As we have embark into 2024, there are multiple new arrangements that will come into play in terms of financial landscape.

The alterations range from change in interest rates for some saving schemes to bank locker agreements.

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For Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme (SSAS) and the three-year time deposit, there has been a 20 basis points increase in the interest rate to 8.20 per cent for the March quarter.

The interest rate on a 3-year time deposit has gone up by 10 basis points to 7.10 per cent for the quarter beginning on January 1.

As per the new bank rules, people with bank lockers, had to sign the revised bank locker agreement by December 31.

From January 1, 2024, their lockers could be frozen. Customers who fail to renew the agreement before the deadline can face restrictions as banks can deny access to the locker and impose supplementary charges.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had asked payment apps and banks to deactivate the UPI IDs and numbers that have not been active for more than one year. As per the notification, every bank and third-party app had to comply with this by 31December, 2023.

Also, it is working to put into action the ‘UPI Tap and Pay’ feature across digital payment providers.

Starting from January 1, the existing process of paper-based KYC will be replaced by paperless KYC. However, the rules for new mobile connections remain unchanged.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested that telecom providers should gradually stop requiring physical client verification before providing SIM cards to consumers.

For Income Tax payers, December 31 was the deadline for both belated and revised ITRs. Now, the taxpayers must pay a maximum penalty of Rs 5000, but the process is free of cost for those submitting revised ones.

For the Insurance sector, the regulator has asked insurers to release revised customer information sheets (CIS) for health insurance policyholders with effect from January 1, 2024. This is done to ensure that the clients are aware of the main points of the policy in an easy-to-understand manner.

Starting January, key automakers like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors Audi India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai cars India and MG Motors are hiking prices of their four-wheelers in a range of 2 to 3 per cent mostly.