New Delhi, Oct 1
Many major financial and regulatory changes took effect on Wednesday, affecting small banking, postal services, pensions, and railway ticketing.
Indian Railways booking platform IRCTC has launched new Aadhaar-based guidelines for the online booking of general tickets to prevent misuse of the reservation system by fraudulent agents. India Post is expected to revise its Speed Post charges and introduce an OTP-based delivery system to improve the security of the packages, effective from October 1.
"With a view to ensure that the benefits of the reservation system reach the common end user and are not misused by unscrupulous elements, it has been decided that with effect from 1.10.2025, during the first 15 minutes of opening of general reservation, reserved general tickets can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)/its app only by Aadhaar authenticated users," a ministry circular dated September 15 said.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has revised fees for Central Recordkeeping Agencies overseeing the National Pension System and associated schemes, effective from October 1. Non-government subscribers can now invest up to 100 per cent in equities, from the beginning of October.
India's largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, has introduced new eligibility norms for its Imperia premium clients. Those who enrolled before June 30 must now meet revised Total Relationship Value (TRV) criteria to retain their premium banking services.
Public sector lender Punjab National Bank has increased locker fees and service request charges.
Further, the Reserve Bank of India issued new guidelines for small business loans, increasing the lending flexibility for banks. Under the new rule, banks may now reduce other spread components earlier than the previous norm of a three-year period to benefit borrowers. Additionally, borrowers will now have the option to switch to a fixed-rate loan at the time of reset.
The RBI has also scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) to grant working capital loans to jewellers. It also allowed Tier 3 and Tier 4 Urban Co-operative Banks to grant working capital loans to borrowers who use gold as a raw material or input in their manufacturing or industrial processing activities
— IANS
Reader Comments
OTP-based delivery for Speed Post is excellent! I run a small handicraft business and often worry about package security. This will give both me and my customers more confidence in postal services. Good move India Post! ðŸ‘
The small business loan changes are very promising. As someone who runs a small manufacturing unit, the flexibility in spread components and fixed-rate option will really help in planning finances better. RBI is thinking about MSMEs finally!
While the Aadhaar requirement might help with touts, what about people who don't have Aadhaar or face technical issues? The system should have alternative verification methods to ensure no genuine passenger is left out.
Gold loan facilities for jewellers and manufacturing units is a smart move. Many small jewellers in our family business struggle with working capital. This will boost the gold industry significantly! 💫
The pension fund changes allowing 100% equity investment for non-government subscribers is quite aggressive. While it offers higher returns potential, retail investors should be cautious and not jump in without proper financial advice.
PNB increasing locker fees when digital transactions are being promoted seems contradictory. Many senior citizens still prefer physical lockers for
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.