Small Savings Schemes: The government has announced how much interest will be available on small savings schemes...

The government has announced the interest rates on all small savings schemes for the October-December 2025 quarter. These schemes, commonly known as post office savings schemes, include schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF), Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS), National Savings Certificates, Kisan Vikas Patra, and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana. These schemes are primarily run by post offices and banks.

The government has not made any changes to the interest rates on these schemes for the October-December 2025 quarter. This means that the interest rates on these schemes will continue to remain the same. The interest rates on these schemes have remained unchanged for several quarters. Some schemes were last revised in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. The government announces interest rates on small savings schemes every three months. This is a long-standing practice.

How much interest will be earned?
The government has kept the interest rates on major savings schemes unchanged. The Public Provident Fund (PPF) offers 7.1% interest. National Savings Certificates offer 7.7% interest. Both the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) and the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) offer returns of 8.2%. All these small savings schemes are commonly referred to as post office schemes.

How are rates determined?
The interest rates on post office savings schemes are determined according to the guidelines of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee. According to these guidelines, the returns on small savings schemes should be equal to the secondary market yields of Central Government Securities (G-secs), with an additional margin of 25 basis points added.

For example, interest rates on 5-year time deposits are determined based on the secondary market performance of 5-year G-secs, with an additional margin of 25 basis points added.

However, the established procedure dictates that small savings rates should decline proportionately when the repo rate and bond yields fall. This is to keep pace with the market. However, final government decisions can sometimes deviate from these precise calculations.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Navbharat Times. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.