Ans: Would suggest you to invest in a Mutual Fund instead of directly investing in a stock. Since Rs. 2 lacs is low for taking direct equity exposure - even if you invest Rs. 50000/- in each stock - your portfolio will have 4 stocks which is high concentration. Additionally would you be able to monitor? Because it's quite difficult to recommend stocks which you can buy & forget for next 5-8 years - everything today is so dynamic - something which is good today may not remain the same in the next 2-3 years. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: As a thumb rule - if you are saving more than 110000/- on taxes through various tax saving schemes - have carry forward losses - then remain with the old regime - otherwise shift over. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: If you are available most of the tax exemptions and are fine with the cash left in hand post that - then you should continue with the old regime - but the way the govt is going about it - in the next couple of years it could be scrapped. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: The Budget Figures this time around were quite pragmatic and believe it's achievable. The budget was neutral and mildly positive for the market directly. The biggest fear of tinkering with the Capital Gains Tax was unfounded - thus a big relief for the markets. Pushing tax payers to the new regime would mean lesser forced savings - so flows from that angle to ELSS schemes will reduce - but that's marginal . With spend on infra and related - it will mean economic growth and higher employment - which is good for the markets in the longer run. When a budget is solely meant for the capital markets - it's called a "Dream Budget" but now a days budgets have become a non-event - the effect doesn't last beyond a few days - and it's natural that in these times - important changes/policies/announcements happen outside the budget. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: Budget Effect : Sectors benefited ; Infrastructure, Capital Goods, Railways related, Cement, Consumption related, Automobiles & ancillaries, Energy. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: Generally the budget impact doesn't last beyond a few days. However for the IT space the budget is neutral. The IT sector is going through a period of underperformance due to slowdown in their major clients geographies - like US and Europe. However, in the next 2 quarters this sector should bottom out. So remain invested or could buy fresh over the next few months. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: Deduction u/s 80C to 80U not available under new regime [except Employers Contribution to NPS u/s 80CCD(2),
Agniveer Corpus Fund u/s 80CCH, deduction u/s 80JJA and 80LA(1A)] - Under old regime both are available - 80TTB if you are senior citizen. Hope this clarifies. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: Even at current levels valuations are expensive despite high growth and being the only profitable company in the online space. The profitability dipped last quarter. Q3 earnings will be out on Monday, 6th Feb. In case you continue to see a fall in profitability - exit. Otherwise hold. However, you have bought at nearly 52 week high - so the wait could be long. I cannot suggest any stock picks since I provide that service as a paid one - will be doing injustice to my subscribers. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: Without having more details, difficult to give a precise advice. A General thumb rule would be that you invest 60%/70% in equities or similar risk assets and balance in higher safety assets like debt. Out of this 60%/70% allocated for equities - you should decide how much to invest in mutual funds vis-a-vis direct equities - this would based on the fact whether you have the time & inclination to invest directly. It means you will need to spend time studying the prospects of your investee companies - monitor the portfolio on a regular basis etc etc. If not, the whole amount could go into various mutual funds. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Investment Advisor/Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: LTCG upto 1 lac continues to be exempted under the New Tax Regime but LTC allowance is not available. (Disclaimer : The views given are personal. Please consult your CA or Tax Consultant before acting on my views)

Ans: Sector wise I see automobiles, auto ancillaries, consumer durables, fmcg (due to extra cash in hands of middle class tax payers), pharma and speciality chemicals doing well. Maruti, Motherson Samvardhana, Dabur, Whirlpool, Voltas, Zydus Life, Deepak Nitrite are some of the picks for long term.

Ans: A difficult question. It depends a lot on your expectation and your investment strategy. If you are long term investor the stock you pick up may not move up for a while but in the longer run give you excellent returns. But if your strategy is of a short term player - you may get frustrated with a long term stock as it doesn't move in short term. It's very important to define your objectives and investment strategy before deciding which stock you want to buy

Ans: This is a bit negative for the real estate space. I was in fact expected the FM to increase the limit. Disappointed with the outcome

Ans: Till March 2023 I believe the market could be slightly weak. But it could offer a good opportunity to buy if one has patience to buy & hold

Ans: Secondary Market are the exchanges - primarily BSE/NSE where the equity shares are traded and one can buy/sell based on the position you want to take. You need to register with a authorised broker and have a demat account. Whereas New Issue (IPO) Market is where a company offers its shares directly to the investor and one has to apply for the same through the ASBA process (where your funds (application money) are blocked till allotment. If the issue is oversubscribed then it's sort of a lottery. Once allotted, the shares will be in the demat account and you could trade in them through the stock exchanges.

Ans: Already covered that a bit earlier - automobiles, auto ancillaries, consumer durables, FMCG, pharma as well as speciality chemicals

Ans: HFCL hold for a target of 90 and NBCC hold for target of 48/56 in the medium term.

Ans: HDFC Life has corrected sharply - also the CEO has admitted that there will be some loss of business though may not have much effect on the bottom line since they were low margin businesses. So I assume it's got priced in and it could be an attractive level to buy now if you have patience of the next 12-15 months. India is still an under insured market.

Ans: Sector wise I see automobiles, auto ancillaries, consumer durables, fmcg (due to extra cash in hands of middle class tax payers), pharma and speciality chemicals doing well. So don't go by midcaps or smallcaps - buy quality companies in this space.