PPF interest rate reduced to 6.4%, NSC to 5.9%

The government on Wednesday reduced the interest on Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme to 6.4 per cent for April-June quarter from 7.1 per cent in January-March period.

The interest rate for National Savings Certificate (NSC) was also slashed to 5.9 per cent from 6.8 per cent, while that for Sukanya Samriddhi Account scheme has been cut to 6.9 per cent fron 7.6 per cent earlier.

In a circular on Wednesday, the Finance Ministry announced cut in interest rates for small savings scheme for the first quarter of financial year 2021-22. The rate cuts are in the range of 50 basis points (bps) to 110 bps. The Finance Ministry notifies the interest rates on a quarterly basis.

Interest rate for Senior Citizen Savings Schemes has been reduced by 90 bps to 6.5 per cent, while that for Kisan Vikas Patra has been reduced to 6.2 per cent from 6.9 per cent. The maturity period for Kisan Vikas Patra has also been increased to 138 months from 124 months. 

The interest rate for savings deposit has been cut to 3.5 per cent from 4 per cent, while 1-5 year time deposit will fetch interest in the range of 4.4-5.8 per cent. Interest rate for 5-year recurring deposit has been cut by 50 basis points to 5.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the income tax department extended the last date to link Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar number till June 30,2021.

Also read: PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended to June 30 due to COVID disruptions