valuing the investments plays a crucial role in depicting the pension wealth to a subscriber. For those who opt for long-term securities, notional gain or loss of accumulated pension wealth due to short-term volatility of interest rates may not be of much relevance. From a subscriber’s perspective, fair valuation of investments is crucial at the point of exercising withdrawals or subscriber receiving payments from the scheme because at this point the exact quantum of accumulated pension wealth gets determined for being paid to the subscriber. What Are Proposed Changes? PFRDA is looking to go away with the all-uniform fair valuation, that’s mark-to-market, for government securities. It is proposed to shift a part of the Government Securities holding into HTM category viz. the illiquid long-dated debt securities. This model may deliver dual benefit of insulating the scheme NAVs from market price fluctuations of debt securities due to short-term volatility of interest rates and provide greater flexibility to pension funds to actively manage the most liquid debt securities (take benefit of interest rate movements) and maintain overall portfolio liquidity. The consultation paper also underlines that infrastructure holds a key part in India’s developing story and the sources of long-term funds for financing infrastructure are government borrowings or institutional investors like insurance companies, pension funds or sovereign wealth funds. In other words, NPS/APY investments in Government Securities indirectly supports economic growth, job creation, improved public services which lays the foundation for transition from a developing to a developed nation. The features and benefits of both the valuation methodologies are briefly outlined below: (i) With ‘accrual basis’ of valuation or HTM; − the coupon or interest income on securities gets recognised or accrued as receivable on a daily basis till its receipt. The discount/premium over face value of securities will get amortised over time. − the aforesaid accounting approach insulates the daily price fluctuations of the securities due to interest rate movements and facilitates valuation of securities at a stable and consistent rate over time, free from interest rate volatility. − with elimination of short-term notional gain/loss due to interest rate movements, the depiction of subscriber’s pension wealth during accumulation phase gets smoothened out and easy to comprehend. − pension fund may scale down active debt portfolio management due to shift in their investment focus (deploying subscriber contributions in higher yielding securities as interest rate movement does not impact the scheme portfolio performances). (ii) With fair or ‘mark to market’ valuation; − the coupon or interest income on securities gets recognised or accrued as receivable on a daily basis till its receipt. The securities get valued at the price, as if, it will be liquidated in the market. − the value of securities reflects current market conditions and ensures transparency. − it depicts to subscriber the actual value of pension wealth if liquidated under current market conditions even though the subscriber may withdraw the pension wealth at a future date after completion of the accumulation phase. − with investment risks being fully borne by subscribers, ‘mark to market’ valuations imply pension funds are primarily a pass-through entity and this facilitates easier risk management and liquidity management of the scheme portfolio.

Oct 23, 2025

Technology

Gold & Silver Crash: Prices Drop Over 5% Amid Profit Booking And Bubble Fears

Gold and silver Crash: After the record rally of gold and silver year-to-date this year, both bullions seem to lose the shine due to fatigue among investors’ side. At the international spot market, gold dropped 5.24 per cent to trade $4,114, while silver fell 6.70 per cent to come down below $50-mark. Both gold and silver rallied phenomenally in 2025, outpacing other asset classes by climbing over 60 per cent year-to-date. In the international spot market, silver was trading at $48.79 with a fall of 6.66 per cent. The drop in bullions is also earmarked the profit-booking among investors which are looking to make the most amid the hot rally and growing concern over the formation of bubble in bullion. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade told Bloomberg that profit taking moves started to snowball. He added that traders and investors are looking to make the profit at high levels which have never seen before in the gold market. Prices of the yellow metal have surged over 60% this year. Gold’s rally has been fuelled by strong safe-haven demand, aggressive central bank purchases, a weakening rupee, and expectations of further rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Other metal silver and platinum also followed the upward trajectory. Unlike from gold, silver has an industrial use with experts indicating supply-demand deficit and positive gold-to-silver ratio. Gold price for 24K stood at Rs 1,30,570 per 10 gram in India at the end of Tuesday, October 21. HSBC Still Expects Gold To Touch $5000 HSBC expects gold to maintain its momentum even after the festive rush. The bank’s report suggests that gold could surge to $5,000 per ounce by the first half of 2026, a rise of nearly $1,000 from current levels. The forecast is driven by persistent geopolitical tensions, global economic uncertainty and the entry of long-term investors treating gold as a safe asset rather than a quick profit instrument. Earlier, HSBC had projected an average gold price of $3,355 per ounce for 2025. This has now been revised to $3,455. For 2026, the estimate has been sharply increased from $3,950 to $4,600 per ounce. These figures, also cited by Reuters, reflect a shift in market behaviour where buyers are holding their gold instead of booking profits during price spikes.

Oct 22, 2025