Next: Property and renting
Renting in India, decoded
Why agreements run 11 months, how deposit norms differ from Delhi to Bengaluru, and the paper trail that decides whether your deposit comes back at all.
17 min
intermediate
Trusts and family wealth: what a trust is
There is no child trust fund in India. Private trusts under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 are real — here is what they do, what they cost, and how they are taxed.
3 lessons · about 22 minutes · written for reading age 14 · last checked 2026-08-11
The child trust fund India does not have
No Indian scheme opens a trust for a newborn. Here is what a child can actually hold, and the clubbing rule that undoes most plans to park money in their name.
7 min
Three roles, and a split down the middle
A trust separates who owns property from who benefits from it. The Indian Trusts Act, 1882 names the three roles and sets out what it takes to create one.
8 min
Revocable, discretionary, and what it all costs
Section 78 decides whether a trust can be undone. Sections 161 and 164 decide how it is taxed, and specific versus discretionary is where the sting sits.
7 min
Check yourself
5 questions at the end. Every wrong answer explains itself.
Sources
- The Indian Trusts Act, 1882 — s.3 (interpretation), s.5 (form), s.6 (creation of trust), s.78 (revocation of trust) — India Code, Ministry of Law and Justice · checked 2026-08-11
- Income-tax Act, 1961 — s.161 (liability of a representative assessee), s.164 (charge where individual entitlements are indeterminate or unknown), s.64(1A) (income of a minor child) — Income Tax Department, Government of India · checked 2026-08-11
- Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme rules — National Savings Institute, Ministry of Finance · checked 2026-08-11
- Public Provident Fund Scheme rules — National Savings Institute, Ministry of Finance · checked 2026-08-11