Senior savings soar: Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) witnessed a notable increase in deposits, reaching Rs 90,000 crore from April to February in the fiscal year FY24, marking a substantial 140 per cent surge compared to the Rs 37,362 crore deposited during the corresponding period in the fiscal year FY23, according to media reports citing a senior Finance Ministry official.

Moreover, collections from the Monthly Income Scheme also saw a substantial rise, reaching nearly Rs 20,000 crore, compared to just Rs 5,000 crore for the entire fiscal year of 2023-24. Additionally, the newly launched Mahila Samman Saving Certificate has garnered over Rs 19,000 crore so far.

Budget boosts savings

These increases can be attributed to the higher rate of interest and the increase in maximum deposit limits, which were raised in the previous Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The SCSS maximum deposit limit was raised from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, while for the Monthly Income Account Scheme, it was increased from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single accounts and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for joint accounts.

Although overall small savings collections have reached 64 per cent of the Revised Estimate target, standing at Rs 2.76 lakh crore against the target of Rs 4.37 lakh crore, the collections till early February are notably higher compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Government savings reset

The small savings schemes include various instruments such as the National Saving Certificate (NSC), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), and Sukanya Samridhi Scheme, with the government resetting the interest rates at the beginning of each quarter.

For the fiscal year FY24, the government has budgeted Rs 4.71 lakh crore for small savings collections.