Macro and market regimes
Understanding the macro environment will not tell you which stock to buy tomorrow. It will tell you whether the current market setup favours momentum, quality, or defensive positioning. Path 7 builds the framework that systematic investors use to understand the backdrop without getting seduced into trying to time it.
What these 8 modules cover
- 7.1 How to read the Indian economy: key indicators: GDP, IIP, PMI, credit growth, FX reserves. Which move markets and which do not.
- 7.2 RBI monetary policy: Repo rate, CRR, SLR, OMO. Transmission to yields, equity, and currency.
- 7.3 Inflation: types, measurement, investment impact: CPI, WPI, core inflation. Which assets protect against which kind.
- 7.4 INR, FII flows, and global linkages: Why the dollar index matters to Indian equity. When FII selling becomes a buying signal.
- 7.5 Government budget and fiscal policy: How the Union Budget moves markets. Capex cycles, subsidies, fiscal deficit.
- 7.6 Corporate earnings cycle in India: Why aggregate earnings move in cycles. How to read the Nifty composite earnings revision.
- 7.7 Credit cycle and the NBFC sector: Why banks and NBFCs trade in cycles. Leading indicators for financial stress.
- 7.8 Macro regime investing: Four quadrants of growth and inflation. Which factor wins in which regime.
Tax and SEBI regulation
The July 2024 changes to capital gains tax reshaped after tax returns for Indian investors. STCG on listed equity went from 15 percent to 20 percent, LTCG from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, and the yearly exemption from ₹1 lakh to ₹1.25 lakh. Then on 1 April 2026 the law itself was replaced: the Income-tax Act, 2025 brought the tax year and new section numbers, and the Finance Act 2026 raised STT on futures and options, moved buybacks back to capital gains, and limited the Sovereign Gold Bond exemption to original subscribers.
What these 6 modules cover
- 11.1 Equity taxation after July 2024: the new rules: STCG 20 percent, LTCG 12.5 percent, ₹1.25 lakh exemption, and the new Act from April 2026.
- 11.2 Tax treatment: MFs, ETFs, SGBs, bonds, F&O: Equity and debt funds, gold ETFs, SGBs after the Finance Act 2026, bonds and F&O, side by side.
- 11.3 Tax loss harvesting for systematic investors: Which losses save 20 percent, which save nothing, and the yearly calendar.
- 11.4 SEBI regulatory framework: what every investor must know: Insider trading, takeovers, IA and RA rules, SCORES complaints and the 2024 to 2026 reforms.
- 11.5 AIS, TIS, and ITR: reconciling your capital gains: How to reconcile your broker statement with AIS and file without mismatch notices.
- 11.6 Tax efficient portfolio construction: Turnover, holding periods, asset location. How to minimise net-of-tax drag.
Read one more paragraph, 34 words
Path 11 covers the new rules plus the SEBI regulatory framework every investor should understand. Tax loss harvesting for systematic investors is in Module 11.3, and tax efficient portfolio construction is in Module 11.6.
Common questions about macro, tax and regulation
How do macro conditions affect investing in India?
Macro tells you whether the current setup favours momentum, quality or defensive positioning, not which stock to buy tomorrow. Path 7 covers RBI policy, inflation, the rupee and FII flows, the Union Budget, earnings cycles and credit cycles.
What changed in capital gains tax in July 2024?
Short term capital gains tax on equity went from 15 percent to 20 percent, long term from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, and the exemption threshold shifted. Module 11.1 covers the new rules and what they mean.
How does tax affect a rebalancing schedule?
Every rebalance can realise gains, so the frequency and turnover of a portfolio have a different net-of-tax answer than before July 2024. Module 11.3 covers tax loss harvesting for systematic investors and Module 11.6 covers tax efficient portfolio construction.