AGENCIES
NEW DELHI
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the ruling dispensation at the Centre for slashing the interest rates on small savings, saying these steps were yet another assault by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government on the middle class.
"Slashing interest rates on small savings - on PPF and KVPs, is yet another assault by the Modi Govt on hard working middle class people," Gandhi said in a tweet.
"This Govt has failed farmers, failed the poor and now it's failing the middle class. Modiji people are seeing through your event management politics!" he added.
The Government yesterday announced sharp cuts in interest earned on a range of state-run savings schemes including the popular public provident fund, the Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and senior-citizen deposits.
As a part of its February 16 decision to revise interest rates on small savings every quarter, the interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will be cut to 8.1% for the period April 1 to June 30, from 8.7%, at present.
Similarly, the interest rate on KVP will be cut to 7.8% from 8.7%, according to a Finance Ministry order.
While the interest rate on Post Office savings has been retained at four%, the same for term deposits of one to five years has been cut.
A five-year Monthly Income Account will fetch 7.8% as opposed to 8.4% now. Girl-child saving scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Account will see interest rate of 8.6% as against 9.2%.
Senior citizen savings scheme of five-year would earn 8.6% interest compared with 9.3%.
"On the basis of the decisions of the government, interest rates for small savings schemes are to be notified on quarterly basis," the order said announcing the rates for the first quarter of fiscal 2016-17.
Post Office term deposits of one, two and three years command an interest rate of 8.4% but from April 1, a 1-year Time Deposit will get 7.1%, 2-year Time Deposit will earn 7.2% and 3-Year Time Deposit will attract interest of 7.4%.
