How to Save Lakhs in Home Loans – India

• Take a Home Loan for X Tenure
  • On floating interest rates if
    • current interest rate is high.
    • and if you do not want prepayment penalties
  • On fixed interest rates if current interest rate is low
• Prepayment Penalty is applicable on fixed interest rates and not on floating interest rates.
• Keep an eye on whether Interest Rates are increasing. For increasing interest rates, banks will, by default and without any intimation, increase the tenure. Do not allow this to happen and ask the bank to keep the tenure same.
• Make additional payments or prepayments.
  • Additional payments to be done during the first half of the tenure. Sooner the prepayment bigger the impact!
    • These additional payments during the first half will reduce the principal amount and drastically reduce the tenure as well as the interest payable.
    • Eg: For EMI of 25k & tenure of ~20 years in 60L loan (30L principal + 30L interest), 1 additional EMI may save 3L & reduce tenure by 3 yrs, 2 additonal EMIs may save 6L & reduce tenure by 6 yrs.
  • High Interest Rate is the best period to make additional payments.
  • Do not wait for the amount to accumulate for prepayment. Pay as soon as you save some money.
• Tax Saving under Section 80C up to 1.5 lakhs as on 24/11/2023
  • PPF
  • NPS
  • ELSS Mutual Fund
  • Home Loan Principal Payment
  • Stamp Duty amount while purchasing home.
• Tax Saving under Section 24 up to a max of 2 lakhs as on 24/11/2023: Interest on Home Loan can be claimed under this.
• Tax Saving with Co-Applicant: If loan is taken jointly with a co-applicant and both pay EMIs jointly, both can claim deductions in separate ITR
• New and Important RBI Rules
  • 18 August 2023:
    • Regulated Entity (Bank) should infirm if interest rates are changed.
    • Inform the application to switch from floating to fixed interest rates.
    • Inform and provide a choice to increase the tenure or interest rate: Opt for increase in interest rate or opt for hybrid.
    • Increase in charges should be infirmed and not be hidden.
    • Negative monetisation is not allowed by RE or banks
  • September 2023
    • Mortgages assets (return property documents etc) should be handed back within 30 days of last loan.
    • If original documents are misplaced, this is binding for 60 days
    • On the event of death, RE or bank to share the process to nominee and ease it out.

_{Opinions are personal, the author shouldn’t be held accountable for any misinformation or isnt liable for anything that happens because of this post. Recommendation is to consult a financial consultant for a decision you may take under this post’s influence!}

Vaastav Foundation submits UCC Suggestions to make Laws Gender Neutral

The concept of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India has been a controversial topic for many years.

It is pertinent to note that Article 44 of The Constitution of India has a Directive Principle of State Policy, which states that the state shall endeavor to secure a Uniform Civil Code or UCC for its citizens. However, those who drafted the Constitution left it to the discretion of the government to implement a UCC, recognizing the sensitivity and complexity of the issue. Over the years, various governments have discussed and debated the implementation of a UCC, but it has remained a contentious and politically sensitive topic.

In this context, the Law Commission of India (LCI) has invited suggestions from all the religious organizations of the country regarding the Uniform Civil Code.

It is pertinent to note that the idea of UCC is to have a common set of laws for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption for all citizens, regardless of their religious affiliations. However, implementing a UCC poses challenges due to the religious and cultural diversity in India.

Indian laws have, until now, have been gender insensitive and differentiated & discriminated between the genders involved in marriage/divorce. With this point of view Vaastav Foundation, India’s premier Men’s Rights NGO, and its countless members, have submitted the below suggestions for a Gender Neutral laws under UCC:

1. When the grounds for divorce are proved by husbands in divorce proceedings then alimony or maintenance should not be granted to wife.
2. There should be a special provision of Suo Moto action by court to file perjury case when a false petition, false evidence, false statement, false affidavit is exposed by the opposite party.
3. There should be Provision for equal punishment for false cases, abusing law processes, false affidavits, and false evidence.
4. Make gender neutral laws and acts and Replace men/women with person. Replace husband/wife by spouse. Women can get punishment of rape on a boy as per Pocso act but the same women are exempted from rape law ie she cannot be prosecuted under Indian Penal code for raping a man.
5. There is no law for men who are facing Domestic violence. The Domestic violence act should be made gender neutral.
6. Adultery and bigamy should be a punishable offence for both the gender.
7. Women should be allowed to file only one type of maintenance case. At present women are entitled to file 6 different types of maintenance cases against husbands under different provisions of law.
8. The law of maintenance should be gender neutral. Men should also be allowed to file and claim maintenance and alimony from wife under various provision of law.
9. Forced financial settlement should not be allowed in matrimonial disputes.
10. The responsibilities of a wife during matrimonial life should also be well defined in Divorce and marriage act.
11. On divorce, distribution of assets should be done only as per their respective financial contribution for acquiring the assets.
12. The “Streedhan” concept should be abolished in the marriage and divorce act.
13. On the first day of matrimonial disputes in courts or police station, the Child visitation/access right should be granted to fathers by default.
14. For child visitation and access, the filing of a child visitation petition should be abolished ie it should not be mandatory.
15. Filing criminal cases against husband & in-laws should be grounds for divorce without deciding its merits.
16. All the criminal provisions like sec 498a, 376, 377, 504, 506,325, 323, etc. in Indian penal codes should be abolished for matrimonial disputes.
17. The provision of granting maintenance and alimony to Women with able body, educated, earning capacity should be abolished.
18. The maintenance amount should be strictly given to avoid vagrancy and hunger only to incapable, handicapped women.
19. Hunger and vagrancy should be proved in court before awarding any maintenance.
20. The women should be cross-examined by husband before awarding any maintenance.
21. Ancestral property should not be considered for distribution of assets.
22. There should be a mandatory system for mental health support for alienated fathers & husbands facing matrimonial cases.
23. Juvenile Justice law should have the same age-treatment for boys & girls. Boys between 16 to 18 years age to be considered as juveniles.
24. Rape laws to be made gender neutral.
25. The draconian provision of The Indian Evidence Act sec 114A should be abolished, where a statement made by women are treated as gospel truth.
26. The practice of awarding Interim maintenance on filing mere written submissions by a wife should be abolished. It should be granted only after verification & cross-examination of the petitioner.
27. The interim maintenance should be awarded for a fixed time only like for one or two years. During the above period NCW and WCD ministry should provide training to women for earning their livelihood.
28. When the husbands are incapable of paying maintenance then it should be paid by National commission of women or by women and child ministry.
29. Make provisions for men related studies also like mental health, prostate cancer, false cases on men, male suicides, etc.
30. The Men’s related NGOs should be a part of NDC for discussing provisions of laws.
31. Boys are being discriminated by WCD ministry right now so the Child Ministry should be separated from the WCD ministry.
32. There should be a provision in law to refund Paid Interim Maintenance after revealing it that the litigation filed by the receiving spouse was false and frivolous. The above refund amount should also include reasonable travel cost, hotel expenses and other litigation cost.
33. The Maintenance & Alimony amount paid by husband should be tax exempted.
34. The Maintenance & Alimony received by women should be taxable and the burden to pay the taxes should be on wife only.
35. The Child who are receiving maintenance should contribute 10% to father’s retirement fund of his/her income when they become an earning person.
36. Child Custody & Visitation rights granted by courts should be published on their web portal to show fairness in awarding the order for child custody and visitation because at present, more than 99% fathers don’t get any access/custody of their own child.
37. The maintenance paid to wife and children in courts should be published on the web portal.
38. Maintenance & Alimony to be automatically suspended as soon as Father falls under Below-Poverty-Line.
39. Maintenance order should be automatically suspended when in jail, hospital, unemployed for more than 60 days.
40. Husbands with critical illness like Cancer Patients be relieved from the burden of maintenance /alimony.
41. DNA info should be a part of birth certificate to avoid paternity frauds.
42. DNA test requests should be considered as a litigant’s rights in matrimonial dispute.
43. The Maintenance petition should be dismissed with costs for proven Paternity Fraud cases.
44. Child adoption law to be easy and Gender Neutral.
45. Right to abortion without husbands’ consent and knowledge to be abolished completely.
46. There should be Equal Paternity Leave and Child Care leave for fathers.
47. There should be Punishment to police for false cases and cases not completely investigated in prescribed time limit as per CrPC.
48. The Pre-Nuptial agreement for marriage should be honoured by courts and it should be made formal and legal.
49. The implementation of a Uniform Civil Code should be in the entire geographical territory of India.
50. The applicability of the Uniform Civil Code for marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, guardianship, and partition of land and assets on all citizens without any discrimination.
51. Right to equality before the law as guaranteed under Article 14 and prohibition of discrimination of any citizen on grounds of religion, race caste, sex, or place of birth provided under Article 15 of the Constitution.
52. Article 21: “Protection of Life and Personal Liberty: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.” This fundamental right is available to every person, citizens, and foreigners alike.
53. Gender equality in the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code; and
54. Various aspects of prevailing matrimonial laws deprivilege Men. Today we are in the 21^stcentury and still, we are not capable to make a gender-equal society where Men and Women get equal education and support systems. Worldwide every developing nation has gender-equal laws.
55. Using the word “SPOUSE” instead of Men/Women or Husband/Wife can help every gender.  Principle of equality before the law – The law should be the same for all, and makes no distinctions between persons, or sexes.