Latest Interest Rates On General Provident Fund, Public Provident Fund, Other Schemes

Ahead of Diwali and during the ongoing Dussehra period, the latest revision in interest rates of saving schemes has cheered small savers. The government, on Tuesday, announced a hike in the interest rate of General Provident Fund (GPF) for the October-December quarter. Earlier, the government had announced a hike in interest rates of small savings schemes like public provident fund (PPF), fixed deposit (FD), recurring deposit (RD), monthly income scheme (MIS), sukanya samriddhi scheme, kisan vikas patra, national saving certificate, and senior citizen savings scheme, for the same quarter.

Given below are the latest interest rates on these saving schemes:

General Provident Fund or GPF interest rates
General Provident Fund or GPF, which is only meant for government employees, will offer 8 per cent interest in the quarter ending December 2018. All temporary government servants after a continuous service of one year, all re-employed pensioners (other than those eligible for admission to the contributory provident fund ) and all permanent government servants are eligible, to subscribe to GPF. GPF interest rate was 7.6 per cent for the July-September quarter of 2018-19.

Fixed Deposit (FD)
Fixed deposits or time deposits will offer interest rates between 6.9 per cent and 7.8 per cent for the December quarter. The interest rates on fixed deposits vary according to their tenors. A one-year fixed deposit will offer an interest rate of 6.9 per cent against 6.6 per cent earlier; a two-year fixed deposit will fetch an interest rate of 7 per cent as compared to 6.7 per cent before; a three-year fixed deposit will offer interest at the rate of 7.2 per cent against 6.9 per cent earlier; and a five-year time deposit will fetch returns at the rate of interest of 7.3 per cent against 6.9 per cent before.

Recurring deposit (RD)
A five-year recurring deposit will fetch interest at the rate of 7.3 per cent in December quarter as compared to 6.9 per cent in September quarter.

Senior Citizen Saving Scheme
This scheme, which matures in five years, will offer 8.7 per cent interest in December quarter as compared to 8.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

Monthly income account or monthly income scheme (MIS)
MIS, which guarantees a monthly interest pay-out, will offer an interest rate of 7.7 per cent in October-December as compared to 7.3 per cent in July-September.

(Also Read: 10 Investment Options That May Help You Live A Tension-Free Retired Life)

National Savings Certificate (NSC)
NSC certificates, which can be purchased from post offices, will offer an interest rate of 8 per cent in October-December quarter as compared to 7.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

Public Provident Fund (PPF)
PPF accounts will fetch interest rate of 8 per cent, 0.4 per cent higher than the 7.6 per cent offered in the previous quarter.

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)
KVP certificates, which can also be purchased from India Post, will offer 7.7 per cent interest for the December quarter. In the September quarter, KVP certificates used to offer 7.3 per cent interest.

Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme
The Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme, which is meant for the girl child, will offer interest at the rate of 8.5 per cent, as compared to 8.1 per cent in the September quarter.