It was feared that after the reduction of interest rates on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), the interest rates of small savings schemes may also be cut. Crores of investors have got relief from this latest decision of the government.
The existing interest rates on small savings schemes including Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate (NSC) and post office RD will remain applicable till June 30. The Finance Ministry on Thursday decided to keep the rates of small savings schemes stable till the June quarter.
It was feared that after the reduction of interest rates on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), the interest rates of small savings schemes may also be cut. Crores of investors have got relief from this latest decision of the government. This also includes young investors who consider these schemes to be safe and secure to start saving with senior citizens dependent on earning interest after retirement.
Among the small savings schemes, there is also Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, which is only for daughters. The current interest rate on this is 7.6 percent. Sukanya account can be opened for daughters below 10 years of age. Similarly, there is the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (CCSS), on which the current interest rate is 7.4 percent. Apart from this, Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) is also included in small savings, which is currently getting 6.6 percent interest.
The government recently reduced the interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund ie EPF to 8.1 percent. This interest on EPF is the lowest in 40 years. There are about 6.5 crore subscribers of EPF. Its shareholders suffer loss due to reduced interest on it. Apart from this, due to the reduction in the rates, the pressure on the government to reduce the interest rates in small savings schemes is also increasing.
Interest on FD lowest in two decades
Fixed Deposit i.e. FD is the most popular investment among common people. But at present, its rates in the post office are from 5.5 per cent to 6.7 per cent. According to the data, these rates on FD are at the lowest level in the last 20 years i.e. two decades. Because of this common people do not have many investment options in which to earn high interest.
Existing Rate of Interest for Various Schemes (in %)
- EPF 8.1
- PPF 7.1
- Sukanya Samridhi Yojana 7.5
- Post Office Time Deposit (5 Years) 6.7
- Kisan Vikas Patra 6.9
- SBI Term Deposit (5-10 Years) 5.5
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