Kolkata: Thursday, May 1 is going to make a few significant changes to your wallet. They are not as significant as those that kicked in from April 1, like the new income tax slabs but will be recurring. They concern new decision on free ATM transactions, price of LPG cylinders and the price of Amul milk, the biggest milk brand in the country.
Price of milk
The price of Amul milk is going up by Rs 2 a lite on all variants across India. The rate of rise is between 3% and 4% on MRP. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand, attributed the decision on the rising prices of inputs. “GCMMF, the marketer of milk and milk products under the brand name of Amul, has increased the prices of fresh pouch milk by Rs 2 per litre effective from May 1, 2025, in all markets across the country,” said the federation.
Free ATM transactions
Every month the customer of a bank can use the ATM for a specified number of times free. If you use the ATM beyond that specified number in a month, you have to cough up a certain charge. From May 1, that charge will increase due to a new decision by the Reserve Bank of India. If the number of transactions exceed the free limit, now one has to pay Rs 23 per transaction plus taxes, as opposed to the earlier amount of Rs 21 plus taxes. And these transactions will be both financial (like withdrawing cash) to non-financial (ordering a cheque book). The new fee structure will be applicable to traditional ATMs as well as Cash Recycler Machines.
Railway ticket booking
Indian Railways will no longer consider waiting list tickets in sleeper or AC coaches valid from May 1. Those with waiting list tickets will be able to travel only in general coaches. Also the advance reservation window already stands reduced to 60 days from 120 days and the cancellation refund time was slashed to only two days.
Commercial LPG cylinder prices
The prices of domestic LPG prices were not changed but the prices of commercial LPG cylinders came down by a small amount from May 1. The cut was by Rs 19 in New Delhi and Chennai and Rs 17 in Kolkata.
There could be some more changes on the financial front. After RBI Repo Rate cut in April by 25 basis points, home loan rates as indeed other interest rates applicable to car loans and personal loans could go down this month. Incidentally, the Repo Rate has now come down to 6% from 6.5% in the beginning of February. A few major banks have already slashed home loan rates and the list could get longer in May.
Also, one would do well to get their documents together for filing income tax for FY25. While salaried taxpayers will need to wait for their Form 16 (which employers give), they can start collecting documents stating the interest earned from savings accounts, interest certificate for home loan, capital gains proofs for sale of stocks/mutual funds/property, bank statements in case of freelance income etc. These documents will be needed for filing ITR, which has to be done by July 31. If you do it now comfortably, there will be no need to rush in the last week of July.
A few important change are happening to your wallet from today, Thursday, May 1. And they will concern almost everyone since they span a range of product of goods and services that are almost essential. Personal Finance Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
