Knowledge Center

Personal finance, explained in plain English - no jargon, no fluff. Every guide is dated so you know it's current, and every one ends with a way to ask Laalaji about your own numbers.

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All Pillars Money Basics & Budgeting Investing & Markets Indian Taxation Banking & Digital Payments Credit, Loans & EMIs Insurance Government Schemes & Social Security Retirement Planning Fraud Protection & Financial Safety Regulators & Consumer Rights

AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India) AMFI is the mutual fund industry's own self-regulatory body - not a government regulator like SEBI - responsible for standards like fund categorization and the mutual fund Riskometer, working alongside (and under) SEBI's rules. Regulators & Consumer Rights
CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) CBDT is the government body that administers India's direct taxes - income tax and corporate tax - operating under the Finance Ministry's Department of Revenue, and is the source of the rules, forms, and notifications that govern how you file your ITR. Regulators & Consumer Rights
CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) CBIC administers India's indirect taxes - GST and customs duty - the counterpart to CBDT's direct-tax role, and is why GST rates and customs duty changes are notified through CBIC circulars rather than the Income Tax Department. Regulators & Consumer Rights
Insider Trading (SEBI's PIT Regulations) Insider trading means buying or selling a listed company's shares while in possession of unpublished, price-sensitive information not yet available to the rest of the market - prohibited under SEBI's PIT Regulations, 2015, regardless of whether the trade is on-market or off-market. Regulators & Consumer Rights
IPO Regulation Basics Every Initial Public Offering in India must first clear SEBI's review of a detailed disclosure document (the DRHP), and retail investors apply through ASBA, where funds stay blocked in your own bank account until shares are actually allotted. Regulators & Consumer Rights
Mutual Fund Riskometer The Riskometer is a standardized, six-level risk label - from Low to Very High - that every mutual fund scheme must disclose and update monthly, so investors can compare risk on a common scale across fund houses. Regulators & Consumer Rights
National Consumer Helpline The National Consumer Helpline (1915) is a general-purpose consumer-grievance channel covering financial products alongside every other consumer complaint - a broader safety net alongside the sector-specific SEBI/RBI/IRDAI mechanisms, not a replacement for them. Regulators & Consumer Rights
PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) PFRDA is the statutory regulator for India's National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana, responsible for registering and overseeing pension fund managers and protecting subscriber interests. Regulators & Consumer Rights
RBI's Digital Lending Guidelines: The Rules Legitimate Lending Apps Must Follow The Reserve Bank of India (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025 require a genuine digital lender to disburse loans only directly into the borrower's own bank account, cap third-party default guarantees at 5% of the loan portfolio, and give the borrower clear, upfront disclosure of all costs - rules a fake or predatory loan app has no interest in following. Regulators & Consumer Rights
Solvency Ratio (Insurance) Solvency ratio measures whether an insurer holds enough capital to cover its claim obligations, with IRDAI mandating a minimum of 150% - a ratio below that threshold can trigger regulatory intervention. Regulators & Consumer Rights
The 30-Day Rule for Financial Grievance Redressal Every major financial-sector ombudsman - SEBI, RBI, and IRDAI alike - requires you to first raise a complaint directly with the entity involved, and generally allows escalation to the regulator's ombudsman only after 30 days without a satisfactory response. Regulators & Consumer Rights