RituSays(Ritu’s Corner) Gets Its Own Domain Name RituSays.Com

There comes a day in every blog’s life, when it has to be hosted on a domain of its own in stead of relying on free portals like WordPress, Blogger etc. The day has come for RitySays.WordPress as well. Yes, after enough deliberation and dilly-dallying for a while, we have finally (sigh….) migrated [Ritu’s Corner] to a new domain name RituSays.Com.

The website RituSays.Com is now hosting all the blog-posts, that were originally published on ritusays.wordpress.com. While we are still not done with the blog-migration and there are few things that are still being worked over, namely User Subscriptions (email based as well as RSS/XML Feeds), WordPress URL Redirects, Themes etc, we expect you to have a look at our new home i.e, RituSays.Com.

For a blog, its readers are of utmost importance and their constant encouragement has motivated us enough, so as to keep this blog going great guns. We hope to see the same kind of enthusiasm from all our readers on our new home RituSays.Com as well. Looking forward to see you all there 🙂

PS: (Sadly) This will be our last blog on RituSays.WordPress.Com 😦

RituSays (Ritu’s Corner) crosses 50K page views :-)

Folks, It is time to celebrate yet another landmark for RituSays (Ritu’s Corner). We just crossed the magical figure of 50,000 Page Views (In fact, as we write this, we are already nearing 54K !!). We still remember how ecstatic, we were, when our site-stats crossed 500 at the start of this year (yes, you heard it right, we celebrated even 500 page-views !!) and then again around the mid of this year, when we received our First Page Rank of 1 from Google. In a span of just 9 months, we managed to clock 50,000 page views, averaging around 180 page views every day.  I have tried putting some Smart Stats for our Blog.

• The month of August brought the maximum number of page views 8,593, while January was the least productive one with only 1,489 page views. Average page views per day for August and January were 277 and 48 respectively.

• The busiest day i.e maximum page views that our blog attracted for a single day, was 429 on September 26th. We don’t have the exact date, when we had the minimum page views for a single day, as WordPress doesn’t store site-stats on a daily basis. But we expect that must been in the months of January, when it averaged 48 page views per day.

• ~11000 page-views happened via searches using keywords, with the following search words bringing maximum number of visitspf account balance 451
  pf settlement claim id 397
  tatkal rules 2011 291
  difference between fixed deposit and recurring deposit 266
  indian railways tatkal rules 2011 249
  covered area 239
  new tatkal rules 2011 234
  pf account balance online 232
  band baaja barat review 231
  difference between fd and rd 186
  hdfc phone banking 178
  band baaja barat 167
  recurring deposit vs fixed deposit 153
  track pan card 145
  difference between rd and fd 142
• Close to 5,000 page-views happened via referrals from various websites (predominantly search engines like Google, social media channels like Facebook and Twitter and email-subscription via Yahoo, Gmail)google.co.in 1,977
  Google 403
  en.search.wordpress.com 329
  Facebook 304
  search-results.com 184

• A total of 34 people subscribed to our blogs, while there were 10 subscribers for comment subscriptions.

• A total of 97 posts were written, with January being the most productive one with as many as 33 blog posts. The credit to this goes to “WordPress Post A Day” challenge, which we so enthusiastically participated in, but had to call off due to other priorities.

• Out of a total of 17 categories, Finance has seen the most number of articles written with as many as 32 blog-posts.

• A total of 97 comments were posted, with Track Your Provident Fund being the most commented article with 20 comments.

• Following is the list of top 10 blog posts, that attracted maximum number of page views from our readers

Title		Views
Track your PF (Provident Fund) Claim Settlement Account Transfer Online Or On Your Mobile Phone		7,513
Indian Railways Introduces New Guidelines For Tatkal Ticket Bookings From 11th Feb 2011 : To Carry Original Id Proofs During Travel		5,209
Difference Between Fixed Deposit(FD) And Recurring Deposit(RD)		4,013
Track Your PF Provident Fund Account Balance Online		3,472
What Is Covered Area, Carpet Area,Built Up Area And Super Built Up Area In A House		2,904
PF(Provident Fund) Claim Process Track Your PF(Provident Fund) Claim Status		2,324
PAN Card Application, Apply and Track PAN Card Status India		2,011
Change in HDFC PhoneBanking Numbers Customer Care Numbers Call Centre Numbers From February 2011		1,477
How To Link Connect Facebook Account With WordPress Blog To Automatically Update Facebook Wall About Any New Blog Posts		1,472
“Band Baaja Barat” Review		1,470
PF Vs PPF Difference Between PF(Provident Fund) and PPF(Public Provident Fund)		1,408
Capital Gain Taxation Short Term Capital Gain(STCG) Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) And DTC (Direct Tax Code)		1,356
LIC (Life Insurance Corporation Of India) Jeevan Anand Endowment Assurance Life Insurance Policy		1,334
Government Issues Clarification On DTC (Direct Tax Code) Clause For NRIs (Non Resident Indians)		1,332
Tax Benefit On Home Loans And Economics Of Purchasing Second House		877

All this has been possible due to all our readers, who have frequently visited our site and found our blog-contents interesting and useful. We hope, you will continue doing so and find our blogs useful. At times, we have not been able to update the blogs as frequently as we would have liked to, but we promise, we will try to keep such instances to minimum. Thank you all and wish you a very happpy Diwali 🙂

Documents Required For A Plot Loan Land Loan

Why a vacant land/empty plot : From an Investment Perspective, a vacant land/plot is always a safe bet, not just in the long term, but also in the short term. If you are dreaming about moving into an Independent House in some locality (be it a colony or a private layout) 5 years down the lane, then a piece of land in that locality is exactly what you need. Further, if you buy it now, you get it a far cheaper price that you would 5 years later. Even if, you don’t have any plans to construct a house of your own on your land, it is still a good investment, as Real Estate Prices continue going upwards and on a resale, you can expect handsome gains.

Now that it is clear, one should own a piece of land, how do we go about financing it ?? What if you need to purchase a land for constructing your sweet home ?? Not just independent home, one can also purchase it for investment purposes. There are number of public and private sector banks and other non-banking financial institutions who give loans for land that is Plot Loan. This blog post lists out all relevant documents and the process involved in applying for a plot loan. 

Eligibility Criteria:

• You should have completed 21 years of age
• You should have a regular income either through your job or a business, which can be validated by banks on the basis of Income Taxes or Revenues.

Loan Amount:

• Maximum 80-85% of the cost of the plot, depending on which banking/financial organization, you chose for your loan
• May vary depending on the loan eligibility of the customer

Loan Tenure: It varies from bank to bank but in most of the cases,  it is 10 to 15 years. However, some banks, especially the private ones, do allow the tenure to be less than or equal to 5 years, but here again, your tenure is dictated by your current income. Most of the financial institutions are somewhat reluctant in granting a loan-tenure < 10 years, so you may want to check this out with bank officials.

Process  for plot loan: At first you have to fill an application form with passport size photo for applying the loan in related bank and submit it with proper documents. Bank will charge you 1-2% as processing fees.

Documents required by bank for land loan:

1. Documents related to customer:

• Two passport-size photos , PAN Card, Passport, Employee Id (if you are a salaried individual), visiting card
• Residential Address Proof : Ration Card, Telephone Bills (Land line, some banks only accept bills of government-run telecom operators’, like BSNL, MTNL etc), Mobile Bill (Postpaid) or letter from employer, confirming your residence address.
• Last 4 months payslips along with latest CTC (Cost To Company)
• Appointment letter, relieving letter/experience letter(if your present employment is less then 3 years).
• Form 16 for last 2 years along with acknowledgement from IT .
• Bank  Statement of all account for 6 months).
• One cheque from salary account for processing fees.
• Qualification proof.

2.Documents related to plot:

• Mutation Register Extract
• Sale Deed
• Encumbrance certificate
• Document/Title deed in the name of the vendor/buyer
• NOC from the State Pollution Control Board
• Endorsement from the office of the competent authority confirming that the land is free from tenancy claims.
• Tax receipts for taxes paid by the owner of the plot of land.
• Layout plan, if it is a private layout
• Land record for the plot of land

Related Articles

• The Complete Home Loan Process (consultingniketan.wordpress.com)
• List of Documents – Loan Against Property: (shivaconsultancy.wordpress.com)

New PF (Provident Fund) Norms Announced For Expats/International Workers

There is some bad news in the offing for all Expats/International Workers, who are currently employed in India, by the EPFO(Employees Provident Fund Organization), which handles provident and pension funds for the organized sector employees in India. The existing norms have been tightened a bit. Earlier, contribution to PF (Provident Fund) and EPS (Employees Pension Scheme) was 12% of the monthly pay, this contribution was made mandatory by Indian Government in 2008. Withdrawals from these PF (Provident Fund) were permitted at the end of an expat’s employment in India. But according to these new regulations, now Expats/International Workers would be permitted to withdraw their accumulated balance only after they turn 58. Now, withdrawals are permitted only in case of Permanent Disability and Total Incapacity to work or in case of these suffering from three major diseases, Cancer, Leprosy and Tuberculosis.

However, an exemption has only been made in case of employees from three countries, Belgium, France and Germany, with which India has signed Social Security Agreements. Further details are available at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/New-PF-norms-leave-expats-in-lurch/articleshow/7439380.cms

What is Section 80C Deduction In Income Tax

Whenever we think of income tax, the first thing that immediately comes into our mind is how to save it !! One of the best options for Saving Income Taxes comes under Section 80C.

What Is Section 80C?
It is an investment option to save the tax. Government has specially promoted it for long term savings.

Limit:
The maximum limit of Rs 1 lac can be deducted from your income under Section 80C. However, there is a provision for additional Rs 20,000, solely reserved for Infrastructure Bonds. In this way if you are in highest tax bracket of 30% and you have invested upto Rs 1 lac under section 80C then you are saving Rs 30,000. For example if your salary is Rs 16 lacs per annum but you are investing Rs 1 lac in 80C then your taxable income will be Rs 15 lacs only. Even if you invest more than 1 lac in 80C, you can show only 1 lac as investment in 80C .

Investment:
Following investment options are eligible for Section 80C deduction.

Market Linked:

• Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS)
• Unit linked Insurance Plan (ULIP)

Fixed Income:

• Provident Fund (PF) & Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF)
• National Savings Certificate (NSC)
• Infrastructure Bonds
• Public Provident Fund (PPF)
• 5-Yr bank fixed deposits (FDs)
• Pension Funds – Section 80CCC
• Senior Citizen Savings Scheme 2004 (SCSS)
• 5-Yr post office time deposit (POTD) scheme
• NABARD rural bonds

Others:

• Life Insurance Premiums
• Home Loan Principal Repayment
• Stamp Duty and Registration Charges for a home
• Children’s tuition fees.

Sample Calculation:

Example 1
If your Taxable Income is Rs.700000 and your yearly home loans principal repayment is Rs.40000 and you don’t have any other investments, then your Taxable Income for that financial year is Rs.700000 – Rs.40000 = Rs.660000.

Example 2
If your Taxable Income is Rs.700000 and your yearly home loans principal repayment is Rs.100000, then your Taxable Income is Rs.700000 – Rs.100000 = Rs.600000.

Example 3
If your Taxable Income is Rs.500000 and your yearly home loans principal repayment is Rs.140000, then your Taxable Income is Rs.500000 – Rs.100000 = Rs.400000. Because you can exempt maximum of one lac under this section.

So the overall conclusion is the main purpose of 80C is to encourage everybody for long term investment.But there are number of investment options under 80C so we should select the investment options very carefully. Like for younger age person, we should invest more in Market Linked Investment Avenues because by taking risk we can earn much money. On the other hand, for old aged person we should invest more in Fixed Income Investment where there is little risk.

Fixed Or Floating Interest Rate Home Loans: Which One Is Better ?

To take a home loan is a great commitment and one classic dilemma that all home seekers face is ,whether to opt for Fixed Interest Rate Loans or Floating Interested Rate Home Loans ?? Should you pay more premium in Fixed Interest Rate Home Loans or should we enjoy the changes to interest rate owing to fluctuating market in Floating Home Loans ? Should you ensure peace of your mind by opting for fixed home loans or take a risk by going for Floating Loans ?? These are some of the classic questions, most home-buyers have. This blog-post tries explaining the Pros and Cons for both, Fixed Interest Rate as well as Floating Interest Rate Home Loans.

So the first thing is to understand what is a Fixed Home Loans and a Floating Home Loans ??

Fixed Home Loans:
As the name suggests, we repay the loan amount at fixed interest rate with fixed EMI (Equated Monthly Installment). Interest Rate remains constant during the entire loan-tenure and does not change with market fluctuation.

Pros Of Fixed Home Loans:

• A rise in interest rate will not affect your loan repayment amount or your monthly EMI (Equated Monthly Installment)
• It allows you more freedom and peace-of-mind to plan your financial liabilities accordingly, as you have to pay a fixed EMI, even though market (and hence interest rates) could be fluctuating. Thus it also gives a sense of financial security.

Cons Of Fixed Home Loan:

• The interest rate for Fixed Home Loan is usually 2 % more than the interest rate of Floating Home Loan for same tenure.
• If the interest rate in market decrease by any chance, Fixed Rate Home Loan borrowers will not get any benefit out of it.

Floating Home Loans:
It is also called Adjustable Rate Home Loans. In this scheme, the interest rate is dependent on market and fluctuates according to economic situation in the country.

Pros Of Floating Home Loans:

• If interest rate in market is reduced,you will get immediate benefit of it and you have to repay lesser loan amount than earlier.
• Floating Rate Home Loan is availed at lower interest rate than Fixed Rate Home Loan.

Cons Of Floating Home Loans:

• If inter­est rate rises, the bor­rower has two options : The first one is to increase the EMI, keep­ing the tenure constant or to keep the EMI con­stant, thereby increasing the tenure. Irrespective of which option you choose for, you are essentially shelling out more money from your pocket.
• There is always an element of uncertainty surrounding your loan amount, especially during volatile market scenarios. So financially you run the risk of repaying an amount, more than you may originally have planned for.

Conclusion:
The first thing that we should keep in mind is, this is not a one time decision whether to go for Fixed Rate Loans or Floating Rate Loans. Most of the banks and financial institutions allow their customers to change it afterwards, if they want to. So if you are having a Fixed Interest Rate Loan, you can switch to Floating Interest Home Loan and vice-versa. But, it is not free and there is a cost associated with the same, So it is always better to take a thoughtful decision at the start i.e, at the time of applying for the loan. Try to compare the interest rate that your Bank/Financial-Institution is offering for Fixed and Floating rate home loans and weigh it against your loan-tenure. If you are going for a long tenure and don’t want to take any risk, then a Fixed Rate Home Loan is recommended. But if you go for short tenures, then you should opt for Floating Rate Home Loans. In the short term, interest rates may not fluctuate much, so paying a 2% (or more) premium for a Fixed Rate Loan is not a very good idea. At present, over 90% of the home loan borrowers opt for Floating Rate Home Loans.

ICICI Bank New Home Loan Scheme Launched

Festive season has come, but the great reason for our happiness is that the ICICI Bank which is country’s largest private sector lender, has come into festive mood and introduced a 1 year and 2 year fixed cum floating interest rate scheme for home loan.

The new ICICI schemes at a glance:

Loan Amount	Fixed Rate of Interest (%)
Upto 25 lakh	10.50 – 1 yr 10.75 –  2 yr
25 – 75 lakh	11.00 – 1 yr 11.25 –  2 yr
Above 75 lakh	11.50 – 1 yr 11.75 –  2yr

The  current base rate for ICICI bank home loan is 10% but the problem for customer is it’s increasing day by day, so these both schemes are very lucrative.

1 Year Scheme:
In this scheme, Interest Rate will be fixed for first 1 year, after completion of which which it will be same as current market rate.  Interest rate also depends upon the home loan amount. For loan amount up to 25 lakhs  the fixed rate of interest is 10.50% and for 25 to 75lakhs the  interest rate is 11% whereas for above 75 lakhs loan amount  it is 11.50%.

2 Year Scheme:
It is similar to 1 year scheme. In this the interest rate for loan amount up to 25 lakhs is 10.75 % for 2 year and 11.25 % for 25 to 75 lakhs whereas it is 11.75 % for the above 75 lakhs.

If we compare the interest rate across both these schemes, interest rate is more than current market rate, but we should also keep in mind that, rates are not steady and in fact are increasing gradually, so Fixed Interest Rate will help you save your money.

But some financial advisor as Suresh Sadagopan, principal planner, Ladder7 Financial Advisors has said “Borrower should definitely go for One Year fixed Rate Scheme, as there will not be any significant shift of rate cycle in the next one year. However, the Two Year Scheme does not look very lucrative for a home loan buyer. Rates may fall below fixed rates in next two years, as rates are expected to come down after a year, after witnessing a year of unprecedented interest-rate hikes”

So celebrate your festival and save your money by availing these attractive Home Loan Offers 🙂

Trip To Nandi Hills,Nandi Hills:Reviews,Tourism,Tourist Places,Travel Guide

Are you staying in Bangalore and feel stressed because of its traffic, pollution or your hectic schedule@Work Place ?? If so, this is the time to take a small break from your life and go for a trip. If you want to enjoy your outing as you would like to being in Shimla , but unfortunately don’t have time to go there, then the best place for you is Nandi Hills, a place filled with breathe taking scenic beauty, laced with mountain, dew,fog, strong wind and offers a pleasant climate on economized budget for  honeymooners. Previously, its name was Ananda Hills, meaning a place of happiness and it indeed is a place where you can happily unwind yourself. Interestingly, its present name is based on the shape of hill which resembles a sleeping bull.

Location:
Nandi Hills is located in Chikkaballapur District of Karnataka State, which is 60 kms from Bangalore city and situated 4851 feet above sea level.

How to reach there ??
Bus : Government buses runs from Bangalore, Chikkaballapur and Nandigrama. It takes 2 hours from Bangalore and 1 hour from Chikkaballapur to reach Nandi Hills.The hills has an 8 kilometers road from all the way to the top. But it is preferred that you take your Personal Vehicles. To reach there, from Majestic start towards Chikkaballapura on NH-7. After about 10 kms from the Airport crossing, turn towards left towards Nandi Hills. Google Maps for the location available here

Timings:
As it’s name suggests, it is a hilly area with strong wind blowing across and that too at high altitude laced with dew drops and mist. The best time for visit is from sunrise time(typically around 6 AM) to 10 AM (when the fog starts disappearing pretty fast). There is an entrance gate leading to Nandi hills and is  open from 5:30 AM to 6:00 PM, on all seven days of a week.

Climate:
Here the climate is moderate so we can enjoy the trip anytime but specially from June to August because of intermittent rain, we can experience little bit problem. The temperature is 25 to 28 centigrade during summer and 8 to 10 centigrade in winter. You can also choose to go at the time of Dussehra, during which a number of devotees pay homage at the temple situated on hill-top.

Prior Preparation:

• It is very important to take proper winter clothes and snacks items in bag, as you will be taken by surprise by the temperature on hill-top, if you go unprepared.
• Start your journey at proper time to reach the Nandi hills as early as possible in order to be able to see the sunrise on it.

Entry Ticket:
Entry fee is 5 Rs per person and 60 Rs for parking the four wheeler and 15 Rs for two wheeler.

Precautions:

• We should be careful with  monkey and dogs on the hill (You can be sure there will be plenty :-))
• We should take care for driving the car or vehicle also because there is only one road to the top and you can expect vehicles coming from the other side as well, that too amidst dew and fog. There are around 40 sharp curves in the way so one has to be extremely careful while driving both ways.

Accommodation:
There is only one hotel on top that is Mayura pine which is run by KSTDC (Karnataka state tourism development Corporation). It is  very basic one but its location is fabulous. It is situated at one edge of the hill and you can enjoy to see deep down into the valley .On the other hand there is one Nehru house also which has more than 15 rooms ,in which you can enjoy ancient world.

Places Of Interest:

• Temples:There are temples for Sri Bhoga Narasimha, Sri Ugra Narasimha and Sri Yoga Narasimha .
• Tippus Drop:During Tippus empire the prisoners were pushed down from this point to death.
• Rivers:Arkavathi river originated on the south-west of the hill,Palar river on the eastern side and Pennar river also originated from it but most of the sources have dried.
• Tippus Residence:This was used as Tippus summer residence but now it’s not open to public.
• Amruth Sarovar:It’s a beautiful water lake decorated with plants.
• Yoga Nandeeshwara Temple:It has beautiful carving and also has a beautiful Kalyana Mantapa.
• Secret Passage : A secret passage which was built for the Kings to escape during unforeseen attacks.

So what are you waiting for ?? Go, pack your bags and visit Nandi Hills 🙂

Related Articles

• Dawn At Hill’s Edge (wanderer360.wordpress.com)

How To e-file Income Tax Return-Online Income Tax Filing-Advantages And Disadvantages Of e-filing Of Income Tax Return

Sahaj & Sugam – New IT Return Forms. Can download from the website www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in and print as per colour specifications. Due date – 31st July 2011.

I am sure, most of you must have got this group-message via email, which was sent by Indian Government to all tax-payers, whose had their mobile numbers updated with Income Tax Offices. Now we all are making our loan-payments online, paying the electricity bills online, so why should filing Income Tax Returns be an exception? Yes, You heard it right, you can e-file your income tax return !! No need to seek an appointment with a CA(Chartered Accountant) or standing in a long queue outside Income Tax Offices, you can do it sitting right inside your home. This article lists out the complete process on how to go about filing your income tax returns online.

E-FILING PROCESS:

1. First of all, You have to select an appropriate type of Income Tax Return Form. It varies from individual to individual depending on whether you are a Salaried Individual or Business-Owner or a Partner in a Partnership Firm etc.
2. Once you have selected the right type of Income Tax Return Form, please download the corresponding Income Tax Return Preparation Software. Please fill the Income Tax Return Form with all relevant details regarding your Income/Taxes/Losses etc offline. Once you are done, please validate your entries by clicking on “Check Form” button, provided at the end.
3. Once you are sure about your Income Tax Return Form, that you filled offline, proceed to generate an XML File out of it by clicking on “Export to XML” button, provided at the end.
4. If you are e-Filing your Income Tax Returns for the first time, you will have register as a user on https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. Once you are registered by creating a user id and password, please log into the portal using your credentials. Please browse to select the XML files (generated out of your offline Income Tax Return Form) and upload it on the same site. Now you have to attach the digital signature for yourself. Once you do that, your return gets filed !!In case, you don’t have a Digital Signature of yours, you need to generate a PDF file for your Income Tax Return Form and send it via courier to to Income Tax Department – CPC, Post Bag No – 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bengaluru – 560100, Karnataka(You can check out the details of IT offices, where you need to submit your Income Tax Return Forms on the same website). The post can be sent by ORDINARY POST OR SPEED POST only and that too within 120 days of transmitting the data electronically.

So this way, your e-filing process gets completed. As you can see, this is very easy to use and time saving at the same time. In case, you get into any problems, you can always contact the PRO(Public Relation Officer) of the Local Income Tax Office.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of e-filing Of Income Tax Return: As you know, earlier tax-filing used to be a very tedious process. You have to stand in long queue but now it is faster and efficient process because of e-filing. In e-filing chances of getting error is also lesser than physically filed.There is no postage charge also,so it is money  saving also.

Thus it is faster,efficient and money saving process but it has also a black hole that is security concern. There may be chances of hacking of computer system and unauthorized access to taxpayer’s files. But, I am sure those concerns have been raised elsewhere too. We are hoping that huge usage of computer and internet will make e-Filing of Income Tax Returns grow as mushroom.

Last Date of e-filing your Income Tax Return Form has been fixed as 31st July 2011

Related articles

• E-File Your Income Tax Returns. (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
• Income tax e-filing gaining popularity (panasianbiz.com)

Track Your PF Provident Fund Account Balance Online

As you already know, it is too difficult and involves a lengthy process to enquire about your own PF (Provident Fund) Account. I have already mentioned it at length in one of my earlier blog posts. But, finally some good news for PF account holder. After first announcing it almost 2 years back, EPFO (Employee Provident Fund Organization) has finally said that starting 1st July 2011, PF (Provident Fund) Account related information is just a mouse click away from you, as it will be available online via an SMS to your mobile. PF(Provident Fund) related information will also include the latest transaction regarding your PF account like settlement/transfer-in/transfer-out, your current balance, employer’s contribution etc. However, this facility will be available only for a certain region of the country, at present it is available for Delhi North, Delhi South, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Laxmi Nagar (Delhi), Faridabad and Karnal.  Although, they have announced that very soon this service will be available for remaining PF offices as well.

For knowing the PF account details, please follow the following set of steps.

• Go to site http://www.epfindia.com/MembBal.html.
• Select the regional PF office, where your account is maintained.
  
  
• Enter the establishment code (maximum 7 digits), extension field and account number(maximum 7 digits). If there is no extension it can be left blank.
  
• Now enter the name and mobile number and submit. Once done, all the relevant information with regards to your PF (Provident Fund) Account will be sent to you by SMS.

Hopefully, this initiative will please the PF Account Holders, who for long have been crying for more transparency and accessibility from government offices, in this case EPFO (Employee Provident Fund Organization)

Related Articles

• Watch PF account details online now! (mathilic.wordpress.com)
• Online PF account details from July 1 (thehindu.com)