'The government's decision to keep interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes will certainly constrain banks' ability to cut deposit rates further.'
>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.
'Whether you will bring this down and cause hurt to senior citizens, who are probably living on that little interest rate that they earn out of it... But equally, if I just look at the kitty of the National Small Savings Fund, it is from that same kitty that I'm borrowing.'
The interest rate on these schemes have remained unchanged for over a year now.
NSSF collections are down by 68% over last year. Investors are preferring banks, mutual funds and insurance policies for investments over the National Small Savings Fund. In order to deploy the surplus, the NSSF plans to lend Rs 1,500 crore to India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd at 9 per cent interest. To save the fund from collapsing, the finance ministry included 5-year Post Office Time Deposits and Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme under Section 80C for tax exemption.
National Small Savings Fund schemes are losing out to stock market, bank and insurance products.
The panel, to be headed by Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Shymala Gopinath, will review the structure of the National Small Savings Fund and give recommendations on making schemes more flexible and market-linked.
Interest rate on Public Provident Fund scheme was cut to 8.1%.
The Indian government has maintained the interest rates on small savings schemes, including PPF and NSC, for the eighth consecutive quarter, starting April 1, 2026.
The Centre has to bear the maximum burden of borrowing NSSF loans to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.
Demonetisation is the biggest reason for the rise in preference for small savings.
Sebi is working with other regulators to expand the CAS framework.
Of course, NOT! Here's why. And here's how you can increase your Rs 1 crore retirement corpus.
Rationalisation in the rates offered by small savings schemes is a must.
'Decide on an asset allocation you are comfortable with and stick to it for the long term.'
For the purpose of our discussion, we have chosen schemes which offer tax benefits at the time of making investment under Section 80C, i.e. Public Provident Fund & National Savings Certificate.
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.
Here is a profile of some of the popular small savings schemes.
SBI has twice hiked interest rates on fixed deposits within a month, but an investor still gets better returns at the post office.
The asymmetry in deposit and credit growth is the biggest challenge before the Indian banking industry. For every 100 deposit that a bank mobilises, it needs to keep 3 with the banking regulator in the form of cash reserve ratio on which it doesn't earn any interest. Another 18 is used for buying government bonds (statutory liquidity ratio). This means, a bank is left with 79 for giving credit. Add to this, its capital which can be used for giving loans. Most banks are facing a fund crunch. They need to find ways to attract deposits if they want to sustain credit growth, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Post office savings of 1, 2 and 3 year term deposits and 5-year recurring deposit currently fetch 8.4 per cent interest per annum.
For longer tenure products, they offer higher returns compared to other instruments. But for shorter tenures, things are getting tighter for investors.
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.
The next revision will make the rates similar to those of bank FDs.
RBI has also announced new guidelines to price loans from April 1.
Deferred payment plans may come with a cost, which may not be immediately visible.
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
A BJP government in Bengal inherits more problems than it might care to admit at its moment of triumph, points out Ramesh Menon
NPS Vatsalya offers a disciplined investment avenue that parents can use to create intergenerational wealth by contributing even small sums.
Only bona fide victims would be compensated by banks within five days of receiving the complaint.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
The banking sector could see better loan growth in the third quarter of financial year 2026 (Q3FY26) with improved net interest margins (NIMs), though the full impact of latest rate cuts will be largely felt in the fourth quarter. There may be lower slippage in unsecured loans and microfinance institutions (MFIs) along with steady recovery trends, which should lower credit cost.
This Budget positions India's taxation ideology as not merely a revenue source but as a strategic catalyst for growth, inclusion and long-term confidence.
'The first time India has seen two consecutive blockbuster IPO years.'
Restoring weighted tax deductions and adopting a petty patents regime can foster firm-level innovative activity critical for competitiveness, points out Nagesh Kumar.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
'Grassroots-level corruption, which disrupts the last-mile work, cannot be ignored in your enthusiasm and drive to get going to complete the project.' 'Like it was in MGNREGA, in some states, it is the case with the Jal Jeevan mission.' 'The last minute levels of corruption can ruin the intent of the project itself.' 'When you see that people can game a particular well-intended and well-crafted project, you need to correct that.'
The net inflow into equity mutual funds surged 24 per cent to Rs 23,587 crore in June, reversing the declining trend of the last five months, driven by strong equity market performance across segments, data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Wednesday. Also, the latest fund infusion by investors marks the 52nd consecutive month of net inflows into the segment.
A mistake here can prove costly.
When investing in fixed-income products, balancing considerations like safety, liquidity, and income is essential.
