Public Provident Fund, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Interest Rates to be Hiked Soon?

Public Provident Fund, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Interest Rates to be Hiked Soon?

Post Office Savings Scheme Interest Rates: At a time when markets are going through much volatility coupled with a general dip, several Indian citizens will look up to their small savings schemes, including their post office savings schemes, to be their saviours in investing money and getting fixed returns. Small savings schemes at the post office are highly reliable as they are backed by the government and are not subject to stock market movement. This includes Monthly Savings Scheme, National Savings Certificate, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Senior Citizens Savings Scheme or Public Provident Fund, which have a fixed rate of return set by the government at the beginning of each quarter. Several post office savings schemes, for example the PPF, offer much higher interests than that of banks.

Those who have invested money in National Savings Certificate, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Senior Citizens Savings Scheme or Public Provident Fund (PPF) are likely to get an updated on the interest rates on June 30. The government may consider to change PPF, NSC or SSY scheme interest rates in June, thereby benefitting investors of these schemes. The Centre announces fresh rates for post office savings schemes at the end of the each quarter. June 30 is the end of Q1 for FY22-23. Over the past several months, the government has kept the interest rates unaltered.

Current Interest Rates on Post Office Savings Schemes

Here are the current interest rates on post office savings schemes, which have come into effect from April 1 this year and will be valid till end of this month, that is June 30.

• Public Provident Fund: 7.1 per cent
• National Savings Certificate: 6.8 per cent
• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: 7.6 per cent
• Kisan Vikas Patra: 6.9 per cent
• Savings Deposit: 4 per cent
• 1-Year Time Deposit: 5.5 per cent
• 2-Year Time Deposit: 5.5 per cent
• 3-Year Time Deposit: 5.5 per cent
• 5 Year Time Deposit: 6.7 per cent
• 5 Year Recurring Deposit: 5.8 per cent
• 5-year Senior Citizen Savings Scheme: 7.4 per cent
• 5-year Monthly Income Account: 6.6 per cent

Why is Govt Expected to Raise PPF, SSY, MIS Interest Rates Now?

In this context, questions may arise that if the government has noted increased MIS, PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana schemes interest rates in all this time, why is it expected to do the same now. This is because the Reserve Bank of India has hiked its repo rates by 90 basis points over two meetings of the monetary policy committee to control rising inflation in the country. While it means that borrowers will have to pay more interest on several loan tenures, it also means that investors may get better returns. The results of this are being felt already with several nationalised and private banks are hiking their FD and RD rates. This is why the government may take a call next month to hike PPF interest rates, MIS interest rates and SSY interest rates.