The Centre has kept the interest rates unchanged for all small savings schemes for the October-December 2024 quarter. This includes Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), the Public Provident Fund, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), National Savings Certificate (NSC), Post Office Time Deposits (POTD), Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS), term deposits and others.
"The rates of interest on various Small Savings Schemes for the third quarter of FY 2024-25 starting from 1st October , 2024 and ending on 31st December, 2024 shall remain unchanged from those notified for the second quarter of FY 2024-25," the finance ministry said in a press release dated September 30, 2024.
The current interest rates
Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme: Interest rate 8.2 per cent per annum Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS):Interest rate 8.2 per cent Public Provident Fund (PPF):Interest rate 7.1 per cent National Savings Certificate (NSC):Interest rate 7.7 per cent per annum Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS):Interest rate 7.4 per cent per annum Mahila Samman Savings Certificate: Interest rate 7.5 per cent per annum Post Office Recurring Deposit Account: Interest rate 6.7 per cent per annum
On December 31, 2023, the interest rates were last revised. It is noteworthy that the interest rate of the Public Provident Fund (PPF) remained unchanged at 7.1% during the previous quarter.
The Central Government has kept the interest rate unchanged for the widely favored Public Provident Fund since the second quarter of the fiscal year 2020-2021, during which it was revised downwards from 7.9% to 7.1%. Many investors have high expectations for an increase in the interest rate for this financial instrument.
All these small savings schemes are offered by the post office. These schemes are supported by the central government, ensuring a sovereign guarantee. Certain schemes such as NSC, SCSS, PPF, among others, provide tax-saving advantages under section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The government periodically evaluates and establishes interest rates on small savings schemes every quarter.