Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to explain to the nation the flip-flop over interest rates on small saving schemes. Sitharaman on Thursday morning said the government will rollback a steep interest rate cut on small saving schemes such as PPF and NSC, saying it was an oversight. "The Finance Minister must explain the flip-flop to the nation why first such anti-people decision was taken to cut the interest rates on small saving schemes including PPF & NSC and then taken back?" Gehlot said in a tweet. "Is the government playing a very cruel prank on common people on April 1 by announcing interest rate cuts at night and then next morning reversing the decision," he asked. The government's decision to rollback citing "oversight" was taken hours after announcing the steepest cut in the rate on small savings schemes. Interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) was reduced by 0.7 per cent to 6.4 per cent while National Savings
The opposition party also said Sitharaman had no moral right to continue as the finance minister
From cutting interest rates on small savings schemes to Cabinet okays Rs 10,900 cr PLI for food processing units, here are top headlines this morning
The rate of interest on PPF has declined from 7.1 per cent earlier to 6.4 per cent now
Rules apply only for cash withdrawals of non-ITR filers
For the first time interest rate on savings deposits has been reduced by 0.5% to 3.5% from the existing 4% annually
Costlier loans from NSSF, at 7.4% interest rate, will occupy more than 10% share in govt's outstanding public debt soon, all to give the small saver a higher interest rate than the market
In a case of fraud, the National Commission found that a postal department had handed over a cheque meant for a couple to another person without an authorisation letter
They must also maximise the utilisation of the higher deductions available to them
The rates have not been changed since September 1, 2020; status quo to help Centre raise additional resources, says Icra economist
Collections by small savings schemes crossed Rs 1 trillion in April-September for the first time
By allocating to equities, debt, and gold, you can earn positive real returns over long term
The govt will face unprecedented budgetary challenges to ensure India remains hunger-free
The bonds were issued in January 2018 for residents and Hindu Undivided Family (or HUF) members, and became instantly popular.
There is no income-tax on the advance, but withdraw only in dire need
As cash is priority, you can delay payment. But there will be loss in interest income
Despite the steep rate cut, you are unlikely to find better paying schemes without taking excessive risk
This is because the government went for one of the steepest cuts of up to 1.4 percentage points in these interest rates to facilitate banks to lower their rates.
Interest rates were also cut for a senior citizens saving scheme and National Savings Certificate
Bond yields will also be under pressure due to Rs 2.7 trillion of switches in FY21, which increases duration risk