With the beginning of the new year, 2021, a new set of rules will come into effect from January 1, 2021.
- On the first of every month, oil companies determine prices of LPG cylinders. So, on the very first day of New Year 2021, the prices could be increased, kept unchanged or decreased.
2. The “positive pay system”: The State Bank of India (SBI) will roll out this system for cheques from January 1, 2021.
Under this, reconfirmation of key details will be needed for payments in excess of Rs 50,000. The cheque issuer will have to submit details like date, beneficiary name, payee, amount to the drawee bank etc. electronically, through SMS, mobile banking, internet banking, ATM etc.
3. Saral Jeevan Bima policy: Insurance companies will launch the Saral Jeevan Bima policy which will allow a person to purchase a term plan even at a low premium amount. Companies are introducing this policy as directed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
4. Transaction limit through contactless cards to be raised: RBI will raise the limit of transactions via contactless cards, using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.
5. Prefixing zero while dialling from landline to mobile: Zero will have to be prefixed before a mobile number while dialling from a landline phone. The Department of Telecom (DoT) had accepted a proposal from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in this regard.
6. WhatsApp to stop working on some smartphones: Smartphones, which have an operating system (OS) older than Android 4.3 or iOS 9, need to be upgraded for WhatsApp to work on these.
7. Cars and electronic appliances to get costlier: Automobile companies will increase car prices while those of TV, refrigerators, washing machines are likely to go up by 10%.