Small saving schemes: Govt raises interest rates by up to 0.3% for select schemes

The government on Friday raised interest rates on select saving schemes by up to 0.3 per cent for the July-September quarter.

The maximum increase of 0.3% is for the five-year recurring deposit - 6.5% versus 6.2% earlier.

Interest rates for 1-year & 2-year time deposits have been hiked by 0.1% to 6.9% and 7% respectively. However, interest rates on 3 & 5 year time deposits have been left unchanged at 7% and 7.5%

Interest rates for all other schemes have been left unchanged including PPF, Senior citizens savings scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme among the others.

Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis. Interest rates were increased in the last (January-March) quarter as well as the April-June quarter.

The Reserve Bank since May has raised the benchmark lending rate by 2.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent, prompting banks to raise interest rates on deposits as well.

The RBI has maintained the status quo on policy rate in the last two consecutive Monetary Policy Committee meetings.