Small savings schemes become attractive again: All you need to know

Finance ministry has raised interest rates on India Post schemes by 30-40 basis points

• For those seeking the comfort of sovereign guarantee and the best return, the post office has once again become an attractive investment after the rate revision.

• Those willing to take higher risk for higher returns can also look at AAA-rated non-convertible debentures from reputed issuers.

• Recently, Tata Capital and Indiabulls Commercial Credit raised money offering between 8.8 and 9.2 per cent coupon rates, depending on the tenure. Experts say there are more NCDs in the offing. 

• Salaried class looking to create a retirement corpus can expect better returns by contributing more towards voluntary provident fund (VPF) than investing in the public provident fund (PPF).

• Last year, the Employees' Provident Fund had declared 8.65 per cent interest rate on EPF. PPF now fetches 8 per cent. PPF remains a suitable option for the self-employed.

• Increased annual returns (in the table) may look low. But can have significant impact on returns over the long term.