The government has decided to maintain the interest rates for various small savings schemes, including the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC), for the first quarter of the financial year 2025-26, which spans from April 1 to June 30. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter without any adjustments to the interest rates. As per the official notification, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana will continue to offer an interest rate of 8.2 percent on deposits.
Interest rate for three-year fixed deposits
The interest rate for three-year fixed deposits will remain at 7.1 percent, consistent with the current quarter. Similarly, the interest rates for the widely used Public Provident Fund (PPF) and post office savings deposit schemes will stay at 7.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Interest rate of some other schemes
For the Kisan Vikas Patra, the interest rate is set at 7.5 percent, with the investment maturing in 115 months. The National Savings Certificate (NSC) will retain an interest rate of 7.7 percent for the period from April to June 2025. Additionally, the interest rate for the Monthly Income Scheme will also remain unchanged at 7.4 percent, mirroring the current quarter’s rate. The last adjustment to the interest rates for some schemes occurred in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. The government reviews and announces interest rates for small savings schemes on a quarterly basis.
Circular
The Department of Economic Affairs, under the Ministry of Finance, issued a circular on March 28, 2025, confirming that there will be no changes to the interest rates for the first quarter (April-June 2025) of the financial year 2025-26. These rates will remain consistent with those applied in the previous quarter. The committee suggests that the interest rates for small savings schemes should be aligned with the yields of government-issued bonds. To ensure these schemes remain appealing to investors, the rates are set 25 to 100 basis points (where 100 basis points equals 1%) above the yield of government bonds.
