The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has maintained a cautious stance on inflation, keeping the repo rate unchanged at its five previous Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings.
The finance ministry announces the interest rates for small savings schemes each quarter. These schemes include the Public Provident Fund (PPF), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), National Savings Certificate (NSC), Post Office Time Deposits (POTD), Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC), and Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS). In this regard, the ministry has issued a notification on the interest rates for the July-September quarter of the financial year 2024-25.
In its June 28 notification, the ministry said, “The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the second quarter of FY2024-25, starting July and ending in September 2024, shall remain unchanged from those notified for the first quarter (April 1 to June 30) of FY 2024-25.”
Here are the interest rates of the post office schemes for the second quarter of 2024-25.
| Instruments | Rates of interest from July-September 2024 (%) |
| Savings Deposit | 4 |
| 1-Year Time Deposit | 6.9 |
| 2-Year Time Deposit | 7 |
| 3-Year Time Deposit | 7.1 |
| 5-Year Time Deposit | 7.5 |
| 5-Year Recurring Deposit | 6.7 |
| Senior Citizens Savings Scheme | 8.2 |
| Monthly Income Account Scheme | 7.4 |
| National Savings Fund | 7.7 |
| Public Provident Fund | 7.1 |
| Kisan Vikas Patra | 7.5 (115-Month maturity) |
| Sukanya Samriddhi Account | 8.2 |
Source: Finance Ministry
In December 2023, the government raised the interest rates on a few post office small-savings schemes, except recurring deposits. The interest rate for the Public Provident Fund (PPF) has remained the same at 7.1 per cent since the April-June quarter of 2020. However, banks began raising their fixed deposit (FD) rates as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started increasing its key benchmark repo rates in May 2022, with the improvement in the inflation situation.
For small investors, the correction in May 2022 was a welcome development. However, the RBI has maintained a cautious stance on inflation, keeping the repo rate unchanged at its five previous Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings. This decision, while considering GDP growth and the fiscal health of the economy, has had a positive impact on small investors. The bank’s efforts have been focused on striking a balance between economic growth, inflationary pressures, and investors’ expectations in India’s financial landscape. The small savings rates for the July-September quarter reflect the government’s policy stance on stability and growth.