There is no change in the interest rates of small saving schemes: 8.2% interest will be available on Sukanya and 7.1% interest on PPF, see interest rates.

The government has not made any change in the interest rates of small savings schemes like Public Provident Fund (PPF), Post Office FD, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) for the January-March (Q4FY26) quarter. The Finance Ministry gave this information on Wednesday (31 December).

This is the 8th consecutive quarter when interest rates will remain unchanged. The government last increased interest rates in December 2023.

7.1% interest rate on Public Provident Fund 7.1% interest will be available on Public Provident Fund (PPF) and 8.2% interest on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana. Interest rates on small savings schemes range between 4% to 8.2%. The government also keeps an eye on the cash and inflation situation in the country before deciding on the interest rates of small savings schemes. These are reviewed every three months.

Interest rates are reviewed every quarter The interest rates of Small Savings Scheme are reviewed every quarter. The formula for determining their interest rates was given by the Shyamala Gopinath Committee. The committee had suggested that the interest rates of these schemes should be 0.25-1.00% higher than the yield of government bonds of similar maturity.

These schemes are the major source of household savings Small Savings Scheme is the major source of household savings in India and comprises 12 instruments. In these schemes, depositors get fixed interest on their money. Collections from all small savings schemes are deposited in the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF). Small savings schemes have emerged as a source of financing government deficit.

Classification

Small savings instruments can be divided into three parts:

• Postal Deposit: Savings Account, Recurring Deposit, Time Deposit and Monthly Income Scheme
• Saving Certificate: National Small Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)
• Social Security Schemes: Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS)

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