Part 3 · 11 modules · Updated November 2026
Money,
in the system.
Markets, companies, tax, crises, currencies, insurance, property, crypto and your own mind. Then build your plan.
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The journey
Three acts. Eleven modules.
Markets, how businesses raise money, tax end to end.
Crises, trade and the rupee, insurance, property and gold, crypto and AI.
Your biases, the big debates, and your own money plan.
Module 1 · Markets up close
You tap Buy. Five systems move.
May 2026. 26 crore trading accounts, since many hold several.
June 2026. More than India's GDP for a year.
Directly and through mutual funds, March 2026.
Module 1 · Try it
When rates rise, old bonds fall.
A ₹1,000 government bond pays ₹70 a year (7%). Move today's market rate.
India's 10 year bond yield touched about 7.38% in October 2026, a three year high, after the RBI raised the repo rate to 5.50%.
Module 1 · Markets up close
The market's mood, in one line.
Plot the interest rate for lending 3 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years. The shape tells a story.
Module 1 · Case study, India
From private company to ticker symbol.
across 122 listings
every 6 to 8 months lately (NSE)
down from 36 in FY21; about 1 in 4 is a woman
Module 2 · How businesses raise money
Every rung costs something.
Module 2 · Try it
A smaller slice of a bigger pie.
Module 2 · How businesses raise money
Profitable on paper. Broke in the bank.
A trader sells ₹100 of goods on 90 days' credit. Suppliers want their ₹80 in 30 days.
booked on day 1
from day 30 to day 90
That gap is why businesses borrow working capital, sell invoices, or chase customers to pay faster.
Module 2 · Case study, India
Cheap money in. Cheap money out.
Startup funding follows interest rates. When rates rose after 2021, investors became choosy.
after the US and UK (Tracxn)
Mumbai next at 18%
Module 3 · Tax, end to end
Taxed when you earn, spend and grow.
Slabs from 0 to 30%. Under the new regime, no tax up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income, plus a ₹75,000 standard deduction for salaries.
Inside almost every price. October 2026 collections: ₹2.31 lakh crore, up 23% from a year earlier.
On profits from selling shares, funds, property or gold. Equity: 20% if held under a year, 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh if longer.
Module 3 · Tax, end to end
Four GST rates since September 2025.
GST 2.0 replaced the old 5, 12, 18 and 28% structure. Check current rates for any specific item; the GST Council can change them.
Module 3 · Try it
Your next rupee vs your average rupee.
New regime, tax year 2026 to 27: ₹75,000 standard deduction, rebate up to ₹12 lakh taxable, 4% cess. No surcharge modelled above ₹50 lakh.
Module 3 · Try it
Patience is taxed less.
Same profit, two holding periods.
Equity rules from July 2024: short term (under 12 months) 20%; long term 12.5% on gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year. Cess and surcharge not included. Debt funds bought after April 2023 are taxed at your slab rate.
Module 4 · Booms, busts and crises
Booms build busts.
Credit is the fuel. Confidence is the spark. Debt that can't be repaid ends the party.
Module 4 · Booms, busts and crises
Same pattern, new names.
Module 4 · Case study, India
1991: the month India flew its gold abroad.
Oil spiked, remittances from the Gulf stopped, and reserves fell to a few weeks of imports. India pledged gold to borrow dollars, then opened up its economy.
Reserves for FY1991 about $5.8 billion. 16 October 2026: $721 billion, after RBI sold dollars to defend the rupee.
Module 4 · Case study, India
A bank rescue, step by step.
Big loans to weak borrowers. Bad loans under reported.
Board replaced. Withdrawals capped at ₹50,000 a month.
SBI and other banks bought in. Withdrawals reopened.
Deposit insurance covers ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank. Spread larger savings.
Module 5 · Trade and currencies
Big gap in goods. Filled by brains and family.
India's dealings with the world in FY26, in $ billion.
0.6% of GDP. Forecasters expect it to widen in FY27 as oil stays high.
Module 5 · Trade and currencies
A rupee is priced like onions.
More people wanting dollars than selling them? The rupee falls.
record low in May, Asia's weakest major currency this year
reserves fell from $785.7B (4 Sep) to $721B (16 Oct)
Module 5 · Try it
Who wins, who loses?
Compared with 84 per dollar in late 2024. Amounts are illustrative.
Module 5 · Trade and currencies
Who keeps cross border money moving.
Lends to countries that run out of dollars, with conditions. India borrowed in 1991.
Banks in 200+ countries send payment instructions through it. Cutting a bank off is a sanction.
Oil, loans and most trade are priced in dollars, so US policy moves every economy.
Central banks keep buying it. No other country can freeze gold in your own vaults.
Module 6 · Insurance and pensions
Many pay a little, so one isn't ruined.
1,000 people each pay ₹1,000 a year. That ₹10 lakh pays for the one person who gets hit.
Insurers add costs and profit, so premiums are a bit more than the expected claims. You pay for certainty.
Module 6 · Try it
How much protection do you need?
More in metros; add a super top up for cheap extra cover.
Rule of thumb only. India's insurance penetration is 3.7% of GDP vs about 7.3% worldwide (IRDAI, FY25).
Module 6 · Insurance and pensions
Three ways India saves for old age.
12% of basic pay from you, 12% from your employer. Interest for FY25 was 8.25%. Safe, but locked until retirement with limited exceptions.
Invests in shares and bonds at very low fees. You choose the mix. At 60, part of the pot buys a pension annuity.
Government backed, 15 year lock in, tax free interest. Rate set every quarter.
Check current rates and rules on EPFO, PFRDA and the National Savings Institute before deciding.
Module 7 · Try it
Rent and invest, or buy?
Buyer pays 20% down, a 20 year loan, plus 7% for stamp duty and registration, and 1% a year upkeep. Renter invests the down payment, those costs, and any monthly difference. Rent rises 5% a year. Taxes ignored.
Module 7 · Property and gold in depth
Own the asset without the hassle.
| Physical home | Stability, use value. High entry cost, 7% or so in duties, hard to sell fast. |
| REIT | Listed trust owning offices or malls. Pays most rental income out. Buy one unit on the exchange. |
| Jewellery | Making charges of 8 to 25% plus 3% GST. Worst way to invest in gold. |
| Gold ETF or fund | Tracks gold price, low fee, held in demat. Easy to buy small amounts. |
| Digital gold apps | Convenient but outside SEBI and RBI rules. Know who holds the gold. |
Module 7 · Case study, India
Gold: up a third, then down a tenth.
24 carat, ₹ per 10 grams. A safe haven can still swing hard.
Module 8 · Crypto, fintech and AI money
A ledger nobody owns.
Thousands of computers keep the same record. New blocks chain to old ones. Only 21 million Bitcoin can ever exist.
In India, crypto gains are taxed at a flat 30% with 1% TDS on sales, and losses can't offset other income.
Module 8 · Crypto, fintech and AI money
Four kinds of "digital money".
Peaked near $126,000 in October 2025, fell to about $63,000 by mid 2026. Swings of 50% are normal.
Tokens like USDT, backed by dollar assets. About $316 billion exist, mostly used for crypto trading and cross border transfers.
Issued by the RBI itself, like digital cash. Still in pilots in India.
Not new money: instant transfers of your normal bank deposits.
Module 8 · Crypto, fintech and AI money
AI works for lenders, for you, and for scammers.
Know which side each tool is on.
Score your loan in seconds from your phone and payment data. Spot fraud in real time.
Budget, compare funds, read fine print, model plans like the ones in this course.
Clone a relative's voice. Deepfake a famous investor promoting a "guaranteed" scheme. Always verify on a second channel.
Module 9 · Try it
A coin flip. Heads you lose ₹1,000.
What would tails need to pay before you'd take the bet?
Module 9 · The psychology of money
Your brain is the riskiest asset you own.
Buying because everyone is. The crowd is usually late.
Most traders think they're above average. SEBI data says 9 in 10 F&O traders lose.
"It was ₹500, so ₹300 is cheap." The old price means nothing.
Expecting last year's returns forever, in either direction.
Holding a loser because selling makes the loss "real". It already is.
Treating a bonus as "free money" to splurge. A rupee is a rupee.
Module 9 · The psychology of money
Every scam pulls the same four levers.
Pressure stops you thinking. Real institutions give you time.
"Digital arrest" calls don't exist in Indian law. Hang up.
That's nearly 80% a year. Nobody honest promises it.
Tip groups fake screenshots. Check SEBI's adviser register.
Report fraud quickly: call 1930 or file at cybercrime.gov.in. Speed improves the chance of freezing the money.
Module 10 · The big debates, both sides
Smart people disagree. Here's why.
Module 10 · The big debates, both sides
Every policy picks a point on a seesaw.
Cheap money lifts jobs now, and prices later.
Higher taxes fund more support, and may reduce effort or investment.
Tighter rules prevent crises, and slow innovation and access.
Module 11 · Capstone
Your plan.
Six numbers. One page. Revisit every year.
Module 11 · Try it
Six numbers for your life.
Assumes 6% inflation, 11% a year on equity for retirement, 8% on balanced funds for the 5 year goal, 25 years of expenses at retirement. Illustrative, not advice.
Module 11 · Capstone
Tick it off. Come back every birthday.
Module 11 · Capstone
Money buys time. Spend time well.
Outsource one chore, cut one commute, drop one app.
Health cover, yearly check up, daily movement. It pays every other currency.
One skill a year that the market pays more for.
Keep promises. Trust earns more than any fund, over a lifetime.
Check yourself · 34 questions
The quiz.
Recap
Twelve things to remember.
1. Your shares sit in a depository, in your name.
2. Rates up, bond prices down.
3. A smaller slice of a bigger pie can be worth more.
4. Profit is not cash.
5. Hold equity over a year: 12.5% beats 20%.
6. Cheap credit builds the next crisis.
7. The rupee moves on dollar demand and supply.
8. Insure against ruin, not inconvenience.
9. Rent vs buy depends on rent yield.
10. Crypto is an asset; UPI is a rail.
11. Losses feel twice as big. Plan ahead of fear.
12. Six numbers, one page, every birthday.
Reference
Glossary.
Reference · Last updated 7 November 2026
Sources.
Illustrative models (bond prices, yield curves, dilution, cover, rent vs buy, money plan) are teaching approximations, labelled on each slide. Tax rules summarised for tax year 2026 to 27 without surcharge. Crisis summaries are simplified. Debate slides present arguments made by each side, not the course's view. General education, not financial advice.