CHENNAI,
March 6, 2016
Following the government’s decision to recalibrate the
interest rate of small saving schemes from April 1, depositors have
raise concern over the decrease in interest for their savings.
Last
month, the government had announced that it would revise interest rates
of small savings schemes on a quarterly basis to align them with the
market rate of other government securities. If the move is implemented,
new depositors will have to settle for a slightly lesser interest rate.
The rate of interest for some of the schemes such as recurring deposit, time deposit and
kisan vikas patra
may decrease by 0.25 per cent. In Chennai City region, there are over 60 lakh savings deposit holders now.
Postal agents too fear that the number of people depositing money in post offices may decrease if the decision is implemented.
S. Rajpandian, president of Tamil Nadu Postal Agents Welfare Association, said the maturity period of
kisan vikas patra
might have to be revised according to the interest rate that is being
provided. This may discourage some depositors as the amount invested
will double during the maturity period. Time deposits and monthly income
schemes (MIS) are some of the popular schemes.
However, interest rates of schemes like MIS,
selvamagal semippu thittam, ponmagan podhuvaippu nidhi
and those for senior citizens will remain the same. The association
plans to submit a memorandum to the Postal Department seeking
continuation of the existing interest rate and increase in the
incentives given to them.
Many post offices are yet
to receive any directives about the new move with regard to savings
schemes. Officials said that the interest rate, even if revised, would
still remain higher than those offered by financial institutions and
banks. It would not affect the deposits as people, particularly those in
rural areas, would prefer to invest in post offices, they added.
Source : http://www.thehindu.com
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