On December 31, 2019,The Union Finance Ministry, Government of India (GoI), has not made any changes in the interest rates on its small savings schemes (SSS) of the post office for the fourth quarter of the financial year(FY)Â 2019-20 starting from January 1, 2020- March 31, 2020 due to softening in the bank deposit rate.
Current Interest Rates of Small Savings Schemes:
| Instruments | Rate of interest | Compounding Frequency* |
| Post Office Savings Account​​ | 4.0 | Annually |
| 1 Year Time Deposit | 6.9 | Quarterly |
| 2 Year Time Deposit​​ | 6.9 | Quarterly |
| 3 Year Time Deposit​​ | 6.9 | Quarterly |
| 5 Year Time Deposit | 7.7 | Quarterly |
| 5 Year Recurring Deposit Scheme​​ | 7.2 | Quarterly |
| Senior Citizen Savings Scheme​​ | 8.6 | Quarterly and Paid |
| Monthly Income Account​​ | 7.6 | Monthly and paid |
| National Savings Certificate (VIII Issue) | 7.9 | Annually |
| Public Provident Fund Scheme​​ | 7.9 | Annually |
| Kisan Vikas Patra​​ | 7.6 | Annually |
| Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme​​ | 8.4 | Annually |
Key Points:
i.In the year 2016, the Finance Ministry announced the fixing of interest rates on a quarterly basis & decided to link the interest rates on small savings schemes with the yield of government bonds.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also kept interest rates stable in the Monetary Policy Review amid concerns about inflation.
About Small Savings Schemes (SSS) :
These are more of social welfare schemes .They are government run schemes that provide higher interest rate. These schemes are meant for small investors backed by a sovereign guarantee and tax benefits.
About Finance Ministry:
Formed– 29 October 1946
Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister– Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of State for Finance– Anurag Thakur
