DIGITAL INDIA : Let's Log In for Investments

Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi formally launched the Digital India Project on 1st of July. The project, a pet scheme of the NDA government, aims to connect India by broadband Internet, promote e-governance and transform India into a connected knowledge economy. The possibilities and benefits of such a project, in time, will prove to be immense and trans formative in nature. With E-Commerce, it also has the seeds to change how we all deal with our financial activities. At this time, the need for acknowledging these under-currents of technology transformation in India cannot be overlooked. The question now arises, are we ready for Digital India? Are we going to be a part of it or refuse to change ourselves and stay stuck in the past? This article attempts to connects us, as investors, to a digital, on-line world on the go.

eCommerce in India:
The eCommerce sector has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. The increasing use of devices like smart-phones and tablets, easy access to internet, better internet speeds have driven rapid technology adoption and increase in consumer base across India. eCommerce is today seen spreading across a very wide range of products and services and set to grow further. It has changed the industry landscape and unsettled old players in industries like classifieds, training & education, financial services, communications, logistics, music, travel, transport, real estate broking, retail and so on. Apart from volumes, even value of transactions has increased many fold. For some it may be hard to believe that recently Tata Housing, a pioneer in online selling of flats, sold a villa worth Rs 5.50 Crores through its' ecommerce portal. eCommerce sector in India has grown by 34% (CAGR) since 2009 to touch 16.4 billion USD in 2014. eTailing, which comprises of online retail and market-places, has become the fastest-growing segment in the larger market having grown at a CAGR of around 56% over 2009-2014. There are projections for a growth of over 700% in next 5 years!

Case for Online Investments:
In the use of digital technologies, financial services in India lags behind other categories. Technology discontinuities such as the mobile Internet, cloud storage, automation of knowledge work, digital identity verification and digital payments provide tremendous opportunity to reinvent financial services. We are already seeing the change taking shape in banking industry where innovative solutions are emerging that allow you to make payments and transfer amounts. Today we can access information, compare and do research in virtually any financial product. The scope of products which you apply for and/or transact online today is larger than ever. The list is dominated by shares and mutual funds at the top followed by fixed income securities, insurance, loans, credit cards, etc. Since long we are used to having equity shares in the demat mode with online trading facility. Now there is an increasing awareness and appreciation for the advantages of going for online transactions in other financial products, especially mutual funds. To start investing online through mutual funds, the investors need to have a "NJ E-Wealth A/c" or Trading Account and Demat Account. While trading account is needed to undertake transactions, the online demat account is needed to hold the securities in dematerialised form.

Advantages of having NJ E-Wealth A/c Service:
Avoiding physical transactions: Among the greatest advantages of having NJ E-Wealth A/c is that you can completely avoid any physical transactions in mutual funds. Through NJ E-Wealth A/c, you would be able to make virtually every type of transaction like purchases, redemptions, switch, SIP and STP. Doing multiple transactions and inter AMC switches would is also possible through NJ E-Wealth A/c. Thus you save on time and efforts in filling form and form submission. With NJ E-Wealth A/c, transactions can be done instantly through the online NJ E-Wealth A/c Account, mobile application or through Call & Trade service.
With online transactions you would …

• Enjoy freedom to transact from anywhere, any time
• Save time & effort on form filling
• Avoid physical travel and submission process
• Ensure timely transaction processing and update on email /SMS
• Avoid manual mistakes of form filling and increase accuracy of transactions

Consolidation of All Holdings:
With a demat account, you would be able to see all your actual holdings of securities at one single place. This would avoid any confusion and cases of queries in terms of what your holdings are. You may no longer bother to collect and store account statements. Further, in addition to mutual funds, your demat account would also hold other securities like equity shares, bonds, ETFs, etc. One would also be able to apply in NFOs and IPOs through the demat mode. Having a consolidated holdings across different financial products would be challenge had things been in physical mode.
Here are the advantages in brief...

• Avoiding hassles of remembering, tracking and consolidating investments
• Actual, real-time holdings in your demat account
• Single holdings statement across products like mutual funds, equities, bonds and ETFs

Synchronisation of Investor Information:
One of the many problems of physical transacting is having to remember and manage investor information across multiple AMCs. Quite often important investor details may differ leading to many problems. Updating any such information proves very troublesome for any investor. With NJ E-Wealth A/c, we are no longer worried about such non-financial information and records as they are maintained at the single level and are applicable for all your holdings.

• Standard investor information like bank details, contact information, nomination, redemption payout mode, etc.
• Single window update of all investor related information.

Conclusion:
We have adopted technology in many parts of our lives, be it socialising, communicating, learning, traveling or shopping. But we are yet truly embrace technology in an area which perhaps is most important comes closest your financial well-being – investments. In line with the digital India vision and the trend in our own lives, it is now high time that we go fully digital on our investments front. Opening a NJ E-Wealth A/c is an one time exercise but which can provide you with a lifetime of advantages with its' promise of convenience, ease, efficiency, mobility, control and choice. Its' is high time that we undertake this important task of opening NJ E-Wealth A/c by approaching.

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