In this article we review one of the best Indian books on investing: What Every Indian Should Know Before Investing by Vinod Pottayil

There are hundreds of Indian books on investing – each claiming to make you a better investor. Each trying to help you master the intricacies of investing. It’s not difficult to get confused about which book to read and which to ignore.

If you are a typical novice investor and unsure about where to begin, then What Every Indian Should Know Before Investing by Vinod Pottayil is the book to start with. The title aptly captures what the book aims to do – it covers almost all the popular investment options available in India. Everything from Fixed Deposits to Recurring Deposits to Gold, Mutual Funds, PPF, EPF, Real Estate, POMIS, Senior Citizen Schemes, etc. are covered in detail. What makes the book really valuable is that its written from the layperson’s perspective. Nothing is assumed. Every fact is explained in painstaking detail so that you understand how each of these investment options work. At the end of each chapter are sections on Advantages and Disadvantages of investing in that investment option along with Tax benefits and applicable taxes if any, for that investment.

That’s not all, however. The book also has in-depth chapters on Life Insurance, Health Insurance, SIP, Writing a Will, and Making an Investment Plan. These are not investment options per se, but they belong to the universe of investment and without knowing about these, your understanding of investing will remain incomplete.

Another interesting feature about the book is that the author has used “she” instead of “he” throughout the book while referring to an investor. This is a refreshing change and there’s even a separate chapter on Women and Investing which indicates that the author truly believes that women should get more actively involved in investing.

As a disclosure, I’d like to mention here that I had done the technical editing for the book. It’s a book that I truly feel will help a novice investor understand the basics of investing while explaining all the investment options available in the market in the simplest language possible.

You can purchase the book at the following link:
What Every Indian Should Know Before Investing by Vinod Pottayil