Govt cuts interest rates on small savings schemes, PPF hits 46-year low of 6.4%

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday announced a sharp cut in interest rates for small savings schemes for the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22.

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday announced a sharp cut in interest rates for small savings schemes for the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22. The interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme has been slashed to 6.4 per cent for the April-June quarter from 7.1 per cent January-March period. For the first time since 1974, the PPF interest rate is now below 7 per cent, a 46-year low. The interest rate for National Savings Certificate (NSC) was also slashed to 5.9 per cent from 6.8 per cent, while Sukanya Samriddhi Account’s scheme has been from 7.6 per cent to 6.9 per cent.