INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Some of the post office saving schemes also qualify for income tax benefits.India Post or Department of Posts, which runs postal services in
the country, also offers banking facilities
It offers nine types of small saving schemes - Post Office Savings Account, 5-Year Post Office Recurring Deposit Account (RD), Post Office
Time Deposit Account (TD), Post Office Monthly Income Scheme Account (MIS), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), 15 year Public Provident
Fund Account (PPF), National Savings Certificates (NSC), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), and Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts
Interest rates on these post office saving schemes move in line with the government's interest rates on small savings schemes.1
For the current quarter, ending on March 31, 2019, investment in post office small savings schemes fetches returns to the tune of 4-8.7 per
cent, according to a Ministry of Finance statement dated December 31, 2018.3
In the current quarter, the interest rates on time deposit accounts were revised, and those applicable to other savings schemes were kept
quarter ending March 31, 2019Compounding frequencySavings Deposit4.00%Annually1-Year Time Deposit7.00%Quarterly2-Year Time
Deposit7.00%Quarterly3-Year Time Deposit7.00%Quarterly5-Year Time Deposit7.80%Quarterly5-Year Recurring Deposit7.30%Quarterly5-Year Senior
Citizen Savings Scheme8.70%Quarterly and paid5-Year Monthly Income Scheme7.70%Monthly and paid5-Year National Savings
Certificate8.00%AnnuallyPublic Provident Fund Scheme8.00%AnnuallyKisan Vikas Patra7.7% (will mature in 112 months)AnnuallySukanya Samriddhi
Account Scheme8.50%Annually(As mentioned on India Post's official website)5
Customers are required to invest a certain sum of money as the minimum deposit in these small saving accounts to ensure operability.6
A post office account under any of the small savings schemes except recurring deposit can be opened with a minimum investment of Rs
For opening a five-year recurring deposit account, a minimum investment of Rs 10 per month is required, according to the India Post's
Given below are the minimum investment required in different types of post office saving accounts:Account nameMinimum amount required to
open accountSavings account (Cheque account)Rs 20Savings account (non Cheque account)Rs 20Monthly Income Scheme (MIS)Rs 1,500Fixed Deposit
(FD) AccountRs 200Public Provident Fund (PPF)Rs 500Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)Rs 1,000(As mentioned on India Post's official
In case of some of the deposits, a tax deducted at source (TDS) is levied by the post office on interest income which a customer earns
