Indian investments thread

[rahulm]

ICICI prolly have the best service for NRE and demat (ICICIDirect) accounts.Have been using them for 10 plus years. Tried many other banks. I have had excellent service from ICICI call centres - both for banking and for trading. I have had relationship managers that were very prompt and helpful. All this on the phone from overseas.This is very important for me, as I value low to no friction interfaces in life, I live a wold away from India. However, their fees and charges are prolly among the highest if not the highest.

Bascially, if you are the type who, sitting a world away places a premium on your time and values service then ICICI is prolly the go, however, if you are the personality type that thrives on high friction interfaces, thinks nothing of spending an hour or more at the vegetable market haggling over Rs.1 when buying "ek pau" (250 grams) of chillies and considers the Rs 1 reduction in lieu of your hours worth of time, a proud, crowning glory moment.life defining moment, plenty of other banks with lower costs

ICICI will give very competitive FOREXremmitance rates, if you call your relationship manager and ask him/her for it before commencing the transaction.

PS: I/any of my family dont work for ICICI.

PPS: I do own ICICI stock and am very pleased thus far.

[vera_k]

Thanks. ICICI's remittance service didn't look competitive, but will try asking in person.

As an observation, India has very favorable capital gains tax rates at the moment. Not as favorable as the CI obviously, but 10% is not bad at all.

[Hriday]

https://x.com/i/status/1998600680479793469

Most investors in India don’t know this…
but you can save huge TAX on your mutual fund profits with one simple SEBI-approved trick.

Yes, legally. And most people never use it.

SEBI now allows you to gift your mutual funds to certain relatives.
And this one rule can reduce your tax to zero in many cases.

How it works:

• Gift your mutual funds to a family member or relative who has very low capital gains
• When they sell it, profit up to 2.5 lakh per year is taxed at zero under the new tax regime.
Your original holding period stays intact even after gifting
• Gifts to specified relatives are fully tax free
• Works beautifully for your dead or non-performing funds too
• Helps you book profits without triggering high tax in your own name
...

He posted a Moneycontrol.com article on the subject. Link below.
https://x.com/i/status/1998714406436524541

ITR filing |Tax rebate on short-term capital gains: ITAT ruling opens a window.
...

Grok verification,
https://x.com/i/status/1998629994663391256

Yes, the gifting strategy can work legally under SEBI's 2025 rules and IT Act. Gifting MF units to specified relatives is tax-free, with holding period/cost carried over. When they sell, gains are taxed in their hands.

LTCG on equity MF: Exempt up to ₹1.25L, then 12.5% (not 2.5L as stated). Limits apply to all income, including gains—not just salary/business. If their total income ≤₹7L, rebate can make it tax-free. Consult a tax advisor for your case.