Big changes from April: Government may reduce interest rates on small savings schemes

New Delhi| After the repo rate cut by RBI, the Finance Ministry may reduce the interest rates on small savings schemes in the next financial year 2025-26 starting from April. There has been no change in interest rates on small savings schemes for the last one year. Small savings schemes like Public Provident Fund, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Monthly Income Account Scheme, Public Provident Fund, Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate, Post Office Savings Scheme, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme etc. are included.

Sources say that the interest rates of small savings schemes are likely to be reviewed in the April-June quarter of the next financial year. In a previous review announced on December 31, 2024, the Ministry of Finance did not make any changes to the interest it would receive on these plans for the January – March, 2025 quarter. At present, investment in the Public Provident Fund earns interest at the rate of 8.1 per cent. Investors of Sukanya Samridh Yojana get 8.2 percent return. Kisan Vikas Patra gets 7.5 percent interest and Post Office Savings Scheme gets four percent interest.

The government will release monthly unemployment figures from April. Till now, quarterly unemployment figures were released only for urban areas and combined annual figures for urban and rural areas. However, the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, a private company, releases unemployment figures every month. Statistics Ministry Secretary Saurabh Garg said, we have been collecting data since January. Will release them from April. This step will also help in policy making at the local level.