The government, on December 31, kept interest rates of small savings schemes, including that of the Public Provident Fund (PPF), unchanged. This unchanged interest rate is for the January to March quarter. Small savings Interest rates are revised on a quarterly basis.
The government said in a statement, "The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the fourth quarter of 2020-21, starting from January 1 and ending March 31, 2021, shall remain unchanged from those notified for the third quarter (October to December)."
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), National Savings Certificate (NSC), Post Office Time Deposits and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) are small savings schemes that are offered by the government besides PPF.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account, the popular girl child savings scheme, continues to offer the highest interest rate among the small savings schemes.
Here are the interest rate on various small savings schemes:
-Public Provident Fund (PPF): PPF fetches 7.1 percent which matures in 15 years. Partial withdrawal can be done after 5 years while they can also extend the account beyond 15 years by the investors. To keep the account active, a minimum deposit of Rs 500 per year is required.
-Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS): To earn regular interest income on a quarterly basis, investors who are 60 years old can deposit up to Rs 15 lakh in a Senior Citizen Savings Scheme. The senior citizens scheme offers an interest rate of 7.4 percent.
-Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY): It will continue to earn an interest rate of 7.6 percent. A maximum of 2 accounts is allowed for a household for two daughters individually.
-Post Office Time Deposits: You can also open time deposits at a post office for tenures of 1, 2, 3 or 5 years of tenure. It is similar to fixed deposits offered by banks. Post office term deposits of 1-3 years give an interest rate of 5.5 percent. The five-year term deposit gives 6.7 percent.
-Five-Year Post Office RD: This recurring deposit scheme offered by post offices will give new investors 5.8 percent interest rate.
-National Savings Certificate (NSC): This five-year scheme offers 6.8 percent compounded annually but payable at maturity.
-The Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) will now mature or double in value in 124 months (10 years and 4 months), giving an interest rate of 6.9 percent.
