'The government's decision to keep interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes will certainly constrain banks' ability to cut deposit rates further.'
Finance ministry maintains that all KYC requirements will be followed.
The government is doubling down on existing 'temporary' restrictions on the import of gold. Some were introduced under the last administration, and had a transitory effect, reducing gold imports through the official channel.
In view of popular demand, the government will on Tuesday relaunch saving instrument Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), wherein the invested money will get doubled in 8 years and 4 months.
The interest rate on these schemes have remained unchanged for over a year now.
People with modest incomes can also build a crore-worthy portfolio by investing small amounts consistently, says Ramalingam Kalirajan, and shows how the magic of compounding works.
>According to the latest RBI data, PPF receipts have already experienced a decline between April 2023 and February 2024. Other schemes like the Sukanya Samriddhi Account and National Savings Certificate are also witnessing reduced inflows.
The government on Friday raised interest rates on most post office saving schemes by up to 0.7 per cent for the April-June 2023 quarter in line with the firming of interest rates in the economy. While the interest rates for popular PPF and savings deposits have been retained at 7.1 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, there has been an increase between 0.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent in other saving schemes, a finance ministry statement said. The highest increase was in the interest rate of the National Savings Certificate (NSC), which will now attract 7.7 per cent, up from 7 per cent, for the April 1 to June 30, 2023 period.
Since April 2016, interest rates of all small saving schemes have been recalibrated on a quarterly basis.
The staff at post offices misappropriated Rs 95.62 crore of public money between November 2002 and September 2021, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said. The money may seem small but it is what common citizen invested in post office savings, the oldest and the largest banking system in the country. The system serves the investment needs of urban and rural clients through schemes such as savings bank, recurring deposits, time deposits, national savings certificates, kisan vikas patras, public provident fund, monthly income account scheme, sukanya samriddhi accounts and senior citizens savings scheme.
The famous pilgrimage centre of Saibaba temple in Shirdi, one of the richest temples in Maharashtra, has ornaments and jewellery worth over Rs 32 crore (Rs 320 million) and investments running into Rs 427,17,02,929 (Rs 420.17 crore), according to official documents.
Kisan Vikas Patra or KVP is one of the many fixed income financial products offered by the Indian Post Office department. It is a fixed income instrument that offers to double the investment in 8.7 years. InvestmentYogi looks at its prominent features.
In a move that will hit the common man, the government on Friday slashed interest rates payable on small savings including PPF and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) in a bid to align them closer to market rates.
After dematerialising crores of shares over the past seven years, the National Securities Depository Ltd is set to extend the service to other financial instruments.
Rationalisation in the rates offered by small savings schemes is a must.
Even an investor with an appetite for risk can consider investing in fixed deposits to hold a complete and well-diversified portfolio across asset classes.
Here is a profile of some of the popular small savings schemes.
The government on Wednesday cut interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, by up to 1.1 per cent for the first quarter of 2021-22 in line with falling fixed deposit rates of banks. Interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) has been reduced by 0.7 per cent to 6.4 per cent while National Savings Certificate (NSC) will now earn 0.9 per cent less at 5.9 per cent. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis. The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22 starting from April 1 has been revised, the finance ministry said in a notification.
The sustainability of these savings schemes is more in doubt today than it ever was.
A N Shanbhag examines various proposals of Budget 2003 which are of interest to individual assessees.
The rate of interest will be effective from April 1, 2015.
The popular Five-Year National Savings Certificates will earn an interest rate of 8.1 per cent from April 1 as against 8.5 per cent, at present.
Demonetisation is the biggest reason for the rise in preference for small savings.
Interest rate on Public Provident Fund scheme was cut to 8.1%.
The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the third quarter of financial year 2018-19, starting October 1 and ending on December 31, 2018, has been revised, the finance ministry said while notifying the rates.
As per the EPFO income projections, retaining 8.8 per cent rate of interest for the current fiscal would have left a deficit of Rs 383 crore. Hence, it was lowered to 8.65 per cent
The Centre has to bear the maximum burden of borrowing NSSF loans to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.
The finance ministry on Sunday highlighted its achievements during the past six months, including the Jan-Dhan Yojana, Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana, and actions taken to curb black money.
The bond, which the Reserve Bank of India started issuing on behalf of the Union government in 2003, was considered one of the safest savings instruments for retail investors.
Investments in Sukanya Samriddhi Account will earn higher interest rate of 9.2%.
Banks have reduced their base rate or the minimum lending rate in the range of 0.1-0.5 per cent till April 15.
Overall, small savings have amassed Rs 1.17 trillion from April-September - 26 per cent more than the previous year. But in those six months, the economy lost 24 per cent in the first three months, and is slated to lose 10 per cent in the second quarter.
'Decide on an asset allocation you are comfortable with and stick to it for the long term.'
While for the consumers, there is some gain and some pain, for India Inc, it's all about compliance, consolidation and parity
RBI has also announced new guidelines to price loans from April 1.
The implementation of MCLR from April 1 has already led to a rate cut of 10 basis points on home loans by the country's largest bank, State Bank of India, and others.
Getting locked into instruments before the new regime kicks in would be a good strategy.
Centre took Rs 1,002 bn from here in 2017-18, sharply up from Rs 904 bn a year before and Rs 123.6 bn in FY14
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