If your net income-tax liability exceeds Rs 10,000 in a financial year, you are required to pay advance tax in four installments as per the Income Tax Act, 1961. Net tax liability refers to the estimated tax due after adjusting for TDS. While this rule applies to most taxpayers, the law also provides key exemptions for specific categories of individuals.Under Section 211 of the Act, advance tax is payable in four quarterly tranches between June 15 and March 15 of the same financial year. Taxpayers under the presumptive taxation scheme, however, are allowed to make a single consolidated payment by March 15, according to an ET report.Chartered Accountant Bharat D Sarawgee of NRI Nivesh said resident senior citizens aged 60 and above are fully exempt from paying advance tax if they do not have income from business or profession. “This holds true even if their total tax liability exceeds Rs 10,000; no advance tax is required for such senior citizens,” he said.Salaried individuals whose tax liability is entirely covered by TDS also do not need to pay advance tax, provided they have no other taxable income apart from salary income.

Advance tax payment on incomes that can’t be estimated in advance

Some incomes cannot be projected ahead of time, and the Act allows taxpayers to pay advance tax on such income in the next quarter after the income is actually earned. Capital gains on listed equity shares are a common example.“Individuals having certain specific income sources are exempted from payment of advance tax in advance. The advance tax on these incomes can be paid in the next quarter,” said Chartered Accountant Manas Chugh, head – regulatory services at Osgan Consultants, ET quoted him as saying.According to the law, advance tax for the following income categories may be paid in the subsequent quarter:

Chugh added: “The first proviso of sub-section (1) of Section 234C aims to shield taxpayers from the imposition of penal interest in situations where the precise calculation of advance tax liability is not feasible. Therefore, in the above-mentioned incomes, advance tax is required to be paid only when the actual income is earned.”

Advance tax deadlines for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)

For FY 2025-26, the four installments fall on June 15, September 15, December 15, and March 15.A crucial point is that advance tax is payable only if the net tax liability after TDS exceeds Rs 10,000. If the net liability is below this threshold, advance tax is not mandatory. If it is Rs 10,000 or more, advance tax must be paid.

Rohit Sharma with head coach Gautam Gambhir (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)

Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has called on head coach Gautam Gambhir to provide Washington Sundar with clear direction ahead of the third and final ODI against South Africa in Vizag. The three-match series has seen Sundar struggle to make any meaningful impact, raising fresh concerns over how the team management intends to use him. Sundar has been shuffled around the batting order in the first two games, walking in at No.5 in the series opener before being pushed down to No.6 in the second match. The uncertainty has been reflected in his returns: scores of 13 and 1, and a combined seven overs with the ball, without a wicket. His limited involvement has added to the debate surrounding his place in the XI.

Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube channel, said Sundar needs to be handled as a primary bowler who can contribute with the bat, not the other way around. “Once you decide to play Washington Sundar, you must treat him as a bowler who can bat,” Ashwin said. “He needs to get his full set of overs. Only then will he think like a bowler who can bat. If he’s just batting and bowling a few overs, he’ll keep searching for who he is. Don’t leave him in that space. Give him proper role clarity.” Ashwin also highlighted India’s lack of finishing power with the bat. Despite being 284 for 4 after 40 overs in the second ODI, India ended with only 358. He questioned whether the team might be better served with a fast-bowling all-rounder such as Nitish Kumar Reddy in Sundar’s place. “India haven’t finished well in both games,” he said. “Without someone like Hardik Pandya, why wasn’t a powerful finisher like Nitish Kumar Reddy tried? I’m not sure if they see Rishabh Pant as a finisher. India are missing that punch at the end. Should a fast-bowling all-rounder play instead of a spinning one?” Ashwin added that, with India’s bowling resources depleted, this team may regularly need an extra 30–40 runs to feel safe, particularly if Jasprit Bumrah is not available. “We’ve lost many experienced bowlers in Tests and white-ball cricket,” he said. “The X-factor is Bumrah. If he isn’t a full-time part of the squad, India must score 30 to 40 extra every match.

Silver soars to a record high, Indians rush to cash in!The India Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA) estimates that about 100 tonnes of old silver were sold in just one week, a volume that typically takes several months to surface. Under normal circumstances, the domestic market receives only 10–15 tonnes of old silver in an entire month.The sudden spike in supply has been driven by soaring prices, which touched a record Rs 1,78,684 per kilogram on Wednesday, according to IBJA’s retail data. Although prices eased slightly to Rs 1,75,730 on Thursday, they remain nearly 20% higher than recent lows, prompting many families to turn metal into cash.IBJA national secretary Surendra Mehta said profit-taking has played a major role, alongside rising household needs during the festive period. He added that the wedding season and holiday travel have pushed up the need for liquidity, leading many people to sell off their reserves. Most of the inflow comprises scrap silverware and utensil pieces, according to him.“During Diwali and Dhanteras, silver hit Rs 1.78 lakh per kilo, then slipped to Rs 1.49 lakh. Now that prices are rallying again, people are offloading the metal to generate cash,” Mehta told ET.Silver has been a star performer this year , with its price more than doubling from Rs 86,005 per kg in 2024, overshadowing returns from other asset classes. Gold, in contrast, has seen a gain of roughly 60% during the same period. Analysts expect the appetite to book profits to strengthen further if prices continue their climb, with many seeing the Rs 2 lakh-per-kg milestone within reach.Naveent Damani, head of commodities research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, believes the current uptrend is far from over as the supply gap widens. He forecasts silver to touch Rs 2 lakh per kg in the first quarter of 2026 and Rs 2.4 lakh by the end of next year, adding that dollar-denominated prices could move up to $75 an ounce, ET reported.Behind the price rally is a persistent shortage. Data from the Washington-based Silver Institute shows that global demand has outpaced supply every year since 2020. Most of the white metal is not mined directly but produced as a by-product of gold, lead or zinc mining, which limits the possibility of sudden expansion in output.For 2025, mined silver production has been flat at 813 million ounces. Higher contributions from Mexico and Russia have been offset by reduced output in Peru and Indonesia. Primary silver production in 2025 is expected to increase by only 3 million ounces to 227 million ounces, while total supply, including recycled silver, is projected at 1.022 billion ounces. That falls short of the estimated 1.117 billion ounces of global demand, leaving the silver market in a continued deficit.

MUMBAI: Home loan rates are set to drop to levels last seen before the global financial crisis in 2008, with the RBI’s monetary policy committee reducing the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%.Several banks — Union Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Indian Overseas Bank — currently offer home loans at 7.35%. Borrowers at this rate will see their interest rate decline to 7.1%, which is also the deposit rate offered by some private banks. On a Rs 1 crore home loan for 15 years, a 0.25 percentage-point reduction in the rate reduces the EMI by roughly Rs 1,440 per month.

Bankers say that for home loans to be priced at 7.1% for new borrowers, lenders will have to sharply cut deposit rates or revise the spread over the benchmark rate. If this happens, new borrowers could end up paying more interest than existing floating-rate borrowers.While banks will see a compression in net interest margins until deposit rates fall, non-banking finance companies will benefit immediately because of lower funding costs. “For the NBFC sector, and specifically for last-mile financiers like Shriram Finance, this policy is a significant enabler. The continued neutral stance, combined with the Rs 1 lakh crore OMO purchase announcement, ensures that liquidity remains congenial. This will facilitate the faster transmission of rate cuts to the grassroots level, benefiting the small truck operator, the rural entrepreneur and the MSME borrower, who are the engines of this 8.2% growth,” said Umesh Revankar, executive vice-chairman, Shriram Finance.Bankers said the reduction in lending rates will push lenders toward greater granularity in credit, chasing small-business loans that offer higher returns. “Most large corporates are already raising funds from outside the banking system through equity and bonds. If you look at RBI credit numbers, it is the MSME and retail segment that is driving credit growth,” said the head of credit at a private bank.Although lenders are seeking higher-yielding loans, they remain wary of defaults. RBI data on sectoral deployment of bank credit shows that banks are shifting toward secured loans such as gold and auto loans and away from unsecured personal loans.

Skip Bengaluru. Take a trip to Thailand instead. Or Vietnam. Or London. Or even Singapore. All at a much much much cheaper rate than Delhi to Bengaluru, Goa, Pune or Goa. But you cannot travel to Hyderabad, at least not on Friday, because the tickets are sold out. Ironically, IndiGo flight tickets are available.The situation arose amid IndiGo’s massive operational chaos which has led to the cancellations of hundreds of flights and widespread distress for travellers at airports nationwide. On Friday, the airlines cancelled all departures from Delhi till midnight.

According to the DGCA, IndiGo acknowledged that it had severely miscalculated the number of pilots needed to operate its existing schedule under the new crew duty regulations.The flight ticket fares on Friday for Bengaluru, Pune, Lucknow and Goa, which usually ranges 10k-15k, depending upon the demand and the festival factors, stood at an average of 25k-30k.

A travel portal recently showed the fastest December 5 Delhi connection on Air India at around Rs 70,000 before it sold out; even after the price dipped to roughly Rs 32,000, it remained far above the usual Rs 10,000–15,000 range for that sector. And it’s just a one-way fare.The trend extended across domestic routes: the quickest Delhi–Goa Air India option was priced above Rs 56,000, Delhi–Pune fares were between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000, and Delhi–Lucknow tickets crossed Rs 20,000 on Air India Express, with IndiGo selling seats between Rs 9,000 and Rs 17,000.In sharp contrast, international routes appeared far more affordable. Delhi–London fares on Air India began just above Rs 25,000, while Lufthansa and Swiss were priced below Rs 70,000.Taking potshots at the situation, a social media user named Rocky Singh suggested going to Tokyo or New York instead of Bengaluru, given the fare situation.“Going to Bengaluru from Delhi on Air India ? DONT Go to New York or London Or Tokyo instead …. It’s cheaper,” he said.From Delhi to Thailand, Thai Lion Air offered tickets under Rs 10,000, SpiceJet stayed below Rs 15,000, and Air India remained under Rs 25,000. Delhi–Vietnam fares were under Rs 15,000 on Air India and around Rs 25,000 on Thai AirAsia X.“You get food poisoning, I will kill my grandmother,” said Vijaya Srivastava, a 25-year-old news writer, when asked about going to Thailand, given the fares for the day. Even Delhi–Singapore flights were cheaper, with Thai Lion Air under Rs 20,000, Batik Air around Rs 20,000, and Air India at about Rs 30,000.A flyer expressed concern over the situation over “Jodhpur to Bangalore Air India flight 1 lakh rupees”. “This is so unfair of airlines taking advantage of current situation,” Ankita said in a post on X.

IndiGo too nonchalant about it?

While the chaos has been caused by the IndiGo itself, the flyers cited lax management mechanism on the part of the airlines. “Flight radar was more credible source to find the flight status than the website itself,” said a flyer from Delhi, who faced a 7-8 hours delay for Bengaluru flight.Describing the 5am chaos, he said that “every departure gate was crowded with angry passengers who had been waiting from 6 to 8 hours.” There’s no option to cancel as the ticket fares are 3-4 times, so people just prefer to wait.,” he said.Another flyer from Ranchi noted ill management of takeoffs and landings saying, “Passengers had to wait for two hours inside the flight at Delhi airport as the bay area not empty.” “As tempers flared and some travellers began confronting the crew, the pilot said, ‘We are just as helpless as you are,” he said. “I can park the aircraft and offload only when we receive permission’,” the flyer recalled.“Indigo @IndiGo6E ‘s website has no mention whatever of the chaos, and still allows you to book, even for tomorrow between Bengaluru and Hyderabad (which I picked as two of the worst-hit airports). Shouldn’t they be prioritising moving stranded passengers across the country?” a user named Rahul Siddharthan said on X.“And Indigo is still selling tickets with huge margins. Hyd- Blore tickets normally Rs. 3000/- to Rs.4000/- being sold on their App for Rs.11,000/- plus. Even though they know their flights are being cancelled. This called “Make Hay while the sun shine,” another user, posting the screenshot said.

Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi flagged the “govt’s monopoly model” saying that “it’s ordinary Indians who pay the price – in delays, cancellations and helplessness.”He called for a “fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies.”“IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt’s monopoly model. Once again, it’s ordinary Indians who pay the price – in delays, cancellations and helplessness. India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies,” he said.Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took on the government calling out to “shut down the civil aviation ministry”.“I have submitted a calling attention. I was hoping that the civil aviation minister would give information in the Parliament yesterday itself, but unfortunately, that did not happen yesterday. He held a meeting late in the night and issued some directives, but what is the point of directives if so many flights are still being cancelled? If you are not responsible for rising airfares and passenger grievances, then shut down the Civil Aviation Ministry,” she said.

Following its policy to make US visas stricter, the Trump administration is making the US visa-vetting system tighter. The US State Dept announced recently that all H-1B workers and their H-4 dependents will have to undergo social-media screening from December 15. Applicants will have to switch their social-media accounts to “Public” settings to enable scrutiny. The requirement is part of broader vetting procedures introduced by the US State Department in recent years. As part of the updated rules, applicants must list IDs used on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others—even if the accounts are no longer active from the last five years.The US State Department reiterated that “every visa adjudication is a national security decision” and stressed that a US visa is “a privilege, not a right”. Internal guidance circulated in June for student visas suggests the parameters officers may rely on. Negative inferences can be drawn if applicants keep portions of their accounts private or have no online presence at all. Officers are also expected to evaluate whether any content reflects hostility toward US citizens, institutions or culture; support for designated terror groups; attempts to access or misuse sensitive US technology; or a pattern of political activism that could continue after entering the US. Derogatory or questionable material can lead to follow-up interviews, prolonged background checks or visa refusal.

As of December 15, the Department will expand the requirement that an online presence review be conducted for all H-1B applicants and their dependents, in addition to the students and exchange visitors already subject to this review. To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public.”The State Department uses all available information in visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety. We conduct thorough vetting of all visa applicants, including online presence review of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications.Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission. A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right.

US embassy warning on removing social media information from Visa application

In June this year, the US Embassy in India issued a clear warning for visa applicants. “Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” the embassy said in a post on microblogging site X (previously known as Twitter). The post reminded visa applicants to disclose all social media usernames or handles they’ve used over the past five years while filling out the DS-160 visa application form. “Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form” the post read. “Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit.”The requirement is part of broader vetting procedures introduced by the US State Department this year. As part of the updated rules, applicants must list IDs they use on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others. The mandate is also for accounts that are no longer active (from the last five years).