Can You Withdraw Money from PPF account before Maturity?

Can we withdraw money from the PPF account before maturity?
One of the most common questions people ask before opening a PPF account is "can we withdraw money from a PPF account before maturity?". One reason for this question is the long tenure of the PPF account (15 years). The short answer to this question is Yes, you can withdraw money from PPF before 15 years but you can only withdraw a maximum of 50% of the balance at the end of the fourth year, and that too only after completing 5 years. This means for the first 5 years you cannot withdraw any amount from PPF.

10 Benefits of NRE Bank Account and Fixed Deposits

If you are an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) then you have access to a unique bank account called NRE (Non-Resident External) account which allows you to keep your money in Indian rupees. This account then further allows you one of the best, fixed deposit investment options known as NRE fixed deposit, which currently provides fixed and interest rate e.g. 8.75% from Deutsche bank, resulting in a cumulative yield of 10.3% for a 5 years NRE fixed deposit. It's not just the Deutsche bank but other private and public sector banks like SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra, YES Bank they all provide very good returns on NRE fixed deposits.

5 Difference between ELSS vs PPF vs NSC vs Tax Saving Fixed Deposit

ELSS (Equity Linked Saving Scheme), PPF (Public Provident Fund), NSC (National Saving Certificate), and Tax-saving fixed deposits with banks are four of the most popular way to save tax under section 80C, but which one is the best among these four? How do you choose whether to invest your 1.5 lakh rupees, the maximum amount allowed to invest under section 80C qualified for deduction from taxable income? In this article, I am going to share key differences between ELSS vs. PPF vs. NSC, and  Tax Saving Fixed deposits with both private and public sector banks. Once you know the differences, you can make an informed decision where to put your money depending upon your goals and risk appetite.

Selling Properties in India? Rules Every NRI should Know

NRIs are allowed to buy and sell properties in India, and they can also bring the profit post-sale of their property abroad, but there are a couple of things which you need to learn and remember. For example, you need to know that the sale proceeds amount can only be deposited into your NRO account and not on your NRE account.  There are many similar points that every NRI should know and remember before selling their ancestral or self-bought properties in India. I have tried to list a couple of them in this article. If you have any suggestion or any other essential things which are not on this list, please suggest in comments.

Can NRIs Open NPS (National Pension Scheme) Account in India - Tax Saving Investment

Yes, NRI can now invest in NPS or National Pension Scheme in India. Recently, on July 2015, PFRDA, the Pension Regulator has clarified that Non Resident Indians (NRIs) can invest in National Pension Scheme (NPS) to save for their retirement and get a social security cover. Earlier, there was some confusion whether NRIs are allowed to put money on NPS or not, but given that NRIs are allowed to invest in mutual fund and insurance, RBI and PFRDA give clarification that NPS is also an eligible investment for NRIs.

Should you take personal loan/ balance transfer Overseas and Pay off a home loan in India?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions among Singapore NRI community. I often receive queries from IT professionals working in the city-state who have home loans back in India and thinking to pay off in full or a portion of them by taking a personal loan or credit card balance transfer in Singapore. Well, the idea to take a loan to pay off another loan only make sense if you are getting a cheaper loan and paying off a higher interest loan. Since most of the home loans in India charges around 9.5 to 11% in INR and you can get personal loan on credit card also known as balance transfer in Singapore for as low as 2.5% for 6 month it make a lot of sense to take a personal loan in Singapore and pay off your home loan in India, though there are some risk which you need to consider. For examples, this only make sense if you have the visibility that you will be in Singapore for next 6 month or more.

Is Aadhaar card Mandatory for NRI?

Ever since the income tax department of India made it mandatory to linked PAN card to Aadhaar card and ask every taxpayer to quote Aadhaar card number into the income tax return, many NRIs become worried. The reason was simple, most of them don't have Aadhaar card, but now Aadhaar card seems mandatory even for applying for PAN card. As far I know, from 1st July 2017 you cannot apply for PAN card without Aadhaar and without PAN card you cannot do a transaction involving more than 50,000 INR. So does this mean Aadhaar Card is mandatory for NRIs, PIOs, and OCI card holder?

Best Family Floater Health Insurance Plan in India - LIC vs ICICI Lombard vs Bajaj Allianz Policies

I was searching for good health insurance plans for my family recently when I come to know about these "family floater health insurance plans". I have not heard this term before, so I did a bit of research about family floater plans and the benefits of taking this type of medical insurance and was surprised to know that now you can cover almost all members of your family with just one health insurance plan. This is a big relief because you don't need to buy and maintain separate health insurance plans for different family members, in just one insurance policy you can cover yourself, spouse (wife or husband), children, parents (mom and dad), etc.

NRI's Guide to Banking, Income Tax, Aadhaar Card, and Investment in India - Rules, Regulations and Eligibility

As an India citizen, it's important for an NRI to know it's rights and responsibilities, especially about finance, tax, banking, and investments. When I first moved abroad I have absolutely zero knowledge of any of these with respect to Non Resident Indian and I even thought that NRIs are those who are once a citizen of India but now they have citizenship of other countries, I was totally wrong. Slowly I learned a lot of things about who is NRI and what changes when a resident Indian becomes an NRI and this post is a collection of those points.

Difference between Public and Employee Provident Fund - PPF vs EPF

People often mistook Public Provident Fund or PPF for Employee Provident Fund or EPF, though both are provident fund and backed by the government of India, they are independent of each other. The main difference between PPF and EPF is that former is totally controlled by you and only you can make a contribution on that account, on the other hand, EPF is for both you and employer to contribute money.