Business
Looking For Safe Returns? Here’s Full List Of Small Savings Schemes And Their Interest Rates
Last Updated:
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme lead with 8.2 percent interest for January to March 2026, while NSC, KVP, PPF and MIS offer varied rates for investors.
SCSS is ideal for retirees seeking stable income with sovereign guarantee. (File Photo)
Small Savings Schemes Interest Rates: The interest rates on small savings schemes have been declared for the three months between January 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026.
By offering the safety of investment, these government-backed schemes provide reasonable rates of interest, helping investors to grow their wealth and beat inflation.
The significance of these schemes grows at a time when market returns have been subdued due to sharp correction. There are several options for investors under schemes from parents of girl children to senior citizens.
Top Performers for Long-Term Wealth
The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) continues to lead the pack with an impressive 8.2% interest rate. This remains the gold standard for long-term savings dedicated to the girl child, offering both high returns and tax benefits. Matching this high yield is the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), also at 8.2%, providing a stable and lucrative income stream for retirees.
Other Options
Among other instruments, National Savings Certificates (NSC) carry an interest rate of 7.7%, while Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) offers 7.5%, doubling investments over time. For those seeking monthly payouts, the Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) offers 7.4%, suitable for conservative investors who want steady cash flow.
The Public Provident Fund (PPF) continues at 7.1%, remaining a popular tax-saving option with long-term wealth creation benefits. Recurring Deposits earn 6.7%, while Savings Bank deposits offer a modest 4%.
Time deposits under the National Savings Time Deposit scheme vary by tenure. One-year deposits fetch 6.9%, two-year deposits 7.0%, three-year deposits 7.1%, and five-year deposits offer 7.5%, making longer tenures more rewarding.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips by experts in this News18.com report are their own and not those of the website or its management. Users are advised to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google.
January 13, 2026, 18:01 IST
Read More
The US government has given chip giant Nvidia the green light to sell its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) processors in China, the Department of Commerce said on Tuesday.
The H200, Nvidia’s second-most-advanced semiconductor, had been restricted by Washington over concerns that it would give China’s technology industry and military an edge over the US.
The Commerce Department said the chips can be shipped to China granted that there is sufficient supply of the processors in the US.
President Donald Trump said last month that he would allow the chip sales to “approved customers” in China and collect a 25% fee.
The BBC has contacted Nvidia for comment.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said its revised export policy applies to Nvidia’s H200 chips, as well as less advanced processors.
The H200 chip is a generation behind Nvidia’s Blackwell processor, which is considered to be the world’s most advanced AI semiconductor and remains blocked from sale in China.
Nvidia has been caught in a geopolitical tug-of-war between the US and China – two sides of a global AI race.
Trump reversed the chip-selling restriction last July, but demanded that Nvidia pay a cut of its earnings from China to the US government.
Beijing then reportedly ordered its tech companies to boycott Nvidia’s China-bound chips and prioritise semiconductors made domestically. That move was designed to bolster China’s tech industry, though experts have consistently said that the country’s chips still lag behind the US.
Throughout 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang continually lobbied Washington to allow the sale of the firm’s high-powered chips to China, arguing that global market excess is essential for America’s competitiveness.
Some officials in the US, however, have expressed concerns that the chips would benefit Beijing’s military and hurt America’s progress in AI development.
Emer MoreauBusiness reporter
Getty ImagesThe government has set out its vision for major rail improvements across the north of England, which it says will transform the region and boost the UK economy, more than a decade after such a project was first proposed.
The multibillion pound scheme, known as Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), aims to deliver faster journeys and more frequent trains across the North through a combination of upgraded and new lines, and improvements to stations.
An initial £1.1bn has been earmarked for design and preparation. Construction is not expected to start until after 2030.
It will be delivered in phases, starting with upgrades to lines between Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield, the government said.
The second phase will be the building of a new route between Liverpool and Manchester, and the third will improve connections between Manchester and cities in Yorkshire, according to the outline of the plan.
The government said the “transformation” of travel in the North would shorten commutes and encourage investment across the region, adding up to £40bn to the British economy.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the cycle of “paying lip service to the potential of the North” had to end.
“This government is rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change,” he said.
Successive governments have promised to unlock the North’s economic potential with investment in infrastructure.
The Northern Powerhouse project was first proposed by former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne in 2014, while Boris Johnson was later elected on a “levelling up” agenda.
However, promised rail investments were scaled back.
The government plans to make NPR the focus of a wider Northern Growth Strategy, which will be published in spring.
The first phase of NPR will also see improvements to railway stations in Leeds, Sheffield and York, the government said.
The plans include pushing ahead with a much-anticipated new station at Bradford, which proponents say would allow young jobseekers from the city to access opportunities across a much wider area.
A new station is also expected at Rotherham Gateway.
Additionally, the Department for Transport (DfT) said that the business case to re-open the Leamside line in the North East would be pursued.
The government has not announced a firm budget or committed specific funds beyond 2029, apart from the £1.1bn to develop the plans.
Instead, a cap of £45bn has been set on central funding. The government said this could be topped up by contributions from local government.
“For too long, the North has been held back by underinvestment and years of dither and delay,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
“This new era of investment will not just speed up journeys, it will mean new jobs and homes for people, making a real difference to millions of lives.”
The DfT said lessons had been learned from attempts over the last decade to build the HS2 network, which is severely over budget, behind schedule and has been scaled back dramatically from its original concept.
It was originally supposed to be a Y-shaped line from London and splitting at Birmingham towards Manchester and Leeds.
It will now terminate at Birmingham, and is expected to cost at least £80bn.
The government also said that following NPR’s completion it intended to build a new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester, but it is unclear whether it would be a high-speed line.
The government is aiming to avoid a repeat of the HS2 cost over-runs by producing a detailed plan over a three-year period. That also allows it to delay allocating further funding while the public finances are under pressure.
The Conservatives accused the government of “watering down” Northern Powerhouse Rail, saying ministers had “put back any plans to actually deliver it and rewritten timetables on the fly”.
Shadow rail minister Jerome Mayhew said: “Labour lurch from review to review, deadline to deadline, with no grip on costs, no clarity on scope and no courage to make decisions.
“Northern Powerhouse Rail could have been transformational, empowering regional growth and regeneration. Under Labour it risks becoming a permanent mirage that is endlessly redesigned, downgraded and never delivered.”
The chief executive of the large engineering and construction firm, Arup, Jerome Frost, said the new investment would “help unlock the region’s vast economic potential”.
Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, an organisation set up to support the coordinated economic development of the north of England, said the plan provided a “clear route to higher productivity growth”.
He continued: “Northern Powerhouse Rail will enable a single labour market more like that of London and the South East so a young person in Bradford could aspire to work in Sheffield or Manchester, or a business there attract talent from further afield than they can today.”
The Government has announced its intention to build a new railway line between Birmingham and Manchester.
A previous plan to extend HS2 between the cities was scrapped by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government in October 2023 to save money.
The Treasury said it wants a new Birmingham-Manchester rail line but that it would not be “a reinstatement of HS2”.
No timescale was provided on when it would be built.
Land between Manchester and Birmingham previously obtained for HS2 will be held onto while the project is developed.
A new line would ease pressure on the West Coast Main Line.
The Treasury said the new line would not be open until after the completion of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), a scheme to boost east-west rail connections across northern England.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Government was “rolling up its sleeves” to deliver NPR.
The first phase of the programme would improve connections on existing lines in the 2030s on the following routes: between Sheffield and Leeds; between Leeds and York; and between Leeds and Bradford.
It was chosen as the opening stage of the scheme as it does not require major new land acquisitions.
A second phase of NPR would involve a new route between Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester airport and Warrington, using a combination of new and existing lines.
The third and final phase involved better connections eastwards from Manchester to Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York.
There is money for a new station for Bradford.
Regular services would run on to Newcastle via Darlington and Durham, and Chester for North Wales connections.
Development work would also be taken forward on reopening the Leamside Line, a 21-mile route between Pelaw, Gateshead, and Tursdale, County Durham, which was closed in 1964.
The Treasury said a “funding cap” of £45 billion would be set for NPR, although this could be topped up by local contributions, such as through increased revenue from business rates.
An initial £1.1 billion for development and design work would be available to enable the creation of a “detailed delivery plan which will include timings”, the Treasury said.
Sir Keir said: “Over and over again, people in northern communities, from Liverpool and Manchester to York and Newcastle have been let down by broken promises.
“This cycle has to end. No more paying lip service to the potential of the North, but backing it to the hilt.
“That’s why this Government is rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change for millions of people through Northern Powerhouse Rail: a major new rail network across the North that will deliver faster, more frequent services.”
NPR is the focus of the Government’s wider Northern Growth Strategy, which will be published in spring and aims to provide better jobs, more homes and increased investment in the region.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “If economic growth is the challenge, investment and renewal is the solution.
“That’s why we’re reversing years of chronic underinvestment in the North.
“Our transformative plans will create jobs, build homes and unlock opportunities for businesses to invest.”
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Finally, we have a Government with an ambitious vision for the North, firm commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and an openness to an underground station in Manchester city centre.”
He added: “Today marks a significant step forward for Greater Manchester.
“We’ll now work at pace to prove the case for an underground station and work up detailed designs for the route between Liverpool and Manchester.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “After more than a decade of dither, delay and broken promises, this is the start of a new era, with a genuinely strategic approach and a Government finally backing Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.
“This is the kind of ambition we’ve been crying out for.”
But the Conservatives accused the Government of “watering down” Northern Powerhouse Rail, saying ministers had “put back any plans to actually deliver it and rewritten timetables on the fly”.
Shadow rail minister Jerome Mayhew said: “Labour lurch from review to review, deadline to deadline, with no grip on costs, no clarity on scope and no courage to make decisions, exemplified nowhere clearer than the hatchet job of Great British Railways.
“Northern Powerhouse Rail could have been transformational, empowering regional growth and regeneration. Under Labour it risks becoming a permanent mirage that is endlessly redesigned, downgraded and never delivered.”
Sri Lankan garment manufacturers get unprecedented access to UK market
Mike Tomlin is out as coach; who are candidates and what’s next for Steelers?
US designates three Muslim Brotherhood chapters as global terrorists
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to drop out of 2026 race, official confirmation expected soon
VAR review: Why was Wirtz onside in Premier League, offside in Europe?
8th Pay Commission: From Policy Review, Cabinet Approval To Implementation –Key Stages Explained
-
Entertainment1 week agoMinnesota Governor Tim Walz to drop out of 2026 race, official confirmation expected soon
-
Sports1 week agoVAR review: Why was Wirtz onside in Premier League, offside in Europe?
-
Business1 week ago
8th Pay Commission: From Policy Review, Cabinet Approval To Implementation –Key Stages Explained
-
Entertainment6 days agoDoes new US food pyramid put too much steak on your plate?
-
Politics6 days agoUK says provided assistance in US-led tanker seizure
-
Entertainment6 days agoWhy did Nick Reiner’s lawyer Alan Jackson withdraw from case?
-
Business6 days agoTrump moves to ban home purchases by institutional investors
-
Politics1 week agoChina’s birth-rate push sputters as couples stay child-free