From Demat Nomination To Bank Locker, Changes Coming Into Effect From January 1

The year 2023 is soon going to end. And with the onset of the new year, several changes will come into effect that will impact the day-to-day lives of the people. Most of the changes are connected to the banking sector, including online stock trading - also known as the demat account. Others deal with bank locker and updating Aadhaar details for free. As the clock strikes midnight on December 31, these changes will unfold, impacting our daily lives and global interactions.

Here's a look at changes coming into effect from January 1, 2024:

Demat nominee: This is an important change for those who are into stock trading. Demat (short for dematerialised) helps investors hold shares and securities in an electronic format. Market regulator SEBI has made it mandatory for all demat account holders to either furnish nomination declarations or opt out of nominations by January 1, 2024. If people fail to do so, they won't be able to transact in stocks. The earlier deadline was September 30 and was extended by three months.

Bank locker agreement: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the deadline to sign revised bank locker agreement by December 31, 2023. If bank customers fail to do so, their lockers will be frozen. The central bank had extended the deadline by a year for the convenience of bank customers.

Changes in Aadhaar correction for free: the last date to update Aadhaar details online for free is December 31, 2023. After this, a charge of Rs 50 will be imposed for requesting any change in the identity proof document. The announcement was made after its previous deadline of September 14, 2023.

No paper-based KYC for SIM cards: Mobile phone users who want to get a new SIM card won't face the hassle of filling out a paper form from the first day of 2024. According to a notification by Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the paper-based know-your-customer (KYC) process will be done away with from January 1.

Canada to double cost-of-living financial requirement for international students: Canada will implement changes in its rules for incoming international students beginning January 1, that will double the cost-of-living financial requirement for them, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced earlier this month. The move will impact the arrival of foreign students into the country, including from India. Starting next year, prospective students will need to show they have access to 20,635 dollars instead of the 10,000-dollar requirement that has been in place for two decades, in addition to paying travel and tuition.