India Post provides nine types of small saving schemes - including the 15-year Public Provident Fund (PPF) - at its designated branches. Currently, the government reviews the interest rates applicable to small savings schemes - such as Time Deposit (or fixed deposit), Recurring Deposit, Monthly Income Scheme and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme - on a quarterly basis. For the third quarter of financial year 2019-20, the government kept the interest rates unchanged at existing levels, according to a finance ministry statement. Investment in the small savings schemes fetches returns to the tune of 4-8.6 per cent, according to India Post's website - indiapost.gov.in. (Also read: The minimum investment you need to set up a post office account)
For the quarter ending December 31, the post office offers these interest rates on investment in the nine categories of small savings schemes:
| Post Office Scheme | Interest Rate | Compounding Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Post Office Savings Deposit | 4.00% | Annually |
| One-Year Time Deposit* | 6.90% | Quarterly |
| Two-Year Time Deposit* | 6.90% | Quarterly |
| Three-Year Time Deposit* | 6.90% | Quarterly |
| Five-Year Time Deposit* | 7.70% | Quarterly |
| Five-Year Recurring Deposit | 7.20% | Quarterly |
| Five-Year Senior Citizen Savings Scheme | 8.60% | Quarterly and paid |
| Five-Year Monthly Income Scheme | 7.60% | Monthly and paid |
| Five-Year National Savings Certificate | 7.90% | Annually |
| Public Provident Fund Scheme | 7.90% | Annually |
| Kisan Vikas Patra | 7.60% | Annually |
| Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme | 8.40% | Annually |
| (Source: India Post) | ||
* The time deposit savings scheme is available in four maturity period options: one year, two years, three years and five years.
India Post - which comes under the ambit of Ministry of Communications - has a network of more than 1.5 lakh post office branches across the country.
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