PPF: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman makes a big announcement. On Thursday, the central government announced a significant relief for Public Provident Fund (PPF) account holders nationwide. You no longer need to pay any fees to update or change the nominee on your PPF account. The government has revised the related regulations. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared on social media platform X that she learned many financial institutions were charging fees for nominee updates, but those fees have now been eliminated due to the new rules. This means investors can change or update their nominees in PPF accounts without incurring any charges.

In her post, the Finance Minister mentioned that a gazette notification was issued on April 2, 2025, amending the Government Savings Promotion General Rules. This change has abolished the previous fee of Rs 50 for updating or changing nominees.

The Finance Minister provided an important update regarding PPF accounts, stating, “I was recently informed that financial institutions were charging fees for updating or modifying nominee details in PPF accounts. Necessary changes have now been made to the Government Savings Promotion General Rules 2018 through Gazette Notification 02/4/25 to eliminate any fees for nominee updates in PPF accounts.”

She also noted that, according to the recently passed Banking Amendment Bill 2025, banks are now permitted to allow customers to designate up to four nominees for money payments and lockers.

What is the PPF Scheme?
The PPF is a secure investment option that offers an annual interest rate of 7.1%. The scheme has a maturity period of 15 years, which can be extended in five-year increments after maturity.

A key benefit of this scheme is that all funds received upon maturity are tax-free. Additionally, contributions to the PPF allow for a tax deduction of up to Rs 1.50 lakh per year under section 80C in the old tax regime.