ADVERTISEMENT

Investment In These Four Savings Schemes Fetches At Least 8% Interest

Post office small savings schemes: The government currently offers up to 8.7% interest on these schemes
Post office small savings schemes: The government currently offers up to 8.7% interest on these schemes

India Post currently offers a total of nine small savings schemes. For the current quarter ending March 31, the government provides interest at the rate of 4-8.7 per cent on investment or deposit held in these nine small savings schemes, according to India Post, which operates a network of more than 1.5 lakh post offices across the country. Out of these small savings schemes, four - namely Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), 15-Year Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate and Sukanya Samriddhi - offer interest rates of at least 8 per cent, according to the India Post website - indiapost.gov.in.

Here's a comparison of these small savings schemes offered by the post office: 

Small savings scheme Interest rate Minimum amount required for opening account Maximum investment allowed
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
Sukanya Samriddhi 8.50% Rs 1,000 Rs 1.5 lakh per financial year
(Source: indiapost.gov.in)

Investment in all four of these small savings schemes qualifies for income tax benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

Retirement fund body EPFO or Employees' Provident Fund Organisation last month announced a hike in the interest rate applicable to employees' provident fund (EPF) to 8.65 per cent for the current financial year (2018-19). That marked a shift from a five-year low of 8.55 per cent for the preivous financial year (2017-18).