Skip to main content

National Survey Soon to get Clear Picture on Household Savings

By
Study likely to focus on bank deposits, cash, insurance, PF, shares, gold & realty
What do you do with your savings? Do you let your funds grow in fixed deposits, invest in the stock market, accumulate gold, or salt some money away for your retirement? The government wants to know. And it is set to launch a national survey to find out.
“We need to have a direct estimation of household savings and there is no data on this at present,“ a government official privy to the development said, requesting not to be identified.“We do get data from the Reserve Bank of India and financial instruments, but there has been a thinking in the government for quite some time to have its own savings-investment data,“ he said.
The move comes at a time when the government plans to strengthen its financial inclusion drive through the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana.
The proposed survey marks a departure from the current practice of estimating household savings indirectly by deducting the numbers from other segments of the economy such as government and companies from financial totals.
The official said this method of extracting household savings as a residual doesn't allow cross-validation through estimates emerging from different databases. This leads to data deficiency which doesn't allow household savings to be used as policy inputs, he said.Besides, directly sourced data is expected to provide a clearer picture of the gaps and policy interventions needed.
While the plan is still being worked out, the survey is expected to focus on financial savings in bank deposits, cash in hand, insurance schemes, provident and pension funds, small savings, shares, debentures, mutual funds and commercial bonds, besides savings in physical assets such as gold and property.
In 2014-15, the latest year for which data is available, household savings were estimated to be 7.5% of India's national income, up from 7.3% in the previous fiscal. Savings in physical assets declined from 14.8% in 2011-12 to 10.4% in 2013-14.
Physical savings are considered less efficient and are not easily available to banking system. The survey comes at an opportune time as savings in financial assets are rising, marking a shift from physical assets. The survey will help capture the progression coming from the reversal in household financial saving trends. The government plans to run pilot surveys to collect this data in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala next year.
The estimates for the household sector are worked out on the basis of the available data from various censuses, sample surveys, research studies and assumed relationships, and therefore, subject to greater number of errors. Savings are estimated for three sectors ­ personal savings, corporate and government savings.
In the absence of comprehensive income-expenditure surveys, instrument-wise savings estimates are prepared in an indirect manner through the residual treatment accorded to the household sector.
The Economic Times New Delhi, 31st May 2016

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Credit card spending growth declines on RBI gaze, stress build-up

By
  Credit card spends have further slowed down to 16.6 per cent in the current financial year (FY25), following the Reserve Bank of India’s tightening of unsecured lending norms and rising delinquencies, and increased stress in the portfolio.Typically, during the festival season (September–December), credit card spends peak as several credit card-issuing banks offer discounts and cashbacks on e-commerce and other platforms. This is a reversal of trend in the past three financial years stretching to FY21 due to RBI’s restrictions.In the previous financial year (FY24), credit card spends rose by 27.8 per cent, but were low compared to FY23 which surged by 47.5 per cent. In FY22, the spending increased 54.1 per cent, according to data compiled by Macquarie Research.ICICI Bank recorded 4.4 per cent gross credit losses in its FY24 credit card portfolio as against 3.2 per cent year-on-year. SBI Cards’ credit losses in the segment stood at 7.4 per cent in FY24 and 6.2 per cent in FY23, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brigade Hotel Ventures files draft papers with Sebi for Rs 900 crore IPO

By
  Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd, owner and developer of hotels in South India, has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 900 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).The proposed IPO is entirely a fresh issue of equity shares with no Offer-for-Sale (OFS) component, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).Proceeds from the issue to the tune of Rs 481 crore will go towards payment of debt, Rs 412 crore will be allocated to the company and Rs 69 crore to its material subsidiary, SRP Prosperita Hotel Ventures Ltd.Additionally, Rs 107.52 crore will be used to purchase an undivided share of land from the Promoter, BEL, and the remaining funds will support acquisitions, other strategic initiatives, and general corporate purposes.The company may raise up to Rs 180 crore through a Pre-IPO Placement.   If the placement is undertaken, the issue size will be reduced.Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brigade Enterprises ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Govt invites applications for RBI deputy governor's post, last date Nov 30

By
  The government has invited applications for the post of deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India from interested candidates with at least 25 years of experience and below 60 years of age as on January 15, 2025.One of the deputy governors, Michael Patra’s current term will end on January 15.According to an advertisement, candidates should have at least 25 years of work experience in Public Administration, including experience at the level of secretary or equivalent in the Government of India, or persons who have at least 25 years of work experience in an Indian or International Public Financial Institutions; or persons of exceptional merit and track record at the national or international level in the relevant field.The last date of submission of the application is November 30, 2024.   It has been clarified that the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC) – a body which will select the candidates- is free to identify and recommend any other person a...
Post a Comment
Read more