Govt Hikes Interest Rates on Some Small Savings Schemes

The finance ministry has raised the interest rates on some small savings schemes for the January-March quarter, the second quarterly increase in a row. The rates on the various instruments have been raised between 20 to 110 basis points and now range from 4.0 percent to 7.6 percent, according to a statement on December 30.

The small savings interest rates are linked to market yields on government securities at a spread of 0-100 basis points over the yield of these securities of comparable maturities.

The Centre had increased the interest rates on these popular instruments by 10-30 basis points for October-December after leaving them unchanged for nine consecutive quarters. This was despite yields on government securities falling in the reference period by 15-25 basis points.

Also Read: Uzbek Cough Syrup Issue: Manufacturing At Marion Biotech Stopped, Investigation On