Saraswat Co-operative Bank, the largest multistate co-operative bank in the country, is likely to acquire financially-troubled Anyonya Co-op Bank (ACBL) soon. The merger of 118-yearold ACBL, which has 10 branches in Gujarat, is estimated to cost Rs 25 crore to Saraswat Bank. At present, Saraswat Bank has 190 branches in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and New Delhi. The bank has done a business of Rs 21,000 crore so far in the current financial year. In the last three years, it has acquired six co-operative banks — Maratha Mandir Coop Bank, Mandvi Co-op Bank (Mumbai), Annasaheb Karale Urban Co-op Bank (Sangli), Murdha Rajendra Co-operative Bank (Meerat), South Indian Bank (Mumbai) and Nashik-based Nashik People's Co-op Bank. In the process it has acquired 700,000 depositors.
Though the deduction offered under Section 80CCD (1B) is `50,000 , it is not advisable to put the entire amount at one go. It is best to stagger your investments across several months, much like the SIP strategy in a mutual fund. However, don't make too many small contributions. There is a transaction charge of 0.25% or `20 (whichever is higher) on every contribution. If you invest `500-1,000 every month, you pay `20 per contribution, which works out to 2-4%. Invest at least `5,000-10,000 at one go. Remember, at most `2,500-5,000 of this will go into equities if you have chosen the maximum 50% allocation to stocks. The rest will flow into corporate bonds and gilt funds as per your desired allocation. Best Tax Saver Mutual Funds or ELSS Mutual Funds for 2015 1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan 2. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund 3. HDFC TaxSaver 4. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund 5. Religare Tax Plan 6. Franklin India TaxShield 7. Canara Robeco Equity Tax Saver ...
