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NPS for NRI – Can NRI invest in NPS?

Investment

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May 21, 2019

NPS is a famous retirement saving scheme in India. NRI can join NPS scheme online with PAN or Aadhaar. NRI NPS investment is allowed as per the Foreign Exchange Management Act. So, NRI who wish to settle in India post-retirement for whatever reason can go for NPS investment for building a retirement corpus. NPS offers a mix of equity and debt investment. This means it turns out to be a good investment option. In this post, we will take a look at the various feature of NRI NPS account along with key features and exit/withdrawal rules.

Also Read – Top 5 Best Investment Options for NRI in India

Why & When NRI Should Invest in NPS?

Few compelling reasons for investing in NPS for NRI are given below.

In the past few years NPS has given above average returns to investor compared to other investment options.
NPS is a cost-effective option where NRI can build a good corpus and also repatriate the money easily.
NPS provides an additional tax benefit of Rs.50000 over and above tax benefit of section 80C.
It is very difficult for NRI of USA and Canada to invest in the Indian Mutual Funds and equity market due to tough compliance law under FATCA. NPS allows you to submit FATCA online.
If you are NRI and planning to stay in India post-retirement you can plan to invest in NPS.

Eligibility for NRI NPS Account

The eligibility criteria for NRI NPS investment are given below. If you are NRI and complying with following conditions you can open NPS account.

Age: Between 18 and 60 years old.
Must comply with KYC norms.
PIOs and OCIs are not eligible.

The source of contribution should be from NRE account or NRO account. Minimum contribution at the time of opening account is Rs.500. Minimum amount per contribution is Rs.500. The minimum contribution of Rs.6000 is required per annum.

Key Features and Benefits of NRI NPS Account

The investment portfolio is well diversified across financial securities. Investor has flexibility to select fund ratio across investment options.
Investment can be made across asset class like Equity (E), Corporate Bonds (C) and /or Government Securities (G). This is to ensure that impact or return will be minimum in case market is down.
Two investment options are given to NRI –
- Active Choice – NRI would decide asset classes in which the contributed funds are to be invested and their respective proportions.
- Auto Choice – Default option under NPS, management of investment of funds is done automatically based on the age profile of the subscriber.
On successful registration PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number) is generated with unique 12 digit number.
NPS account can be operated online from anywhere.
There are two available sub-accounts under the NPS account scheme:
- Tier – I accounts: Withdrawals are allowed for up to 25% of the borrowers own contribution. This is subject to the Withdrawal and Exit Regulations.
- Tier – II accounts: This account is allowed as an add-on to Tier – I accounts, as a savings facility. Withdrawals are permitted as and when the investor wishes from Tier – II accounts.

How to register and apply for NPS for NRI?

Follow the steps given below to apply for NPS for NRI.

Download Subscriber registration form for NRI. This form is available under form section of NPS NSDL and PFRDA website
This form can also be downloaded from respective Bank websites.
NRI need to fill up the form and submit it to his/her NRI Bank branch in India for processing.
Bank Verifies and confirms NRO /NRE account particulars and forward the form to CRA.
Now you need to deposit cheque for initial contribution.
Your application will be digitized and PRAN will be generated at CRA.
An email or SMS will be sent to NRI applicant mentioning PRAN Number.
Subsequent transactions can be done online.

Exit and Withdrawal rules for NPS

The exit and withdrawal rules applicable NRI for NPS are given below.

For exit from the scheme before the age of 60:

Compulsory Annuitisation – Minimum of 80%.
Lump Sum withdrawal – Maximum of 20%.
If the total corpus is less than 1 Lakh complete withdrawal.

For exit upon attaining the age of 60:

Compulsory Annuitisation: Minimum of 40%.
Lump Sum withdrawal: Maximum of 60%.
If the corpus is less than 2 Lakh complete withdrawal.
Investors can stay invested in the scheme up to the age of 70 years.
Purchase of annuity can be deferred for a maximum period of 3 years at the time of exiting the scheme.

Exit upon death of the subscriber:

The nominee will be instantly eligible to receive 100% of the NPS Pension wealth in a lump sum.

How to withdraw EPF (Employee Provident Fund) online & offline?

Personal Finance

Shitanshu Kapadia

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May 19, 2019

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How to withdraw EPF (Employee Provident Fund) online & offline?

How to withdraw EPF online? How much EPF withdrawal is allowed & under what conditions? These are some frequently asked questions when it comes to EPF withdrawal. In this post, I will share complete information about How to withdraw EPF Online (method) and withdrawal rules.

Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is also known as PF. EPF is retirement corpus for most of the salaried individuals in India. Under employee provident fund scheme employee contribute a small portion of their salary i.e 12% of their basic monthly pay. A similar amount is contributed by the employer in the same account. Apart from the monthly contribution the fixed interest amount is also payable on this fund. So, employees would be able to build a big corpus up to retirement.

Earlier EPF withdrawal was not allowed, but now rules are modified and one can withdraw part of EPF corpus under special conditions. Terms and condition for partial withdrawal of EPF are given below.

Reasons to Withdraw EPF

You can withdraw EPF for the following reasons/conditions –

Reason	Withdrawal Limit	Eligibility	Other Terms
Medical Treatment	Six month of your salary or Dearness allowance with interest – whichever is lower.	Anytime during service but having continuous PF contributions.	For medical treatment of self or family member. Hospital/doctor certificate mandatory.
Marriage	Maximum 50% of your contribution to EPF	Have minimum seven years of service with continuous PF contributions.	Marriage of Self, children, brother or sister.
Home Improvement	Amount equal to one year of basic salary, provided enough fund is available in EPF account.	Minimum five years of service with continuous PF contributions.	Home should be owned by PF account holder/spouse or jointly.
Buying own Home	Maximum 36 months salary with Dearness allowance, provided enough fund is available in EPF account.	Minimum five years of service with continuous PF contributions.	Home should be owned by PF account holder/spouse or jointly. Proof of holding is compulsory.
Repaying Home Loan	Up to 90% of total amount in EPF account can be withdrawn, including employer contribution and interest.	Minimum 10 years of service with continuous PF contributions.	Home should be owned by PF account holder/spouse of jointly. Proof of holding is compulsory. Minimum EPF balance in EPF account should be Rs.20,000 at the time of applying for withdrawal.
Buying Land	Up to 24 months salary with dearness allowance.	Minimum five years of service with continuous PF contributions.	Land should be owned by PF account holder/spouse or jointly. Proof of holding is compulsory.
Education	Maximum 50% of your contribution to PF.	Minimum seven years of service with continuous PF contributions.	Available for self and children, for higher education after SSC or equivalent.
Pre-retirement needs	Full amount, including own and employer contribution with interest.	After 57^th Birthday.	No conditions. PF can be withdrawn any time after 57^th Birthday.

Before EPF withdrawal –

Before you consider EPF withdrawal you should find out how much money you actually required. EPF is your retirement corpus and it is not a good idea to withdraw money from EPF account. Make sure your requirement is desperate and EPF withdrawal is inevitable. If it is the case go ahead and follow the step given below to prepare yourself for EPF withdrawal.

Prepare Documents required for withdrawal

EPF withdrawal online or offline requires submission of various proofs and documents. Here are some documents which you require for withdrawal.

Aadhar Card
Permanent Account Number (PAN)
Universal Account Number (UAN) issued by EPFO

Check EPF Balance

Next step is to check EPF Balance. This is to assess the account status and amount that can be withdrawn. Four simple ways to check EPF balance are given below.

Download EPF Passbook via UMANG app.
On EPF Member Passbook Portal.
From nearest EPFO office.
By EPFOHO SMS service.

File EPF Claim

Once you are done with documentation and checking EPF balance, you can go ahead and withdraw EPF. There are four different methods to withdraw EPF.

Withdraw EPF Online via Umang App
Withdraw EPF Online via EPFO Website
EPF withdrawal with Aadhaar Card – Offline
EPF withdrawal without Aadhaar Card – Offline

How to withdraw EPF Online & Offline?

How to withdraw EPF Online?

You can withdraw EPF Online via two methods. First is via Umang App and second is via EPFO website.

#1 Umang App

The simplest way to withdraw PF is via smartphone Umang App.

First, download and install the UMANG app. You can get UMANG app from Google Play or UMANG website. UMANG stands for Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance.
After installing UMANG app, complete the registration. It is very simple and requires one-time verification with OTP.
Once your UMANG app is registered, go to the menu indicating various services. Here you will find the EPFO logo.
Click on the EPFO logo. The app will now display various services.
Select ‘Employee Centric Services’ on the app.
Now the app will display various services, including part withdrawal of EPF account and a full withdrawal.

Select the service you need. Provide your Universal Account Number (UAN) and other details for identity verification.
It will generate OTP for verification.
After verification fill up necessary details and click the OK key to withdraw.
You will get SMS stating that your withdrawal request has been received by EPFO.

Now you can check the status of your claim after a few days on EPF website.

#2 EPFO website

The second method for EPF withdrawal is via EPFO website – Unified Member Portal.

First, register on unified member portal via UAN number and personal details.
After registration login to the portal with UAN and Password.
From top navigation menu click on Online Services > CLAIM (FORM 31, 19 & 10C)

You will be prompted to verify your bank account details. Once your bank account details are verified you can proceed for online claim.
Now, you need to select PF Advance Form and select purpose of Advance.

Next is filling up amount of withdrawal. After that you need to fill up your address and provide consent.
Next is clicking on ‘Get Aadhaar OTP’.
You will get OTP on mobile number. Confirm your transaction with OTP. Your claim is submitted now.

You can track the status of your claim after a few days on the EPF website.

How to withdraw EPF Offline?

You can withdraw EPF Offline via two different methods. First is Aadhaar enabled withdrawal and second is without Aadhaar.

#3 EPF withdrawal with AADHAAR

This is a manual method which requires submission of Composite Claim Form. After you fill up Composite Claim Form submit it to nearest EPFO office. It is Aadhaar enabled withdrawal and does not require endorsement from the previous employer. It is a recommended method if your relationship with your employer is bad.

To use this facility, make sure that your PF account is linked with Aadhaar. This method also required enablement of Universal Account Number (UAN) while filling up the claim form. You can find UAN number detail from your employer or from salary slip.

#4 EPF Withdrawal without Aadhaar

EPF Withdrawal without Aadhaar is one of the oldest and complex process. If you are not holding Aadhaar card you can make use of this process. In this process, you need to provide your PAN card number and your old EPF account number.

These details are required to be mentioned in the Composite Claim Form (Non-Aadhaar). You will be required to go for additional documentation in this method.

Please note that the manual/offline method of withdrawal is time-consuming and not recommended. It also involves the requirement of various supporting documents.

Conclusion – EPF is your retirement corpus. If you are withdrawing money from EPF you may face financial problem post-retirement. Think twice before EPF withdrawal. In case all other options of getting money is ruled out you can go for EPF withdrawal.

Make sure to go for an online method for withdrawing money from EPF account. The online method of withdrawing money from EPF is easy and less time-consuming.

25 Best Ways to Make Money Online in 2025

Money & Wealth

Shitanshu Kapadia

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May 16, 2019

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Make Money Online – As you are reading this post, I assume that you want to know how to make money online.

Maybe you are looking for an alternative source of income, you are tempted by Internet money or you are planning to quit your 9-to-5 job.

Whatever the case, the Internet is an ocean that gives numerous opportunities to make money online. You can make money anywhere in the world, so whether you are looking at how to make money online in Nigeria, India, the USA, or UAE, there will be a way for you to do so. It is very easy to make money online, but you have to care about Internet scams and ineffective ways to make money online.

The objective of this post is to help you out in finding the best and most legitimate ways to make money online. I have personally tried these ways of generating internet income and it works. So, here are the 25 Best Ways to Make Money Online in 2025. Some of them require you to create your own website, but most of them use an existing platform or website for generating Internet money.

Also Read – 7 Ideas to Make Money Online in India even if you are a beginner

25 Best Ways to Make Money Online in 2025

As discussed above, there are two different approaches to making money online. If you want stable internet income for a longer duration you require a website or blog. If you want to make one-time money or looking for an irregular income source it’s a good idea to go for Internet Income without a website.

How do Make Money Online using a website or blog?

#1 Make Money via Blog

Starting a blog is one of the best ways to make money online. There are millions of bloggers across the world who are living their life on a blog. However, it is not easy to become a successful blogger. You need to spend a lot of time and energy to become successful. Follow the step given below to start blogging.

Select a topic/area on which you will be making a blog. A few suggested topics are finance, health, relationship, blogging, etc.
Generate content on a selected topic. Purchase a domain name and hosting space.
Install Content management such as WordPress and start blogging.
Learn about SEO and method to improve site ranking.
Generate Traffic on your blog and start monetizing.

The blog can help you to make money via paid advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and selling a course or product online.

#2 Start Affiliate Website

You can promote the product and services of other companies and make money. It is one of the best ways of making money online. An affiliate website is a place for product and service reviews. You need to post a recommendation about products and services on your website. When readers purchase products or services via your website you will get a commission.

You can create your own website/blog as an affiliate marketer or you can use an existing blog to showcase products and services. You should be very good at posting reviews and recommendations. You need to embed an affiliate link to the post. You can get an affiliate link from a promoter/affiliate partner.

#3 Build E-Commerce Site

It is an era of online shopping. The popularity of e-commerce is skyrocketing. If you are impressed with this trend and want to get benefited you can start your e-commerce site. There are two methods to start an online store. First is creating and selling your own product and second is buying goods at a cheaper rate and selling at a higher price. Follow the step given below to start an online e-commerce store.

Decide on the products that you will be selling on your website.
Make a business plan for sourcing products and selling them online.
Purchase a domain name and hosting space.
Create an e-commerce platform using WordPress and Woocommerce.

You need to work hard to gain the popularity of your site. You require a lot of capital to start this business.

#4 Website Hosting and Reselling

Reseller hosting is another great way to make money online. The concept of reseller web hosting is simple. You need to provide a dedicated web hosting server space to the customer. This business requires technical knowledge and IT skills. Follow the step given below to start web hosting and reselling.

Purchase a VPS server or dedicated server for starting a business.
You can purchase this from other hosting companies.
You will get the facility of a Web hosting manager.
WHM allows you to create, and delete new cPanel accounts with various resources.

Uptime and availability are concerns for starting this business. You need to work hard on creating a new customer base in this business.

#5 Digital Course Online

Knowledge is King. Thus hosting a digital courses online on your website is a very good option to make money online. The digital courses can be produced in different formats such as pdf, video format, etc. This method requires skills and experience. You can create a subscription model on your website to generate money.

#6 Sell Advertisement Space

Once you make your website or blog you can monetize the content by selling advertisement space. This method works only if your website is receiving a large volume of traffic. In this method, you will be paid based on the number of impressions or clicks.

Google Adsense is one of the best advertisement networks for making money online. You can apply for this network online. Once your login is approved you can show advertisements on your website. If you are not getting Google Adsense approval you can go for other networks such as Ezoic or Media.net.

You can even sell advertisements on your website at a fixed cost.

Also Read – 40 Part Time Jobs from Home Online & Offline – No Investment

#7 Sell Your Services

Selling services from your website is one of the fastest ways to make money online. This method will work only if you are an expert in a specific field. A few popular online services are given below.

Financial planning
Travel & ticket booking
Online teaching
Online gaming

You need to create your own website and create a few pages offering your services with price.

#8 Create a Yellow Page Website

You can also create your own yellow pages website and make money. Yellow Pages website is an online directory with business listings. The business listing posted on the website can be free or paid. You can use a readymade WordPress theme or other platforms to make a yellow-page website.

#9 Create a Classified Portal

Starting your own classified portal is the next method of making money online. In this method, you need to create your own classified portal. You can charge customers on a per-listing basis or a lead basis. There are readymade modules available such as os-class. You need to spend a lot of time in order to build a successful classified website.

#10 Create a Job Search Portal

Many people search for a job online. Thus it is a very good idea to start your own job search portal. The basic aim of this portal is to help people in getting a job. You can keep the money for posting a job on the website. You can also monetize this website once it is popular.

#11 Sell Your Website

The final way to make money from the website is by selling it to someone. There are many online websites that offer money for websites. The price of a website depends upon the age of the website, domain authority, traffic, revenue generated by your website, and a lot of other factors. If your website is generating good revenue, it is recommended not to sell it.

How to Make Money Online Without a Website?

#12 Publish the ebook

The first method to make money online without a website is publishing an ebook. In this method, you will be acting as a self-published author. Your success as an author is highly dependent on your skillset and capacity to attract readers. It is recommended to hire a professional editor for your book. Invest in a high-quality cover with a professional design and an attractive description. You should build an e-mail list for marketing your book.

#13 Work as Freelancer

You can work as a freelancer and make internet money online. There are many websites that offer the facility to work as freelancers. As a freelancer, you need to complete various projects such as software development, website development, app support bug fixing, etc. In order to become a freelancer you need to create your own profile with detail about the work you have completed. You can host this profile on popular freelancer work offering websites. A few websites that you can explore for getting freelancer work are –

Upwork
Freelancer
Fiverr
Guru

#14 Buy & Sell Domain Names

Buying and Selling Domain names is one of the lucrative options to earn money online. In this method, you buy a domain name at a lower price and sell it at a higher price. The process is very simple but risky. You need to be careful in selecting a domain name. You can use the following marketplace to buy and sell your domain name.

Flippa
We Sell Your Site
Empire Flippers

#15 Sell Photos

If you love to take photos, you can make money with this passion. There are many websites that allow you to upload your photos. When someone purchases your photo, you get paid. Some popular image websites are given below.

Shutterstock
iStockPhoto

#16 Peer 2 Peer Lending

If you have extra money you can lend your money on peer 2 peer platform. You will be able to earn interest income on your money. There are multiple P2P lending portals for lending money. This option requires a lot of investment. It is a risky method of earning money.

#17 Sell Art and Craft on Etsy

If you can make handcrafted goods or art this option is for you. Etsy is an online platform for selling your crafts online. You need to make a unique product that can stand out. Make sure to use a unique style to meet the expectation of your buyers.

#18 Start YouTube Channel

Starting YouTube Channel is the next way of making online money. In this method, you need to create a unique video and upload it. Once your channel gets popularity and fulfills certain criteria you can apply for the YouTube Channel partner program. As a YouTube Channel owner, you can earn a lot of money. However, it takes a lot of time and hard work to make money from YouTube.

#19 Become a Virtual Assistant

If you are good at planning and organizing you can become a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is responsible for a wide range of tasks such as bookkeeping, data entry, email management, typing, organizing files, etc. You can earn a moderate income as a virtual assistant. A few websites offering virtual assistant services are Fiverr, Upwork, and Remote.co

#20 Teach Kids Online

Teaching English and tutoring students online is a great way to make money online. You require expertise and knowledge about the subject which you are planning to teach. You can do a session online on Skype or online websites.

#21 Become Website Developer

If you are an IT Professional you can become a website developer and earn money online. If you don’t have development skills, then you need to learn how to code. Once you have the skills you can start finding work. It is a good idea to create your online profile showcasing work completed by you.

#22 Become Social Influencer

A social Influencer is a person who helps a company or website owners in generating leads or gaining popularity. As a social influencer, you need to create and promote the content of the associated company/person. You need to increase your social presence/increase your fan base. You will be paid with a fixed amount. It is recommended to gain experience before becoming a social influencer.

#23 Offer SEO Services

The requirement for SEO experts is growing at a faster rate. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a specialized field. In this profession, you need to work towards increasing the search ranking of the website. You will be paid with fixed money for an assignment.

#24 Do Micro Jobs

Micro Jobs tasks are simple tasks that do not require any technical skills or expertise. A few examples of Micro Jobs are typing a letter, captcha solving, language translation, data entry work, etc. You require a computer and internet connection to start this job. Amazon Mechanical Turk is a website that offers to get paid to complete micro jobs.

#25 Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is one of the best ways to make money online. Most companies are looking for an online expert who can help them in marketing their products. Digital marketing includes multiple things such as search engine marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, etc. You can make a lot of money via digital marketing.

Asset Allocation Strategies – How to Decide Asset Allocation

Financial Planning

Shitanshu Kapadia

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May 11, 2019

0

Asset Allocation Strategies – How to Decide Asset Allocation

Don’t put all your investment in one basket. Make use of asset allocation and spread your investment in the various asset class. This is famous advice of Investment guru and stock market expert Warren Buffett. But unfortunately, people don’t follow this advice.

While taking a financial decision, most of the people are unpredictable. They take financial decision randomly or based on someone’s advice. They never plan their finance. The unplanned financial decision leads to a skewed portfolio consisting of only a few asset class or multiple asset class.

Remember – Buying too many assets or only a few assets can hurt your finances. You need to balance your portfolio to get better returns from investment.

In this post, we will take a look at various asset allocation strategies. We will also discuss about How to Decide Asset Allocation?

What is Asset Allocation?

Asset Allocation is an investment strategy of dividing investment among various categories such as equity, debt, mutual funds etc. The preliminary purpose of asset allocation is balancing risk and rewards. The asset allocation is done based on investor’s risk tolerance, goals and investment time frame.

Two individuals with the same goal may still have different asset allocations. The one with a higher risk-carrying capacity and long-term investment goal may decide to invest more money in equity. The other one with low-risk appetite or short-term investment goal may invest more money in a debt fund or fixed deposit.

There are three main types of asset classes – equities, fixed-income and cash. All these assets have different risk and return characteristic. You need to find out which asset basket suits you for which investment goal.

Why Asset Allocation is Important?

The investment without proper asset allocation is random investment. A random investment always leads to financial disaster. Asset allocation provides proper diversification to portfolio. When you diversify your portfolio across various asset class, you are reducing your risk. This is because when one asset class is not performing, it can be offset by performance of another asset class. In addition to reduction in risk proper asset allocation also offers better returns.

Here is detail about asset allocation strategy which is used by me for making investment.

How to Decide Asset Allocation?

Identify your financial goals

The first step in deciding asset allocation is identifying your financial goals and timelines. In other words, deciding the purpose of investment and time when you will need money. Some example of financial goals are –

Early retirement at the age of 50 years with corpus of 3 Cr.
A requirement of 50 Lakh Corpus for child education at the age of 42 years.
Required 50 Lakh for children marriage at the age of 48 years.

Once your goals are identified you need to decide how much money is required for investment and how much risk you can take for each financial goal.

If your financial goals are of longer duration you can afford to take higher risk and invest your money stock market. If your financial goals are short term you can go for low-risk assets such as bonds or fixed deposit.

Assess your risk profile

A second important aspect to consider while deciding asset allocation is your risk profile. You need to ask yourself what your risk tolerance is? If you are OK with taking a risk, you can go for risky investment options. If you are risk averse you can go for conservative investment options.

Determine your target portfolio

One of the simplest ways to determine your target portfolio is based on your age. Your risk-taking capacity will reduce with your age. The thumb rule of asset allocation says that individual should hold a percentage of stocks equals to 100 minus their age. This means if your age is 25 years you can keep 75% of money in stocks. If your age is 60 years it is advisable to keep only 40% money in the stock market.

Once you determine your target portfolio percentage you need to go for selection of investment.

Select your Investment

In order to select your investment, you need to be sure about the asset class, expected returns and lock-in period. Ideally, you should hold a variety of equity assets from small cap, mid cap, and large cap segment. These stocks should be from various industry sectors. If you are planning to invest in the mutual funds. Make sure to select a mutual fund from various segment such as mid cap, small cap, large cap, multi cap etc. Once you are done with an investment you need to go for the next step which is review and rebalance.

Review and Rebalance

In review and rebalance step, you need to review your portfolio performance. If your portfolio is not performing as per expectation you need to rebalance your portfolio. Make sure to perform this step time to time. It will help you in increasing your portfolio performance.