Home loans get costlier; repayment to rise by over 12%

New Delhi: Home loans just got costlier with the lending institutions on Thursday announcing a hike in their interest rates by an average of 0.75 per cent a move that would increase repayments by a minimum of about Rs 2.5 lakh for a Rs 20-lakh loan.

Consumers would have to fork out over Rs 1,000 more every month as EMI for a loan of Rs 20 lakh, whose repayment is spread over 20 years.

Market leader HDFC today announced a hike of 0.75 per cent in its retail prime lending rate, on which its adjustable home loans are benchmarked, with effect from August 1.

While a few banks already announced rate hikes yesterday, others are expected to soon follow suit.

HDFC said that for new home loan customers, the adjustable rate loans would now be priced at a minimum of 11.75 per cent. Fixed rate remains unchanged at 14 per cent.

On a 11.75 per cent floating rate, the EMI is estimated to work out to around Rs 21,675 per month, up Rs 1,031 from Rs 20,644 at a rate of 11 per cent.

This would result in an overall additional burden of close to Rs 2,50,000 over the 20-year period.

The rates are being revised in the wake of tight monetary measures announced by RBI on Tuesday, when it asked the banks to maintain higher mandatory cash reserves with it and also increased its short-term key lending rates for them. Avdhoot Investment or read more on Housing Loan here

Simplex Infra net up 94%

Simplex Infrastructures has recorded a 94% increase in net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2008 at Rs 38.3 crore compared to Rs 19.7 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Turnover increased to Rs 1,017 crore (Rs 594 crore).
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Govt to give Rs 1,000 cr more to LIC for Aam Admi Bima Yojana

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday decided to provide an additional Rs 1,000 crore to Life Insurance Corporation to cover another one crore rural landless households under the social security scheme 'Aam Admi Bima Yojana'. The scheme will cover an additional one crore landless households by September 30, 2009 under the AABY to provide death and disability benefits to the head of the family or earning members of the family, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The scheme, which is being implemented through the LIC, was launched on October 2 last year. The union government bears 50 per cent of the premium of Rs 200 per year per person and the state governments pays the rest of the premium on behalf of the beneficiaries.

Besides, the Cabinet also approved giving Rs 500 crore towards Social Security Fund maintained by LIC to provide 50 per cent share of premium Janshree Bima Yojana for all women self help groups credit linked to banks. Dasmunsi said the decision will facilitate providing life and permanent disability cover to 2.5 lakh women SHGs under the scheme by March 31, 2009.

Janshree Bima Yojana was launched in August 2000 to provide life insurance protection to the rural and urban poor under various vocational groups. The premium under the scheme is Rs 200 per member per annum, of which 50 per cent premium is paid by beneficiaries of the scheme and the rest pitched in by the government through the fund maintained by LIC. At present, there are 45 vocational or occupational groups covered under the scheme. Avdhoot Investment