INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The government revises interest rates on small savings schemes every quarter.The government offers nine small savings schemes and offers an
interest rate of seven per cent and above on eight of them
The schemes -- Five-Year Recurring Deposit, Time Deposit (TD), Monthly Income Scheme, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), Public Provident
Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificates, Kisan Vikas Patra and Sukanya Samriddhi -- are available at post office and banks
The government revises interest rates on small savings schemes every quarter
Schemes offering returns of 7 per cent and above:1
Five-Year Recurring Deposit: The scheme offers an interest of 7.3 per cent per annum
On maturity, a recurring deposit of Rs 10 per month fetches a return of Rs
The post office five-year RD account can be continued for another five years on a year-to-year basis.2
Time Deposit Scheme: Investment in time deposits of one-year, two-year and three-year maturity periods fetch an interest of 7 per cent
In October-December period, government paid interest rates of 6.9 per cent, 7 per cent and 7.2 per cent on one-year, two-year and three-year
time deposits respectively
On five-year Time Deposit, it offers a return of 7.8 per cent
The interest is payable annually but calculated quarterly.3
Monthly Income Scheme: The MIS account offers an interest rate of 7.7 per cent per annum
The interest on post office monthly income scheme (MIS) account is payable monthly
The minimum amount required to set up a monthly income account is Rs
Senior citizen Savings Scheme: An individual of age of 60 years or more is eligible for scheme
first instance and thereafter, interest shall be payable on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.5
15-year Public Provident Fund Account: The scheme offers an interest rate of 8 per cent per annum, which is compounded yearly
One can open an account with Rs
100 but needs to deposit a minimum of Rs
500 in a financial year.6
National Savings Certificates: The NSC fetches an interest rate of 8 per cent per annum and deposits under it also qualify for deduction
under Section 80C of Income Tax Act
This interest is compounded annually but payable at maturity
146.93 on maturity after five years.7
Kisan Vikas Patra: The annual return on KVP is 7.7 per cent
Investment in this scheme doubles in a period of 112 months (nine years and four months)
A Kisan Vikas Patra account can be opened in a post office against a minimum of Rs
Sukanya Samriddhi Account: The scheme, which is only for a girl child, fetches an interest rate of 8.5 per cent per annum is calculated and
compounded on a yearly basis
The account requires a minimum and maximum investment of Rs
1,50,000 in a financial year respectively.
