The government has decided to keep the current interest rates for small savings schemes the same, for the period of July to September 2024, i.e. the second quarter (Q2) for the financial year (FY) 2024-25. This means that the rates have remained unchanged from the first quarter of FY 2024-25.

The schemes include the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), and Post Office Time Deposits (POTD).

The Ministry of Finance stated in a press release dated June 28, 2024, that “the rates of interest on various Small Savings Schemes for the second quarter of FY 2024-25 starting from July 2024 and ending on 30 September 2024 shall remain unchanged from those notified for the first quarter (1st April 2024 to 30th June 2024) of FY 2024-25.”

According to a report by ET, the government reviews the interest rates for small savings schemes every quarter, following the method proposed by the Shyamala Gopinath Committee.

Based on the committee’s recommendations, the interest rates are decided to be set between 25 to 100 basis points higher than the yields of government bonds with corresponding maturities. This strategy aims to make the interest rates of small savings schemes competitive and attractive to investors.

Since May 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has implemented several significant interest rate hikes. As a result, banks have raised the interest rates on fixed deposits (FD), which is a positive development for FD investors who have experienced a prolonged period of low interest rates.

The current rates of interest for different schemes are available in the table below.