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Income Tax exemption be on Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana also

Kashmir Times. Dated: 4/11/2018 12:38:12 PM

Dear Editor,
Union Finance Minister in the Budget for the year 2018-19 has increased investment-limit in Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India with eight-percent annual income-yield to now rupees 15 lakhs per individual senior citizen rather than earlier rupees 7.5 lakhs per couple. But investment under this scheme is not exempted by section 80C of Income Tax Act, while investments under other pension plan Jeevan Akshay-VI is exempted under Income Tax Act. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) should provide benefits of tax-exemption to investment in PMVVY also.
Broadly there are two exclusive investment-plans in government savings-schemes for senior citizens with higher interest-yield of 8-percent per annum namely PMVVY through LIC of India, and the other being Senior Citizens Savings Schemes (SCSS) through post-offices with investment-limit of rupees 15 lakhs per individual in each scheme. Union Finance Ministry should club both these schemes by launching a new scheme through all branches of public-sector banks and post-offices with investment-limit of rupees 30 lakhs per senior citizen yielding eight percent annual interest-yield payable monthly. Investments already done under PMVVY and SCSS may be deducted from maximum investment-limit under suggested new scheme through banks. Both PMVVY and SCSS may be discontinued for future. Such a unified scheme will be convenient for banking-purposes also where interest will be auto-credited to bank-accounts of investors usually in the same bank, rather than requiring electronic transfers inconvenient to even investors because interest-credited under SCSS plan goes to savings-accounts opened in post-offices rather than in bank-accounts of investing senior citizens. Revenue will be saved because no commission may be payable to agents in deposit-accounts opened in banks.
—Madhu Agrawal,
1775 Kucha Lattushah
Dariba, Chandni Chowk Delhi