Senior Citizens' Savings kitty surges over 100% to Rs 90,000 crore

Deposits in the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) during April-February (until date)  of the current fiscal year (FY24) reached Rs 90,000 crore, marking a substantial 140 per cent increase compared to the Rs 37,362 crore deposited in the same period last fiscal year (FY23).

Similarly, collections from the Monthly Income Scheme rose to nearly Rs 20,000 crore, compared to Rs 5,000 crore for the full fiscal year of 2023-24, stated a senior Finance Ministry official. Furthermore, he added that the Mahila Samman Saving Certificate, launched during the current fiscal year, has garnered over Rs 19,000 crore to date.

In the previous Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman notably raised the maximum deposit limits for the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

Additionally, the limits for the Monthly Income Account Scheme were increased from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single accounts and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for joint accounts.

"It is due to the higher rate of interest and the increased maximum deposit limit," the official added.

Regarding overall small saving collections, the official stated that against the Revised Estimate target of a net collection of Rs 4.37 lakh crore, the amount mobilized till early February has been Rs 2.76 lakh crore, which is 64% of the RE. However, during the corresponding period (April-early February) of FY23, the amount was Rs 1.91 lakh crore. He also emphasized that the Public Provident Fund (PPF) remains the highest payout beneficiary under the scheme.

The small savings schemes basket comprises 12 instruments, including the National Saving Certificate (NSC), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), and Sukanya Samridhi Scheme. The government resets the interest rate at the beginning of every quarter.

The government has budgeted Rs 4.71 lakh crore for small savings collections for FY24.