The Finance Ministry in its communication said that it has decided to keep the interest rate unchanged on small savings schemes for the three-month period beginning April 1.The announcement covers small-saving schemes such as the Post Office Saving Accounts, Post Office Time Deposits, the National Saving Certificates (NSC), the Public Provident Fund (PPF), the Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and Sukanya Samriddhi. The interest rate for the period 01.04.2019 to 30.06.2019 various instruments are as under.
| Scheme | Rate of Interest
from April 2019 to June2019 |
Interest rate for the quarter
(Oct 2018 to Dec 18) |
Interest compounded
On |
| Savings account | 4% | 4% | Annual rest |
| 1 year time deposit | 7.00% | 6.90% | Quarterly rest |
| 2 year time deposit | 7.00% | 7.00% | Quarterly rest |
| 3 year time deposit | 7.00% | 7.20% | Quarterly rest |
| 5 year time deposit | 7.80% | 7.80% | Quarterly rest |
| 5 year Recurring Deposit | 7.30% | 7.30% | Quarterly rest |
| 5 year Senior Citizen Saving Scheme | 8.70% | 8.70% | Interest paid quarterly, Quarterly rest |
| 5 year Monthly Income Account Scheme | 7.70% | 7.70% | Interest paid monthly, |
| 5 year NSC | 8.00 % | 8.00% | Annual rest |
| PPF (Public Provident Fund) | 8.00% | 8.00% | Annual rest |
| KVP (Kissan Vikas Patra) | 7.70 %(matures 112 months) | 7.70% (matures 112 months) | Annual rest |
| Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme | 8.50% | 8.50% | Annual rest |
The government had announced in February 2016 that small savings rates will be set quarterly instead of earlier system of announcing for every year so as to align them with the market rate of government securities.
During its announcement of interest for the quarter April -Jun 18, the Ministry withdrew the earlier restrictions for credit of interest in respect of small savings to basic Savings Bank account. Now all the interest and maturity proceeds of small savings instruments operated by the Department of Posts may be paid to the depositors through the depositor’s savings account standing at a post office or any commercial bank, by cheque or in cash.
