Investors in Small Saving Schemes have a reason to rejoice as the government has raised the interest rates for the quarter from July to September 2023.
The interest rates for various small savings schemes have been increased by 30 basis points.
Notably, the National Savings Certificate Scheme witnessed the highest increase with a raise of 70 basis points, surpassing all other schemes.
Additionally, schemes like the 1-year and 2-year post office time deposit and the 5-year recurring deposit have also seen an increase in interest rates.
Here are the changes in interest rates:
- 1-year post office time deposit: Increased from 6.8% to 6.9%
- 2-year post office time deposit: Increased from 6.9% to 7%
- Public Provident Fund (PPF): Remains unchanged at 7.1%
- Post office recurring deposits: Increased from 6.2% to 6.5%
However, the government has maintained the interest rates for schemes like Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, Monthly Income Scheme, National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra, and Sukanya Vikas Patra.
An important change has been introduced for Mahila Samman Bachat Patra, allowing women to open accounts in 12 government banks and four private banks.
This step is aimed at honoring women and promoting financial inclusion.
With the recent notification from the Ministry of Finance, investors can now apply for the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, 2023 in all Public Sector Banks and select private banks, including ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank Limited, and IDBI Bank.
These changes aim to encourage more people, especially women, to participate in small savings schemes and benefit from attractive returns.
