3 Best bank to open SGD/HKD NRI or FCNR Fixed Deposit? DBS vs ICICI

If you are living and working in Singapore or Hong Kong and thinking to open FCNR (Foreign currency Non-resident) fixed deposits in Singapore and Hong Kong dollar i.e. SGD or HKD then, unfortunately, you don't have many choices as not all Indian banks provide facilities to open FCNR fixed deposit in SGD and HKD. Most of the Indian banks supports 6 major foreign currency for FCNR deposits e.g. USD, GBP, EURO, JPY, AUD, and CHF. Even, the biggest bank of India, the SBI doesn't support SGD or HKD as foreign currency for FCNR deposits. then you should consider DBS bank's FCNR fixed deposit option.

10 Important Custom and Baggage Rules for NRIs - Indians Returning from Overseas

India is getting prosperous and foreign trip are not a privilege only rich people had in the past. Nowadays, many middle and upper-middle-class  Indians  are traveling abroad for holidays, vacations, honeymoons, study and just for work to nearby countries e.g. Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Thailand etc. Apart from the hassles of getting Passport and VISA, one more thing which bothers many Indians is the customs rules and the worry about what they can carry back to India without paying customs duty while shopping overseas.

6 Reasons to invest in National Pension Scheme for Retirement Savings

Retirement Planning is very important in the age of nuclear families and western culture. There was time when Indians never bothered about Retirement Planning or Insurance because they trust that their children particularly Son will take care of them both financially and emotionally, but with nuclear families its not possible anymore. Many elders are living alone nowadays and hence Retirement planning is essential for a relaxing and rewarding retired life.

FCNR Deposit Interest Rates USD - ICICI vs SBI vs IDFC vs Kotak vs Axis Bank

Hello guys, FCNR term deposit is very hot at the moment. As I said in my last post it Right time to invest in FCNR deposit, it's the perfect time to get much better interest rates on foreign currency in India than abroad. If you consider USD interest rates, then Indian banks are offering up to 5.53% interest rates for five years deposit, this looks awesome. No wonder, many NRI are opening NRE accounts to hold FCNR term deposit. This increase in interest rates is mainly to save sliding rupee from further slowdown. In an effort to improve rupee's value, RBI allowed Indian bank to offer better FCNR rates and increased competition among them to lure

13 ways to Save Income Tax under Section 80C in India

It's this time of the year when most of the salaried Indian think for tax saving investments. Most of the income taxpayers know about section 80C and the 1.5 lakh tax deductions it allows into your taxable income, but do you know what are some other investment options comes under section 80C? Some of you know that investment in PPF and ELSS (Equity Linked Saving Scheme) comes under Section 80C, but what else? Is there any other tax saving options which you can leverage, or you might have invested in it but you are not claiming the tax benefit because you are unsure whether that is covered under section 80C or not.

How to Save More Tax by investing in National Pension System India

Good News for all income taxpayers of India, including NRIs and PIOs who pay income tax in India. Now, they can reduce additional 50 Thousand INR on taxable income by investing in the National Pension System (NPS) for the financial year 2015-2016. This may result in the tax saving of around 15 thousand INR, which is not a small amount. Add another 15K and you can have a foreign trip.

How to Open PPF Account Online on SBI and ICICI Bank in India

Online PPF Account with SBI and ICICI bank India
Now you can open PPF or Public Provident Fund account online in India with ICICI bank and State Bank of India (SBI). This is a major step to increase popularity of PPF or Public Provident fund account among individual especially youngster who love convenient of net-banking from office or home. All major financial and saving product like fixed deposit or FD,  recurring deposit or RD and mutual funds are already available online, which means hard to choose PPF account over these personal saving instruments. Now since PPF account is also available online you can get all benefits of PPF account with the convenience of net-banking in India.

What is best Tax Saving Option In India? ELSS Mutual Fund (Equity Linked Saving Scheme)

Many people so much effort to earn money, but they don't put even 10% of that to save money from taxes and expenditure. In my post 10 ways to save money, I have talked about some general saving tips, now here you will learn how to save income tax by investing money in the mutual fund. Though there are many ways to save income tax in India, some of them I have mentioned in my post 13 ways to save tax under section 80C and today we'll talk about one of them, called ELSS. It is a special type of mutual fund which stands for Equity Linked Saving Scheme, money invested in it is exempted from income tax. You can save up to one lacs of money by purchasing ELSS mutual fund. Imagine, you have a package of 10 lacs INR, which puts you on the higher side of income tax rates, by putting some money on ELSS scheme, your taxable income automatically reduces, which sometimes can benefit from lower tax rates as well.

What is difference between an NRI and a PIO?

Though both NRI and POI are used to refers Indians living and working abroad and they have more or less similar rights to open a bank account, buy properties in India and restrictions e.g. not allowed to buy agriculture lands, there is some difference in terms of citizenship and origin. NRI stands for Non Resident Indian, whereas PIO stands for Person of Indian.

An NRI is an Indian citizen who stays outside India:
(a) for purposes of carrying out employment or any business or vocation;
(b) under circumstances indicating an intention to stay outside India for an uncertain duration;
(c) any Indian citizen deputed outside India for a temporary period in connection with employment

How to Check if Your Aadhaar is Linked with Bank Accounts Online? Free Aadhaar Status Checking Tool

Hello Guys, welcome to the last post of 2017 in NRISavingsFunda and what could be the better topic than "linking Aadhaar" to close out the year. In this article, I'll show you how to check the status of your Aadhaar and bank account linking status online. The whole 2017 can be dedicated to Aadhaar linkage.

Why NRI should use Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) to buy shares in Indian Market?

If you know, NRIs are allowed to invest in Stock Market in India i.e. they can purchase and sell shares in Stock Exchanges (Secondary Market) as well as they can buy stocks on Initial Public Offering (IPO), the Primary Market. Unfortunately, not many NRI knows about Portfolio Investment Scheme or PIS. It's a scheme of RBI under Schedule 3 of Foreign Exchange Management Act 2000 which allows NRIs to purchase and sell shares and convertible debentures of Indian companies on a recognized stock exchange routing such purchase/sale transaction through the account with the designated bank branch e.g. ICICI bank.

Do NRIs need to Link Insurance Policies (LIC) with Aadhaar?

If you hold an insurance policy in India, get ready to link it with Aadhaar. After bank accounts, PAN card, and mobile phones, it's time for insurance policies to be updated with Aadhaar number. Many NRIs have bought Life and Health Insurance policies in India, mostly when they were residents, so, the big question is do NRIs need to link their insurance policies with Aadhaar card?

Why Invest in Atal Pension Yojna for Guaranteed Pension?

The Government of India has announced a new scheme called Atal Pension Yojana (APY).  The APY is a guaranteed pension scheme and is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which also administer the NPS or National Pension Scheme.  But unlike NPS, where NRIs are also allowed to invest and open an account (see here), Atal Pension Yojna is only for residents of India and that too for Indian citizens only.