Collections under small savings scheme for senior citizens grow 4 times

Collections under the small savings scheme for senior citizens grew four times in May as compared to last year, a finance ministry official said.

The fresh mop-up under this scheme was more than Rs 15,000 crore in addition to the existing one, resulting in a net addition of Rs 24,000 crore in May. On a sequential monthly basis, collections rose 85 per cent in May over Rs 13,000 crore in the previous month.

The Union Budget for FY24 had raised the deposit limit under the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme to Rs 30 lakh from Rs 15 lakh. The scheme offered an attractive interest rate of 8.2 per cent in the June quarter, compared to 8 per cent in the previous three months. The interest is payable every quarter.

"It is because of the higher rate of interest, and also the increased maximum deposit limit," the official added.

The government has budgeted Rs 4.71 lakh crore of small savings collections for FY24.