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Showing posts from July, 2019

Six Steps for NRIs on How to Invest in Mutual Funds

NRIs can invest in mutual funds in India – as long as they adhere to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Here are few steps that will smoothen your investment process: 1.       Open an Account An NRI needs to open an NRE or NRO account. NRIs can invest in repatriable or non-repatriable basis using funds from the NRE or NRO accounts respectively. 2.       Get KYC Done  Even if an NRI has already done a complete Know Your Client process, s/he still needs to do KYC again after achieving non-resident status. Important documents required for NRI Mutual Fund investment KYC includes PAN Card, Proof of Foreign Address Residence, Passport and Cancelled Cheque of NRE/NRO Account. 3.       Two Ways to Invest Once KYC is completed, an NRI can start making investments into domestic mutual funds as an NRI investor.  There are two routes to do that—directly through normal banking channels or via Power of Attorney (PoA) authorized to a resident Indian with KYC process done. 4.

MakeMyTrip and ASI Partners for Online Bookings of 116 Historical Monuments

Online travel firm MakeMyTrip has signed a memorandum of agreement with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for online bookings for over 116 historical monuments and sites across India.  The agreement, signed on Sunday, entails listing and offering an online booking gateway to the world heritage and well-known monuments under the protection of ASI including the Taj Mahal, Red fort, Qutub Minar, Huma yun's Tomb, Khajuraho group of monuments , Charminar, Golconda Fort, among others. The  platform will offer quick and easy e-ticket booking service to help travelers plan in advance and eliminate the hassle of standing in long queues, saving time and effort by booking online through MakeMyTrip! This move by ASI and MakeMyTrip is surely a step further to promote India’s rich heritage tourism as effectively as possible.

Kutch Rann Utsav 2019-20

The tourism authorities of Gujarat organize Rann Utsav, a vibrant desert carnival that takes place across the Kutch region in Gujarat. Held annually during the full moon time in winters, this festival features different programs including culinary workshops, wildlife safaris, a visit to the nearby village, fold dances and more.  This carnival is organized at the various locales within Kutch takes one around the natural grandiose while introducing the visitor to the indigenous cultural and ethnical flavor of the people. This festival is indeed a celebration of life an exclusive opportunity to witness the creative the ingenuity of the artisans and craftspeople, the assorted array of folk music and performances, mixed representation of culture and communities, along with a vast diversity in ecology. The Online Booking site is: http://whiterannresort.com/ & https://www.rannutsav.net/ so come and enjoy this Winter in Kutch!!! 28th October 2019 to 23rd February 2020 Toll Free N

Pink City Jaipur Gets UNESCO World Heritage Tag!

The Walled City of  Jaipur,  popularly known as the 'Pink City' is famous for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture, on July 6 made its entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list during the 43rd Session of the World Heritage Committee held at Baku, Azerbaijan. A World Heritage Site is a location having an “Outstanding Universal Value,” and has common significance for present and future generations of all humanity. The city was proposed to be nominated for its value of being an exemplary development in town planning and architecture that demonstrates an amalgamation and important exchange of ideas in the late medieval period. The city of Jaipur was founded in 1727 AD under the patronage of Sawai Jai Singh II. It serves as the capital city of the culturally-rich state of Rajasthan. Interestingly, this is India’s 38 th inscription into the World Heritage list, India already has 37 world heritage sites, that include 29 Cultural properties, 7 Natural properties

Union Budget 2019 and NRIs

The announcement of Union Budget 2019 comes as a great relief for the non-resident Indians (NRIs) who hold Indian passport.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday proposed to issue Aadhaar cards to non-resident Indians holding Indian passport on their arrival in the country. As per the current Aadhaar laws, every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number by submitting his demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment.  But NRIs with Indian passport has to wait for 180 days to get the Aadhaar card.But Budget 2019 proposes to consider issuing Aadhaar card to NRIs holding Indian passports without waiting for 180 days. This news comes as a huge relief for NRIs as it will facilitate them in getting KYC done quickly which may enable them to use the card for expediting financial transactions within the country and allow them to use the card number for filing ITRs also. 

Udaipur World Music Festival

The Udaipur World Music Festival is the first annual signature destination festival organized in the city of Udaipur by SEHER and presented by Hindustan Zinc in association with Wonder Cement and Rajasthan Tourism . With its inception in the year 2016, the festival has had four very successful editions. The Festival  is hosted every year in February when the chilly winters gradually give way to pleasant spring.  A musical extravaganza first of its kind in India  through music also celebrates the cultural diversity in this country. O ver 150 domestic and international artists from Spain, Italy, France, Cuba, Brazil, Switzerland, and India amongst other nations enthrall audiences with genres covering from rock, jazz, and hip-hop to qawwali, folk, and Greek fusion music.  Spread over six picturesque venues, the Festival presents genres of music that celebrates different moods of the day. If the early morning stage has meditative music then the afternoons are spent beside the lakes, pers

The Financial Checklist for NRIs for Filing Return Tax

Tax filing season is here and everyone is getting ready with their documents and financial details for the same and it’s also the season for many NRIs where they get bogged down by one question: ‘Do I Need to File Taxes in India as well?’ To all the NRIs out there yes, you’ re liable to pay tax on income earned from sources in India or in case of income received in India. Here’s some tips for  filing taxes for NRIs in India: 1.         Tax Residency Status First, an NRI needs to determine his tax residency status as an NRI. This essentially tells whether a person falls into the category of resident or non-resident as an Indian taxpayer or not.  Section 2(30)  defines non-resident as a person who is not a resident and  Section 6 ​ lays down the test of residency for different taxpayers. 2.         Gross Total Income Gross total income is the income before any tax deductions are made. If an NRI’s gross total income exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh, he is liable to pay taxes as an NRI in Ind

5 FEMA Rules Every NRI Should Know

The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is a law enacted by the Government of India in 1999 to control the flow of foreign currency across Indian borders.FEMA aims to facilitate external trade and their payments in India, a systematic improvement and continuation of foreign exchange in the Indian market.It’s important for Indians working abroad to understand FEMA rules for NRIs very carefully since it can affect the way they can send and receive funds from India.Let’s look at five FEMA Regulations for NRIs: 1.        Maintaining a Bank Account You need to operate bank accounts that are specifically designated for NRIs. FEMA rules for NRIs do not allow holding a savings bank account.  There are 3 major types of accounts as stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)that you can open: - NRO account  - If you want to send money earned abroad back to India. - NRE account  - For repatriable or moveable assets like securities and cash. - FCNR (B) account  - To store money in

Can an NRI avail Aadhar Card?

To answer whether an NRI can avail Aadhar Card or not? Unique Identification Authority of India states that“As per the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, only a resident who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment is eligible for Aadhaar.”So, if you fulfill these eligibility norms then here are the five steps that you need to follow to avail Aadhar Card: Step 1.  Visit the official website of UIDAI– https://uidai.gov.in/ – and find an enrolment center  authorized by UIDAI to you. Step 2.  Fix an appointment online or visit the enrolment center directly with documents such as resident proof, birth certificate, and PAN card along with the Aadhaar card application form Step 3. After verifying your submitted documents, the official at the enrolment center will take you biometric details (through fingerprin

Puri Rath Yatra, 2019

RathYatra is celebrated every year in the month of June-July at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India . It is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (Lord Krishna), his sister Goddess Subhadra and his elder brother Lord Balabhadra.It is also called Gundicha Yatra or the Chariot Festival , Dasavatara and Navadina Yatra .People from various age groups and communities participate in the first day rituals of the nine-day annual festival, also known as Car orChariot Festival come and take out chariotsof the presiding deities of the main temple, Srimandira: Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadrafrom the temple precincts in an elaborate ritual procession to the Gundicha Temple, their aunt’s place for a span of nine days , with the celestial wheel Sudarshana in a colorful procession. The huge, colorfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple. After a stay for nine days, the