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  GST Reforms: Who is the beneficiary? Aam Aadmi or Corporate? GST Council, comprising finance ministers and representatives from both the state and central governments, implemented certain reforms to the existing policy, by reducing the slab rates to two (from four) and introducing a new 40% slab for goods and services that are considered luxurious/intoxicant/injurious to health. The move is being hailed as the most beneficial for a common man. Even before the dust set in, the first discrepancy cropped up, as exemption of GST on life and health insurance policies were restricted to individual insurance and reinsurance thereof. All India Retirees' Federation and two others filed a writ petition (WP) in the High Court of Kerala (high court), challenging the levy of GST on group health insurance policies. The petitioners also requested the high court to direct IBA (an association representing majority of the Indian Banks) and National Insurance Co. Ltd. to not to levy GST on insuran...

Worked in SBT, Thrissur? Participated in the get together on 25.10.25? (“No”. Then  You missed a page of the glorious history of SBT) A "Get together of SBT Officers Thrissur on 25.10.25 " whatsapp group was opened by Shri Prasad on 23rd July 2025. More than 700 eligibles joined the group within 45 days (the group strength now is 726). 326 members confirmed participation and 300 plus happily joined the celebrations on the "D Day" at Casino Hotel Thrissur. Unbelievable, but made possible by the team led by Prasad and the ever willing SBTHRISSURians of yesteryears. Travancore Bank with the 'elephant' logo and SBT with 'long tradition of trust' emblem welcomed us. The function started with the famous SBT Song. A formal inauguration of "lighting the lamp" by the old 'elite' added colours to the event. The ever dependable Harishankar (I am his batchmate😊) wore different hats on that day. Shri Sunil performed the role of master of ceremo...

  Shirdi - Nashik - Pandharpur - Kohlapur -    Tour with e…Routes -  A perspective Group Tour: e…Routes, Coimbatore organised the above tour. I was one among the twenty six tourists, with majority of them coming from Sreevatsa Global Village, Coimbatore. (The residential complex where I live).  Deities Worshipped: We took a flight from Coimbatore to Shirdi on 7th Oct’ 25 and returned from Kohlapur to Coimbatore on 11th Oct’ 25. Travel from Shirdi to Nashik, Pandharpur ( Pandaripuram Vittal) and Kohlapur ( Mahalakshmi) were covered by Road. We were fortunate to have had four darshans  of Shirdi Sai, including Khakkad Aarti, two darshans at Pandaripura Vittala and Rukmini, one each at Nashik Triyambakeswarar, Kaala Ram, Kaboleswarar(Sivan), Kohlapur Mahalakshmi. Except in Kohlapur, where we spent nearly half an hour in the queue, before Mahalakshmi graced us with her merciful eyes, the time spent in the other worship centres, before we could experience the g...

  Repo Rate Review Oct’ 25:  Pause in rate, but change in stance likely The bi-monthly review meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is underway (Sep 29 to Oct 1, 2025) and the RBI Governor is expected to announce the decisions of MPC on 1st Oct’ 25. I predict that the MPC may continue the  'pause' in the policy rate, but might change the stance from 'neutral' to 'accommodative'.  Rationale:   While (i) inflation for August (2.07%, still at the lower end of the inflation target band),  (ii) the GDP growth for Q1FY26 is impressive (7.8% against 6.4% in the corresponding period the previous year),  (iii) the forex reserves crossed and remain at USD700 billion plus levels, (iv) the reforms implemented in GST, with two slabs of 5% and 18%, promising increase in GDP on account of reduced price across consumer and capital goods, (inducing more production and more sales) are positive factors,  (a) the additional tar...

   KP Krishnan Kutty Nair: True Comrade among Trade Union Leaders It was July/August 1994. I got a phone call from Com. KP Krishnan Kutty Nair, (popularly known as KPK or Krishnan Kutty) two days prior to filing of nomination papers for the election of office bearers and committee members for ABOA: Unit SBT for the period 1994-97. He requested me to contest as an executive member from Chennai, as Com.N.S. Muraleedharan Nair (NSM) desired me to join their panel of candidates.  I filed the nomination and won, partly due to my ‘popularity’ and mainly due to the popularity of NSM, KPK and other established leaders in our panel. A zonal office, outside Kerala, for the branches in Tamil Nadu and branches located in other states of India was formed in 1995. Again Com. Krishnan Kutty was the man behind in the executive committee’s decision to select me as the assistant secretary of ABOA: Unit SBT, for Chennai Zone. When I completed my term and moved to Thiruvananthapuram in 1997,...

SBT's Sadhabishegam on 12th Sep' 2025  Whenever I think about SBI and its erstwhile associate banks, I could not help, but recollect the story of King Shantanu’s marriage with the River Ganges and their seven babies, born prior to Bhishma (their eighth son). Like the first seven babies thrown into the river and got merged with their mother River Ganges, the seven associate banks (AB) were merged into their parent SBI on 31st March 2017. The comparison ends there. A hesitant parent had to merge its seven unwilling ABs with itself, due to an arrangement fixed by SBI’s major shareholder viz. the Government of India. Unlike the seven babies, who were submerged in their mother river on day one, the seven ABs were allowed to grow for nearly 58 years before their merger with their parent. Again SBI was an adopted mother for the seven ABs, which were in existence, prior to them being sworn in as subsidiaries of SBI. So, when the merger took place, thousands of the stake holders of ABs ...