NRI investment patterns become realistic

Alka Rajpurohit, a non-resident Indian (NRI) from Dubai, wanted to sell her luxury apartment in Gurgaon and instead, buy a premium apartment in Noida. Rajpurohit’s decision, reflects the changing dynamics of NRIs’ investments in Indian property from being investors and speculators, to future end-user buyers.

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NRI deposits drive up external debt to $486 bn

India’s external debt at the end of March 2016 stood at $485.6 billion, up 2.2 per cent from over its level at over end-March 2015, largely driven by the increase in long-term external debt, particularly NRI deposits, the Centre government said announced on Monday.
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India: The investment hub for NRIs

A list of reasons  reasons why India should feature in a NRI’s portfolio, even though one may not really be contemplating moving back to India. All in all India still seems like an investment opportunity worth evaluating.

• From an investment destination perspective, Indian equities and fixed income are both showing promise over the next two to three years, especially as NRIs may not get the required returns on investments in their home countries.
• Read the rest of the reasons here

Won't interfere with NEET order: HC to NRI students

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday made it clear that it will not interfere with the Supreme Court’s order making it mandatory for NRIs and foreign nationals to clear NEET to obtain medical seats for the 2016-17 academic year. However, the court said the protection granted to genuine candidates already admitted under NRI/foreign national quota up to September 1, 2016 in petitioner institutions shall not be disturbed for two weeks to enable them to approach a superior court.

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Police warn NRIs of phishing

With several non-resident Indians (NRI), especially from the US, complaining to the Cyberabad East police that their banking details were accessed by fraudsters by phishing, police have issued an advisory on Saturday urging citizens not to share passwords on email chats.
Full TOI report

All you wanted to know about FCNR (B) outflows

 FCNR (B) outflows explained

NEET mandatory even for admission under NRI quota: HC

In a setback to private medical colleges, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday upheld the circular issued by the Medical Council of India (MCI), which had asked all medical colleges to fill up seats under the NRI/foreign nationals quota only from the merit list prepared on the basis of marks secured by the candidates in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), from the academic year 2016-17.

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Vacant NRI-quota MBBS seats in Punjab colleges to be given to general category

The aspiring medical students of general category should be happy. Almost 90% of the NRI-quota MBBS seats in three government medical colleges that are set to fall vacant during the separate counselling on September 15 will come to them.
The 15% quota for the NRIs makes it 75 reserved seats in the government colleges — 15 in Faridkot and 30 each in Patiala and Amritsar. And only seven NRIs qualified in the August 9 separate test. So 68 seats might be added to the general pool. Allotment starts September 16.
Full story here

Our diaspora has a lot to offer

A recent UN report says that India now has the largest ‘diaspora’ in the world, with more than 16 million persons of Indian origin living abroad. This Non Resident Indian (NRI) pool represents a little over 1 per cent of India’s population but is a crucial cog in the wheel of India’s development.

How does the Indian diaspora benefit India? The biggest way is through regular remittances. According to a World Bank report released in April, India was the largest remittance-receiving country in the world, with an estimated $69 billion in 2015.

This amounts to a whopping 3.4 per cent of India’s GDP, an amazing multiplier because just 1 per cent of the citizenry, which does not even live in the country, contributes more than three times its fair share to the nation’s wealth.

An interesting Column by RAJKAMAL RAO in Hindu Businessline

Full article here 

Tax queries

I have become a UK citizen now and am staying in London. Can I continue Public Provident Fund’s (PPF’s) till maturity? Can I continue investing in my PPF account even if I come back and stay in India on a British passport?
Find out the answer for this question and more here