India Post provides various deposit schemes for investors, commonly known as post office saving schemes. Presently, there are 9 post office savings schemes including National Savings Certificate (NSC), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Post Office Time Deposit for a 5 Year Term, and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS). The government of India keeps revising the interest rates applicable to these schemes from time to time. Customers can open a savings account with a minimum deposit of ₹500 at the post office.
The revised interest rate on several small savings schemes are as follows:
1) Post Office Time Deposit Account
Customers can open time deposits account for 1, 2, 3, and 5 years of tenure, similar to fixed deposits provided by banks. The 1-3 years term deposits offer an interest rate of 5.5% and the five-year term deposit gives 6.7%.
2) Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)
It is a popular girl child savings scheme. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account will earn an interest rate of 7.6%. A maximum of 2 accounts is permitted for a household for two daughters individually. The girl child can claim the maturity amount once she reaches 21 years of age.
3) Post Office Savings Account
The government provides the facility for opening a savings account as similar to a savings account opened with banks, which also permits you to transfer money online. The interest rate of this account is 4% annually.
4) Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)
Investors who are aged over 60 years can deposit up to ₹15 lakhs over their lifetime to earn regular interest income through SCSS. This has a lock-in tenure of 5 years. The interest rate of this scheme is 7.4%.
5) Post Office Monthly Income Scheme
An individual can invest a maximum of ₹4.5 Lakhs to ₹9 Lakhs jointly in the post office MIS scheme. MIS permits investors to generate a steady monthly income and offers an interest rate of 6.6%.
6) National Savings Certificate (NSC)
NSC has a lock-in tenure of 5 years. This will give a 6.8% interest rate.
7) Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)
Giving an interest rate of 6.9%, the Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) will mature or double in value in 124 months.
8) 5-Year Post Office RD
These RD accounts give lucrative interest rates, with small monthly investments. This recurring deposit scheme provided by post offices will get new investors at 5.8%.
9) Public Provident Fund (PPF)
The popular tax, long-term savings scheme will fetch a 7.1% interest rate. The scheme matures in 15 years, but investors can avail partial withdrawal after 5 years. To keep the account active, a minimum deposit of ₹500 per year is required.
