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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Your credit score may fail you, even if you've played by the rules
A three-digit number between 300 and 900 holds disproportionate power over Indian lives today. It can decide if you get a home loan, a credit card, a job, or even access to the healthcare provider of your choice. The catch? It's often wildly inaccurate, difficult to contest, and largely beyond your control. Credit scores, designed to measure how risky you are as a borrower, are compiled by four credit information bureaus (CIBs) in India: TransUnion CIBIL , Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark. They crunch data based on your credit history, things like repayment track record, the amount of credit you use, how long you've used it, and your credit mix. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category PGDM Digital Marketing Data Science Degree healthcare Cybersecurity Project Management Management Leadership Data Analytics Finance Data Science Technology MBA others Healthcare Design Thinking MCA Others Product Management Artificial Intelligence Public Policy CXO Operations Management Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis & Decision Making Quantitative & Analytical Skills Organizational Management & Leadership Innovation & Entrepreneurship Duration: 24 Months IMI Delhi Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Online) Starts on Sep 1, 2024 Get Details But here's the thing: as more people interact with the system, many are discovering just how little they understand, or can influence, the score that shapes critical parts of their financial and professional life. And worse, how opaque and error-ridden the system really is. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo From loans to jobs to hospitals Credit scores were once used only by banks. That's changing. Employers now use them to judge reliability. So do landlords. Some service providers might soon follow. In Switzerland, for instance, dentists routinely check uninsured patients' scores before offering treatment. That future might not be far off in India. At the same time, complaints are piling up, about phantom loans, unexplained dips in scores, and dispute processes that drag on for months with no resolution. A Bengaluru court recently awarded ₹1 lakh in damages to a consumer after delays in fixing an erroneous score. But that's an exception. Most people have little recourse. Live Events One such case: S Mukherjee, who says a ₹50 late fee, wrongly charged and contested, lingered on his record for over a decade, eventually tanking a home loan application. He paid ₹900 to make the issue go away and bring his CIBIL score back up. Inside a black box Credit bureaus insist the problem isn't with them, but with the data they get from lenders. 'The data in credit reports is provided to us by credit institutions,' says Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO of TransUnion CIBIL. 'Updates or corrections can only be made after the institution concerned validates and confirms the change. Credit bureaus are not authorised to make any changes independently.' That's cold comfort for users stuck in bureaucratic ping-pong. Member of Parliament Karti Chidambaram recently flagged this in Parliament, saying the system needs deep reform. 'There must be greater transparency,' he said. 'The government has missed out on an opportunity to make life easier by reforming these things instead of tinkering in the margins.' TransUnion CIBIL bears the brunt of the backlash, in part because it dominates the Indian market and is often the only bureau consumers have heard of. But the underlying issue is industry-wide. What the RBI is trying to fix Since January, the Reserve Bank of India has tried to improve things. It now requires lenders to update credit records every 15 days instead of monthly, with penalties for delays. This, Jain says, should lead to quicker dispute resolution . Others are upgrading their systems too. Ramkumar Gunasekaran of CRIF High Mark says his bureau has added a new system for tracking disputes, and that complaints have fallen slightly over the past three months. But he admits it's too early to say whether that's because of RBI's changes or just coincidence. Still, the structure of the system remains flawed. Bureaus are entirely dependent on what lenders tell them. Algorithms aren't publicly explained. And while consumers have the right to file disputes, most don't know how, or even that they can. Poor score? Blame the system, not yourself The consequences go well beyond missed loans. A Madras High Court ruling recently backed SBI's decision to revoke a job offer based on poor credit history, saying financial discipline is a valid criterion for employment. That's despite the fact that credit scores are not actually comprehensive indicators of financial health. 'They do not account for income stability, savings, or asset ownership,' says Manish Jain, MD & CEO of Experian. In fact, even the wealthy can get caught out. Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath recently shared that his score was below 750, despite being a billionaire. Credit monitoring is on the rise, especially among younger consumers. Experian says monitoring activity rose 51% in FY24. The bureau has added more access points for dispute resolution and made its escalation process more transparent, Jain says. Meanwhile, RBI is exploring a unique borrower ID system to reduce identity mismatches. Experian says it already uses 'rigorous validation rules' for all submitted data. But fundamentally, we're still dealing with a powerful scoring system built on imperfect information and limited accountability. Bureaus say they want to build more inclusive models. But that will take more than intention—it'll take structural change. A broken system, a decades-long nightmare One professional, who asked not to be named, summed up the dysfunction in a personal account: 'In 2002, I got a credit card that promised zero commission at petrol pumps. That turned out to be false, so I paid off the dues and stopped using it. A year later, I started getting calls saying I hadn't paid. A charge under ₹100 had ballooned to over ₹1,000. No one could explain why. For 23 years, I've had over 1,000 calls asking me to clear it. Not once was I shown proof of default. CIBIL never informed me of the downgrade. I've had multiple credit cards, taken two home loans—always paid on time. Still, the CIBIL issue pops up. Once, an HDFC loan officer said: 'Don't worry, we ignore such downgrades.' That's how arbitrary this system is.' With inputs from TOI
The Hindu
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Vizag youth to represent India at Taiwan International Ocean Forum
Bhavesh Jain from Visakhapatnam has been selected to represent India as a youth delegate at the 2025 Taiwan International Ocean Forum, scheduled to be held in Taipei city, Taiwan, on July 2 and 3. Organised by the Ocean Affairs Council, Government of Taiwan, the forum will host experts, scholars, and policymakers from around the world to deliberate on the theme: 'Maritime Security and Blue Economy.' Among the various sessions, Mr. Bhavesh Jain has been invited to speak in Session VI, a high-impact dialogue titled: 'Special Session – The Youth Generation: Key to a Harmonious and Sustainable Future.' A national awardee of the Young India Challenge and honoured as the State Best NSS volunteer of A.P., Mr. Bhavesh Jain is known for his work in youth leadership and social responsibility. At the upcoming forum, he will join youth delegates from Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan to share insights on how young leaders can drive global cooperation and sustainability. The forum will feature multiple sessions on critical maritime topics, including Indo-Pacific security, ocean governance, ESG integration, and sustainable marine industry development. With global challenges such as climate change and marine resource management taking centre stage, this platform aims to promote innovative solutions and cross-border collaboration.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Bhavesh Jain to represent India at Taiwan Ocean Forum; selected as youth delegate, to speak on sustainability & global cooperation
VISAKHAPATNAM: Bringing pride to the City of Destiny, Visakhapatnam's Bhavesh Jain has been invited to represent India as a youth delegate at the prestigious 2025 Taiwan International Ocean Forum, scheduled to take place from 2 to 3 July 2025, in Taipei City, Taiwan. Organised by the Ocean Affairs Council, Government of Taiwan, the forum will host top experts, scholars, and policymakers from around the world to deliberate on the theme: 'Maritime Security and Blue Economy.' Among the various sessions, Bhavesh Jain has been specially invited to speak in Session VI, a high-impact dialogue titled: 'Special Session – The Youth Generation: Key to a Harmonious and Sustainable Future.' You Can Also Check: Visakhapatnam AQI | Weather in Visakhapatnam | Bank Holidays in Visakhapatnam | Public Holidays in Visakhapatnam A National Awardee of the Young India Challenge and honoured as the State Best NSS Volunteer of Andhra Pradesh, Bhavesh Jain is known for his outstanding work in youth leadership and social responsibility. At the upcoming forum, he will join youth delegates from Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan to share insights and perspectives on how young leaders can drive global cooperation and sustainability. The forum will feature multiple sessions on key maritime topics, including Indo-Pacific security, ocean governance, ESG integration, and sustainable marine industry development. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cuối cùng, chơi miễn phí game chiến thuật hay nhất 2025! Sea of Conquest Phát ngay Undo With global challenges such as climate change and marine resource management taking centre stage, this platform aims to promote innovative solutions and cross-border collaboration. In his invitation letter, Kuan Bi-Ling, Minister of the Ocean Affairs Council, expressed that Bhavesh's presence would 'greatly enrich the discussions' and welcomed him to engage in meaningful exchanges relevant to the forum's overarching themes. Bhavesh's selection as a youth panellist is not just a personal milestone but a moment of immense pride for Andhra Pradesh and the entire nation, underlining the rising contribution of Indian youth in global sustainability dialogues.
Indian Express
23-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
New loan originations growth slows to 5% in Q4 FY25: Cibil
The domestic retail credit market demand continued to moderate in the last quarter of fiscal 2025, led by a slower growth in new loan originations, says a report. The slowing of credit demand from younger consumers was evident from the fall in the share of enquiries from those aged 35 years or younger to 56 per cent for the quarter ending March 2025, down from 58 per cent in the quarter ending March 2024. 'India's retail credit market continued to see a softening in the last quarter of the 2024–25 financial year as new loan originations (partly a measure of credit demand and partly a measure of supply) grew at a slower rate of 5 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in March 2025, compared to 12 per cent in March 2024,' according to TransUnion CIBIL's June 2025 Credit Market Report. This and other factors pushed the Credit Market Indicator (CMI) to a two-year low of 97, the report showed. The slowdown in credit demand comes even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent in February 2025 policy. The muted demand was more pronounced among consumers 35 years old or younger. Consequently, the share of New-to-Credit (NTC) consumers that lenders supplied decreased by three percentage points during the same period, given that a large share of younger consumers constitute the NTC segment. 'The slowing down of credit demand, especially among younger borrowers, is reflected in the easing in demand for consumption loans, which is typically the choice of products for younger borrowers,' said Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL. However, signs of improving credit performance emerged, particularly through consistent month-over-month declines in credit card delinquencies from January to March 2025. Credit demand in rural and semi-urban areas seemed to have weathered the demand moderation better. Enquiry volumes in rural areas and semi-urban areas increased to 52 per cent for March 2025 quarter, from 49 per cent in the year-ago quarter. In contrast, enquiry volumes in urban areas and metro areas dipped to 48 per cent for March 2025 quarter, down from 51 per cent last year in the same quarter. The report said that across all other loan products, with the exception of personal loans, the growth in volume was lower than the growth in value, which indicates a preference for higher value loans. The increases in the share of high-ticket home and two-wheeler loans indicates a preference among lenders for loans backed with high-value assets. Home loans above Rs 1 crore grew 9 per cent year-over-year (YoY) during March 2025 quarter, compared to a negative growth of (-)7 per cent year-on-year for the entire home loan segment. The report showed that balance-level delinquencies improved for consumption-led credit products on a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) basis, indicating the easing of stress levels in these loan segments. The 90+ days past due balance level delinquency rate for credit cards stabilized at 2 per cent as of March 2025, against 2.04 per cent as of December 2024 and 2.02 per cent as of September 2024, marking the first QoQ improvement in the past four quarters. Similarly, the delinquency rate for personal loans was at 1.14 per cent as of March 2025, against 1.34 per cent as of December 2024 and 1.37 per cent as of September 2024.
Mint
11-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
How can first-time borrowers build a CIBIL score from scratch?
I'm planning to take a personal loan to fund a certification course, but I've never taken any loans or used a credit card before. I'm not sure if I even have a CIBIL score. I want to understand what a CIBIL score is, how it's calculated, what factors influence it. For someone like me who's just starting out and has no credit history, never taken loan, how can I work towards building a CIBIL score? I want to make sure I build it gradually and avoid any early missteps and understand it better. If you're planning to take a personal loan for a certification course but have never used a credit card or taken a loan before, you're likely what lenders call 'new to credit.' This means you don't yet have a credit history, and probably don't have a CIBIL score either. That's completely normal for first-time borrowers — and a good reason to understand how credit scores work before taking the plunge. A CIBIL score is a three-digit number ranging from 300 to 900 that shows how well you've handled borrowed money in the past. Lenders use this number to assess how likely you are to repay a loan. The higher your score, the better your chances of getting a loan at a good interest rate. The score is calculated using several factors. These include whether you make repayments on time, how much of your available credit you use, how long you've been using credit, and how often you apply for loans or cards. These inputs are combined to reflect your creditworthiness as a borrower. For someone like you who's just starting out, the most important thing is to begin creating a credit record. Once you've started using a credit product, it's crucial to pay every bill or EMI on time. Payment history is the biggest factor in your credit score. Even a single missed or late payment can harm your score significantly. To avoid this, set up automatic payments or calendar reminders so you never miss a due date. Another key part of your score is something called credit utilisation—that is, how much of your total credit limit you actually use. It's ideal to keep this below 30%. So, if you have a credit card with a ₹ 10,000 limit, aim to spend no more than ₹ 3,000 during a billing cycle. Even if you pay it off in full, using most of your credit regularly may signal that you're too reliant on debt. Avoid applying for multiple credit cards or loans in a short period. Too many inquiries can make it look like you're in urgent need of money, which can turn lenders cautious. Apply for new credit only when truly necessary and when you're confident about qualifying. Lastly, keep an eye on your credit report. You're entitled to one free report per year from each credit bureau. Checking it regularly helps you ensure that all information is accurate and alerts you early if there's any error or fraud in your name. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL
