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Term Insurance Plans for NRI in India

Life Insurance

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October 12, 2019

Term Insurance Plans for NRI

Term Insurance Plans NRI – Term Insurance Plans offered in India can be purchased by NRI. These plans can be purchased by NRI while he or she is visiting India. NRI needs to fill up additional NRI questionnaires while buying a term insurance plan.

Term Insurance plans are a pure life insurance policy. This type of life insurance policy provides financial protection to the family member in case of unfortunate death of the policyholder. Term insurance plans are cost-effective, convenient and most popular methods to safeguard your loved ones.

If you are NRI and planning to purchase term insurance plan here is a complete guide mentioning documentation requirement and things to consider by NRI while buying a Term Insurance Plan.

Also Read – Health Insurance Plans for NRI in India

Things to consider by NRI while buying Term Insurance Plans

Premium and Sum Assured

A premium amount and sum assured are important factors to consider while buying a term insurance plan. Sum assured for NRI generally varies from 2 Lakh to 1 Cr. The premium amount depends on the term of the policy, the sum assured, payment, payment frequency etc. Few insurance companies also check for the nature of the job, country of residence while deciding premium.

Policy Term

Policy Term is the next important factor for consideration. Policy term varies from 1 year to 25 years. You need to select the appropriate term based on your requirements.

Premium Payment via Net banking

NRI prefers an option to make payment online via Net Banking or via credit card. Many policies restrict remittance only via foreign currency via NRE/FCNR account. Some policy allows payment in Indian as well as foreign currency. As NRI, you should go through terms and conditions before purchasing a term plan.

Tax Benefits

The term insurance plan purchased by NRI comes with tax benefits that are applicable only in India. NRI can not avail tax benefit in the countries where they are living.

Claim Settlement Ratio

Before buying a term insurance policy it is important to look at the claim settlement ratio. It gives confidence that the insurance company is settling a claim on time or not delaying.

Medical Test

Few Term insurance policy requires a compulsory medical test at a certain age before buying. It is advisable to check the medical test requirement before buying it.

What are the documents required by NRI for buying Term Insurance Plan?

The documents required for an NRI to buy a term plan include:

Proposal form
Age proof
Income proof
Health condition report
Attested copy of Passport

An insurance company may ask for additional documents if your purchase policy from your home country. You may need to undergo medical tests on your own and bear the cost at the time of buying a policy.

Popular Term Insurance Plans for NRI

Few popular Term insurance plans for NRI are given below.

#1 Bajaj Allianz Term Insurance Plan – iSecure for NRI

Bajaj Allianz Term Insurance plan iSecure can be purchased by NRI. This term plan offers high sum assured at lower cost.

Eligibility: 18 years – 60 years
Minimum Sum Assured: Rs.2.5 lakhs
Maximum Sum Assured: No Limit
Policy Term: 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years
Maturity age: Minimum 28 years Maximum 70 years.

#2 ICICI Pru iProtect Smart

ICICI Pru iProtect Smart is next popular term plan for the NRI. This policy can be purchased online. This policy comes with additional accidental death benefits. ICICI Pru iProtect Smart is allowed to NRI only in the specific countries.

Eligibility: 20 years – 65 years
Minimum Sum Assured: Subject to minimum premium
Maximum Sum Assured: No Limit
Policy Term: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years
Maturity age: Maximum 75 years

#3 LIC Tech Term Plan

LIC Tech Term Plan is recently launched online term plan by LIC. LIC Tech Term plan can be purchased by NRI during their stay in India. This plan is allowed to be purchased only in specific countries. This plan comes with level sum assured and increasing sum assured benefits.

Eligibility: 18 years – 65 years
Minimum Sum Assured: 50 Lakh
Maximum Sum Assured: No Limit
Policy Term: 10 to 40 years
Maturity age: Maximum 80 years

FAQ about Term Insurance Plans for NRI

Term plans are allowed for NRI for specific countries only?

Yes, most of the insurance companies restrict availing term plans for the country of residence. This means NRI will be able to purchase a term plan only in the specific countries. E.g ICICI iProtect Smart allows specific countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, UAE, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Norway, Philippines and Shri Lanka only.

How to pay life insurance premium from abroad?

NRI can make premium payments via internet banking or via credit card. The payment is allowed in local currency as well as foreign currency. NRI can use NRO account to make payment in Indian currency and NRE/FCNR account to pay in the foreign currency.

How sum assured will be paid to nominee?

In the event of the death of the policyholder, the sum assured is paid to the nominee in their NRE account. The amount received as claim settlement is repatriable to the home country. The amount that can be repatriable is restricted to the premium amount paid in the foreign currency. If a premium is paid in the Indian currency via NRO account, the death benefit is not fully repatriable.

What are additional documents required in case of death outside India?

In case of death of policyholder outside India, additional documents required to produce by the nominee are employer certificate, copy of death certificate verified by Indian Embassy, Embalming Certificate and translation of documents if the original is not in English.

5 Famous Credit Card for Self-Employed

Credit Cards

Shitanshu Kapadia

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October 9, 2019

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Credit Card for Self-Employed – A credit card has become an integral part of our life. We cannot imagine our life without credit cards. There are multiple types of credit cards available in the market. Starting from salaried people to self-employed credit cards are available for everyone. For self-employed and entrepreneurs credit cards are more beneficial as it provides multiple features for running and growing a business. If you are a self-employed person such as a freelancer, independent contractor, or in a profession where your income is dependent on your skills, it is somewhat difficult to get a credit card. Here is a complete guide that will help you in making a selection of the right credit card for self-employed.

credit card self employed

How to Apply for a Credit Card? – Self Employed

It is very easy to apply for a credit card for self-employed people. You need to contact your trusted bank or Credit Card Company and apply for the required credit card. You are required to submit the necessary documents to prove your eligibility for the card.

Make sure to go through the features, terms and conditions, and benefits offered before applying for the credit card.

Also Read – 10 Best Popular Business Credit Cards in India

Eligibility

The general eligibility criteria for self-employed to get a credit card are given below.

Credit Score – The Bank will check your credit score before approving your credit card. Your credit score should be 750 or above. You can build a good credit score by managing a good credit history.

Income – The Bank or Credit Card Company will check for your income statement at the time of approving the credit card. They may ask for the last three years’ income tax returns to assess your income. A minimum monthly income of ₹25000 is considered a good income for getting credit card approval.

Credit Utilization Ratio – The credit utilization ratio is the next factor of consideration. The credit utilization ratio means the amount of credit being used with respect to the total credit available. A low credit utilization ratio increases the chance of getting faster credit card approval.

Repayment Record – The bank will also check your repayment and default history. You should maintain healthy repayment records.

Age – You must be above 21 years of age to get a credit card.

Documents required by Self Employed to apply for Credit Card

Self-employed people need to submit the following documents while applying for a credit card.

Aadhaar Card
PAN Card
ID and Business proof
Income Proof – Latest Income tax returns
Bank account statements
Colored photographs

Features to be checked before opting for credit card

Self-employed people must consider the following features while evaluating credit card.

Business Saving – The first feature to look for while selecting a business credit card is cashback or savings offered by the card. You should select a card that offers lucrative business benefits.

Travel rewards – If you are a frequent traveler you should look at the benefits offered by the credit card on travel. Many credit card offers attractive benefits on the travel ticket including cashback and airport travel lounge access.

Reward Points – You should also look at the reward points offered by the credit card along with a method for the redemption of reward points. The credit card should be highly rewarding.

Spend analyzer – To do spend analysis for a business is somewhat challenging. To overcome this challenge you should select a credit card that offers a spend analyzer facility.

Interest-free credit period – The interest-free credit period is the next factor for consideration. The higher the credit period better is the card.

Joining Fee/Annual Fee – The next important point to check is the joining fee/annual fee for the renewal.

Credit card overdue interest rate – The overdue interest rate is the next important factor to consider. The overdue interest rate should be as low as possible.

5 Famous Credit Card for Self-Employed

#1 HDFC Business Regalia Credit Card

HDFC Business Regalia Credit Card is one of the best premium category credit cards suitable for self-employed and businessmen. This card offers a plethora of travel and luxury benefits. The key benefits of the HDFC Business Regalia credit card are given below.

5% cashback on key business transactions telecom, electricity, hotel, dining, and taxi.
Earn 4 reward points on every ₹150 spent.
Lowest Foreign currency markup fee of 2% on international transactions.
50 Days Interest-Free Credit Period
Travel Concierge Services.
Free accidental death insurance.
Earn extra reward spending on crossing the annual spending limit.

Annual Fees – ₹2500 + GST

#2 American Express ICICI Bank Business Essential Card

ICICI Bank Business Essential Card is next on the list of cards for self-employed. This card is issued in association with American Express. This credit card is suitable for business as well as lifestyle needs. Key features of the ICICI Bank Business Essential Card are given below.

Joining bonus of 1500 payback points from ICICI bank.
Reward points in terms of payback for transactions such as dining, car rental, airline, etc.
Convert payback points to air miles that can be used for travel using Jet Airways.
Save 15% on the dining bills.
Selected American Express benefits.

Annual Fees – ₹1000 + GST

#3 SBI Platinum Corporate Credit Card

SBI Platinum Corporate Credit card is a globally accepted credit card with multiple benefits including smarter expense management. The privileges that you can get by using this card are given below.

Globally accepted credit card.
Analyze the entire organization’s spending pattern using a spend management tool.
Multilayer spend control facility.
Fraud-related insurance coverage of 2 Lakh.
Discount offer on the travel tickets.

Annual Fees – NIL

#4 Axis Bank MY Business Credit Card

Axis Bank MY Business Credit card is one of the best credit cards for businessmen and self-employed people. Attractive interest rates, business saving plans, and airport lounge access are a few benefits of Axis Bank MY Business Credit Card.

Attractive business saving plan.
1 Reward point on every ₹100 Spend.
3 Reward points on every ₹200 International Spend.
Fuel surcharge waiver.
Free Airport lounge access.
Cash advance facility.
Pay Utility bills automatically.

Annual Fees – NIL

#5 Citibank Corporate Credit Card

Citibank corporate credit card offers exclusive benefits for business expenses. Key features and benefits offered by Citibank Corporate Credit card are given below.

Online tool to manage all expenses.
Exclusive offers on business products and services including travel, hotel stay, car rental.
Facility of issuing advance foreign exchange for travel.
Dining privileges up to 15% saving on dining bills.
Never expiring reward points with every purchase.
Dedicated relationship manager.

Note – The above credit cards are suitable for big business as well as self-employed people.

15 Rural Small Town Business Ideas for 2025

Business Ideas

Shitanshu Kapadia

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October 7, 2019

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Rural Small Town Business Ideas are business ideas that are appropriate for rural or small-town areas. These business ideas are low cost, easy to start and made for low population areas.

People nowadays think of starting a business in big cities however, as per me a small town or village is a better option to start the business. You are likely to face lower competition in small-town areas for the business. The investment required in rural businesses is low.

So, if you are living in a small-town or if you are interested in traveling to a rural area to start your own business, then you will find this article interesting. Here is a list of 15 Rural Small Town Business Ideas for aspiring entrepreneurs of rural areas.

small town business ideas

Also Read – 99 Business Ideas with low investment

15 Rural Small Town Business Ideas for 2025

#1 Restaurant

Opening a restaurant is one of the best business ideas for a small town. You will need a small space and a good team to open a restaurant. The investment required for a restaurant business is moderate. You will need FSSAI registration and local municipality registration to open a restaurant. You can source Restaurant Equipment and Supplies from – https://www.nellaonline.com/

#2 Vegetable and Fruit Mart

A second business option for the rural area is starting a vegetable and fruit mart. As vegetable and fruit are produced in the rural area availability of fruit and vegetable is high. You can take a rented shop and start vegetable and fruit retail or wholesale business. It is a low-cost business with a very good profit margin.

#3 Food Retailing

Food retailing is an excellent business option for rural as well as urban areas. Food retailer keeps all food-related packed items (non-perishable items) in the store. It is as good as a grocery store with only food-related packed items. It is a growing business with a lot of opportunities.

#4 Mobile Phone Accessories Store

Mobile Phone Accessories store is next in the list of rural business ideas. The usage of mobile phones is skyrocketing. Along with the increase in the usage of mobile phone requirements of accessories such as mobile covers, chargers, headphone, and other items are growing. One can open a store for keeping all mobile phone accessories. Along with mobile phone accessories, one can go for mobile recharge business.

#5 Fertilizer and Seed Store

Agriculture is one of the prime business of the rural area. Thus starting fertilizer and seed store is a promising business option for the rural area. In this business, you need to sell fertilizer and seeds in your shop. It is advisable to tie up and keep fertilizer and seeds for multiple companies. In addition to fertilizer, you can sell pesticides in your shop.

#6 Flower Business

Flower business or florist is next on the list of small-town business ideas. In this business, you need to sell flowers. It is a low investment evergreen business option. The requirement of flowers will always remain due to regional usage and use in marriage and other events. In rural area availability of flowers is high. In addition to the above, you can purchase flowers from a rural area and sell them in the urban area.

#7 Organic Farming

Organic farming means naturally farming of crops without using fertilizer, pesticides, and chemicals. One can start an organic farming business in the rural area. In a rural area, a lot of lands is available at a lower cost. If you have expertise in farming you can enter into an evergreen business of organic farming.

#8 Readymade Cloth Store

Readymade Cloth store is one of the best business options for the small town. In readymade cloth stores you need to keep readymade cloths. You can keep the cloth of ladies, gents as well as kids. You will need a small rented shop to start this business. As it is a rural area, it is advisable to keep clothes with economic range.

#9 Pharmacy Store

Opening a pharmacy store is next on the list. You need to have a license of pharmacy to open a pharmacy store. As pharmacy is one of the essential requirement the chance of getting success in the pharmacy business is very high.

#10 Fish Farming

Fish farming means farming of fish in the artificial environment and tanks/pounds. The requirement of fish is very high in the domestic as well as abroad. Thus starting a fish farming makes sense. Investment required for fish farming is high. You will require land, suitable environment as well as knowledge to start fish farming.

#11 Poultry Farming

Poultry farming means animal husbandry to raise birds such as chickens, ducks etc. The basic idea here is to deal with eggs and meat of animals. In this business, you need to take the utmost care in terms of the living environment, feeding and other basic requirements. It is advisable to gain some experience before starting poultry farming.

#12 Computer Training Course

A computer expert can plan to start a computer training course business in the small town area. Computer experts are required in almost every small or big business. So, people are ready to spend money on learning computer. At an initial stage, you can start a basic course on word, excel, and powerpoint. At a later stage, you can start an advanced course related to computers and IT.

#13 Farm Equipment maintenance

Farm equipment’s are widely used in rural areas for farming. Almost every farm equipment’s required maintenance over a period of time. So, it is a good idea to start farm equipment maintenance business in the rural area. You require expert manpower with knowledge of farm equipment to start this business.

#14 Crop production labor services

Farming is one of the core professions in rural areas. To do farming most of the people are dependent on farm labor. If you are good at manpower management you can start crop production and labor services business.

#15 Grocery Shop

The first small town business idea is starting a grocery shop. A grocery shop is a place where you need to sell household items and grain. At an initial stage, you can take a shop on rent to start a grocery shop. You can tie up directly with framers for purchasing grain. This will help you in gaining a higher profit margin.

Over to you –

I hope you have got a complete understanding of popular rural small town business ideas.

For more information please post your questions in the comment section given below.

ITR is not processed by the Income Tax Department – What to do?

Incometax

Shitanshu Kapadia

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October 5, 2019

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Once you file your ITR it will be processed by the income tax department in a reasonable time. You need to wait until it is processed. It usually takes 6-9 months for the processing of Income-tax return. Once your ITR is processed CPC (Central Processing Center) issues intimation notice under section 143(1).

The issue of intimation notice 143(1) means your return is checked and found in order. In other words, income details and calculations mentioned in your ITR is matches with the record of the income tax department.

How ITR is processed by the Income Tax Department?

Once your ITR is verified on the income tax e-filing portal, CPC process your ITR. The step generally performed by CPC for processing return are given below.

Verification of Income-tax return in terms of details mentioned and tax calculation.
Matching of Form 26AS and TDS amount mentioned in the Income-tax return.
Checking high-value transactions performed by you and matching it with income declared in the return.
Cash deposit in the bank account or credit card transactions with higher value and matching it with income detail.
Interest income calculation and rent amount mentioned in the case of immovable property (second house).
Checking ITR for arithmetic errors and applicability of refunds.

These are a few basic checks. Apart from the above check, Income tax department has started making use of data mining and big data analytics. To find out the tax evaders income tax department is checking social profiles to find a mismatch between income declared and spending patterns.

Income tax department has to process the ITR with expiry of one year from the end of the financial year in which ITR is filed. This means if you have filed income tax return of FY 2018-19 it should be processed by March 31, 2021.

If your income return is not processed in the stipulated time period, you can raise grievance on the Income tax e-filing website. The steps for the same are given below.

Also Read – How to Download Pre-Filled XML ITR from Income Tax Website?

ITR is not processed by the IT Department – What to do?

Follow the steps given below to raise grievance on income tax website.

Visit https://www.incometax.gov.in website and login using your PAN card number and password.
You will be able to see dashboard view.
From the top menu go to e-Nirvan tab and click on “Submit Grievance”.

e-Nirvaran-Grievance

You will be able to see two tabs. First one is containing instructions and second tab is for grievance.
Click on the “Grievance” Tab.
You will be able to see grievance form with auto populated personal detail section and grievance details section.
In the Grievance detail tab select – Resolution Sought From – Central Processing Center for Income Tax Returns (CPC-ITR). Select category – PROCESSING and Sub-category – Others – Processing.

ITR is not processed

Select the Assessment year for which returns is not processed. Suppose income tax return for the FY 2017-18 is not processed then select assessment year 2018-19.
In the description tab given below you can add additional information such as when return was filed and any other supported information. You can even upload supporting document in PDF format.

Click on the Preview and Submit button. The system will open a new webpage containing information about the details given by you. If the mentioned details are in order you can click on the submit button. Once you submit the grievance new Grievance ID will be generated and shown on the screen. You will also receive a Grievance ID on your registered e-mail ID.

The income tax department responds to grievances in 8-10 days. You will be able to track grievances online on the Income-tax website by going to e-Nirvan tab and checking status.

Over to you –

I hope you have got a complete understanding of raising a grievance and tracking it online on the Income-tax website. If you have queries related to filing income tax grievance please post it in the comment section given below.