The government kept interest rates for modest savings schemes, such as NSC and PPF, unchanged for the first quarter of 2022-23 because of the high level of inflation.

Since the first quarter of 2020-21, the interest rate has not been changed. In the first quarter, the annual interest rates on the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and the National Savings Certificate (NSC) would remain at 7.1 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively. "The rate of interest on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23, beginning April 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2022, shall remain unchanged from the current rates applicable for the fourth quarter of FY 2021-22 (January 1, 2022, to March 31, 2022)," the finance ministry said in a notification.

Small savings scheme interest rates are announced on a quarterly basis. In the first quarter of the next fiscal, the one-year term deposit scheme will earn 5.5 percent interest, while the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account for girl children would earn 7.6 percent. The five-year senior citizens' savings scheme's interest rate will remain at 7.4 percent. The interest on the senior citizens' plan is paid out every three months.

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