Investment In Small Savings Schemes To Fetch These Returns In April-June Quarter
The government has kept interest rates of small savings schemes unchanged for the first quarter of the financial year 2019-20, starting from April 1, 2019 and ending on June 30, 2019 , tweeted Ministry of Finance on its official handle- @FinMinIndia. The rates of interest on saving schemes will continue to be same as notified for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2018-19, it said. Currently, the government revises the interest rates on small savings schemes on a quarterly basis. (Also read: How Senior Citizen Savings Scheme Compares With PPF)
Here's a comparison of the interest rate and investment limits applicable to these small savings schemes (including Public Provident Fund):
| Small savings scheme | Interest rate | Minimum amount required for opening account | Maximum investment allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savings account | 4% | Rs 20 | |
| Five-year recurring deposit account | 7.30% | Rs 10 per month | No limit |
| One-year time deposit (fixed deposit) account | 7% | Rs 200 | No limit |
| Two-year time deposit (fixed deposit) account | 7% | Rs 200 | No limit |
| Three-year time deposit (fixed deposit) account | 7% | Rs 200 | No limit |
| Five-year time deposit (fixed deposit) account | 7.80% | Rs 200 | |
| Monthly income scheme | 7.70% | Rs 1,500 | Rs 4.5 lakh |
| Senior citizen savings scheme (SCSS) | 8.70% | Rs 1,000 | Rs 15 lakh |
| 15-year public provident fund | 8% | Rs 500 | Rs 1.5 lakh per financial year |
| National savings certificate (NSC) | 8% | Rs 100 | No limit |
| Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) | 7.70% | Rs 1,000 | No limit |
| Sukanya Samriddhi | 8.50% | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1.5 lakh per financial year |
The finance ministry had in January this year raised interest rate on 1-year post office time deposits by 10 basis points (bps) for the January-March, 2019 quarter to 7 per cent. In September, government announced an increase of up to 0.4 per cent in interest rates applicable to small savings schemes for the October-December quarter.
