The Government of India has announced small savings schemes interest rates for Q3 – FY 2025 on September 30, 2025. In this article we will understand what are small savings schemes, their interest rates , tenures, tax implications & top 10 government small savings schemes in 2025Â
Saving Schemes are generally provided by the Government of India to enable people to save small amounts regularly for meeting their needs and requirements in future. Most of these investment options are backed by the Government of India and provide risk-free returns on the investment apart from providing rebates in the income tax in the form of deductions. The list below mentions various savings schemes along with the rates, tax deductions on principle, etc.
 Let’s go through – top 10 government small savings schemes in 2025Â
 1. Senior Citizen Savings Schemes :Â
Minimum deposit ₹1000/- & in the multiples thereof with maximum deposit of ₹30 lacs,.An individual who has attained the age of 60 years or above on the date of opening of an account or an individual who has attained the age of 55 years or more but less than 60 years and has retired under Superannuation, VRS or Special VRS, can open an accountÂ
The account can be closed after expiry of 5 years from the date of opening of account , The depositor may extend the account for further period of 3 years
Deposits in SCSS qualify for deduction u/s 80-C of Income Tax Act.
Interest Rate : 8.2% , Tenure : 5 Years (Quarterly Interest Pay Out) , Tax Implications : part of deduction under 80CÂ
2. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a government savings created for the benefit of the girl child who is 10 years of age or younger. A Sukanya Samriddhi Account has an interest rate of 8.2%. The minimum annual investment is Rs. 1,000 and the maximum is Rs. 1.5 lakh. The account can be opened by a parent or legal guardian for a girl child. A maximum of two such accounts can be opened by a parent/legal guardian for two girls. The account matures 21 years after opening or on marriage of the girl child after she reaches the age of 18.
3.National Savings Scheme (NSC) : This certificate offers an interest rate of 7.7% compounded annually but payable only at maturity. It can be purchased from any post office. The minimum investment is Rs. 100 and there is no maximum limit. The tenure for this certificate is 5 years. The interest earned is deemed to be reinvested and eligible for tax deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakh under Section 80 C. The principal amount invested also counts towards the same tax deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakh.Â
4.Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP): KVP offers an interest rate of 7.5% compounded annually. It can be purchased from any post office. The invested amount doubles every 115 months. The minimum amount for investing in KVP is Rs. 1,000. Thereafter you can invest in multiples of Rs. 1,000 with no upper limit. The KVP certificate can be held either by a single holder or as a joint holding between two individuals. This scheme offers no tax rebate on either contributions or interest earned.Â
5. Post Office Deposit Scheme  : Post office deposit scheme is just like Bank FD Scheme, where fixed interest rate is provided over tenure of different years.Â
Interest Rate : 7.5% (5 Year) , 7.1% (3 Year) , 7% (2 Year) & 6.9% (1 Year).Â
5 year time deposits are good tax saving investment option as you can avail tax deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakh annually under Section 80C of the income tax act. Moreover, they bear the sovereign guarantee of the government and hence are risk-free investment option.
 6.Post office Monthly Incentive Scheme (MIS): This account provides monthly interest against your deposit with the post office. The minimum deposit amount is Rs. 1,000 and the maximum deposit is Rs. 9 lakh (Rs. 15 lakh for a joint account). The interest rate on offer is 7.4%. The term of the POMIS is 5 years. This scheme offers no tax rebate on either contributions or interest earned.Â
7. Public Provident Fund : The Public Provident Fund (PPF) has an interest rate of 7.1%. It has a term of 15 years, which can be extended indefinitely in blocks of 5 years. The interest on the PPF is tax free and contributions to the PPF are tax deductible up to Rs. 1.5 lakh per annum under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. You can open a PPF account with a bank or a post office. Some banks also allow you to open PPF accounts online. You can make partial withdrawals from the expiry of 5 years from the year in which the account is opened
Apart from above schemes which are major one’s , government also offers Post office Savings Account (4% interest rate annually) , Post Office Recurring Deposit (6.7%) & several bonds which are backed by government & RBI like Floating bond rate & Sovereign Gold Bonds (Interest rate 6.5% – 7.2% but taxable at respective slab after maturity). Schemes like NPS (national pension scheme) is also backed by government but it will be market linked as it has ECG (Equity , Corporate bond & Government Debt schemes) components linked.Â
These were most of  Top 10 government small savings schemes for 2025 , stay tuned for next episode of Top 10 Best Series.