"The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme",

Well, like I said, we are writing to you today to bring something very important to your attention. 

If you followed this year's financial budget, then you already know the government is planning to launch a new scheme titled, "The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme", to get more people to invest their savings in the stock market. 

The finer details of the scheme are still not known, but for now here's what the text read out by our Finance Minister said: 

"To encourage flow of savings in financial instruments and improve the depth of domestic capital market, it is proposed to introduce a new scheme called Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme. The scheme would allow for income tax deduction of 50 per cent to new retail investors, who invest up to Rs 50,000 directly in equities and whose annual income is below Rs 10 lakh. The scheme will have a lock-in period of 3 years."

Simply stated, if your annual income is below 10 lakhs... and you invest Rs 50,000 directly in equities, you'll get a deduction of Rs 25,000 in your taxable income. 

Agreed, this looks extremely attractive for first-time equity investors. And it could also give you better returns on your investment than normal fixed deposits.