Guides
Short explainers behind the numbers on this site: what a figure means, who publishes it and how to read it. Every claim links its official source; nothing here is advice.
Gold
- 22K vs 24K vs 18K gold — purity, price and what each is used for
What karat and fineness mean, why 22K and 18K rates follow the 24K rate by fixed fractions, and which purity suits jewellery, coins and investment.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
- BIS hallmark and HUID — what the marks on gold jewellery mean
The three marks BIS puts on hallmarked gold jewellery, what the six-character HUID is for, how to verify a piece with the BIS Care app, and which purities hallmarking covers.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
- How IBJA gold rates are set, and why jewellers quote more
Who the India Bullion and Jewellers Association is, what its AM and PM rates are, how RBI uses them for Sovereign Gold Bonds, and why the shop rate sits above the benchmark.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
- How to read a jeweller’s bill for gold
The lines on an Indian gold jewellery bill — weight, purity, rate, making charges, hallmarking and GST — what each one means and how to check it against the day’s rate.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
- Selling old gold — how the price is worked out and what gets deducted
How a buyer values old jewellery — purity test, net weight, the day’s rate, deductions — the difference between selling and exchanging, and the tax side to be aware of.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
Mandi prices
- How MSP procurement works — who sets the price and who buys at it
How the minimum support price is recommended and announced, which crops it covers, how government agencies buy at it, and why a mandi’s modal price can still sit below the MSP.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
- Mandi prices — what minimum, maximum and modal mean
How Agmarknet reports a day’s trade in a mandi — arrivals and the minimum, maximum and modal price per quintal — what each figure tells you, and how this site turns them into a daily series.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
Mutual funds
- Direct vs regular mutual fund plans — the one difference that matters
What the direct and regular plans of a scheme share, where their expense ratios differ and why, how to tell them apart by name on a NAV list, and what switching from one to the other involves.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
- How to read a mutual fund NAV
What a scheme’s net asset value is, how it is worked out and when it is declared, why a high NAV is not an expensive fund, and what the NAVs of a Growth and an IDCW option tell you.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
- SIP vs lumpsum — what each actually does to your money
What a systematic investment plan is, how a lumpsum differs, how units and averaging really work, what the calculators on this site assume, and why neither answer is right on its own.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
Currency and remittances
- Why the remittance rate is never the rate in the news
What a reference rate is — FBIL’s for the rupee, the ECB’s for the euro — how banks and transfer services price around it, where the fees sit, and how to compare a quote with it.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026
Small savings
- PPF vs Sukanya Samriddhi vs fixed deposit — the rules side by side
Who can open each, how long the money is locked, how the interest is set and taxed, what deposit insurance covers, and where to check the current rates — the rules, not a ranking.
Reviewed on 26 Oct 2026