Small savings interest rates today: PPF, SSY and SCSS rates face September 30 review; what investors should know

The Finance Ministry is set to announce the interest rates for small savings schemes for the October-December 2026 quarter on Wednesday, September 30. Investors will be watching the notification for possible changes in rates of popular schemes including the Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS).

The review comes against the backdrop of rising government bond yields. The 10-year government security yield climbed to around 7.16-7.17% on September 28, after remaining around 6.7-6.9% through much of the first half of 2026.

PPF rate unchanged for 25 quarters

The PPF interest rate currently stands at 7.1% and has remained unchanged for 25 consecutive quarters. The last revision came in April 2020, when the rate was cut from 7.9% to 7.1%.

Under the framework recommended by the Shyamala Gopinath Committee, PPF is benchmarked to the 10-year government security yield with a spread of 25 basis points. However, the framework is a recommendation and the government does not have to mechanically follow the formula.

Current small savings interest rates

SSY rate: What parents should watch

The SSY currently offers 8.2% per annum. The rate was last increased from 8% to 8.2% from January 1, 2024. If the government leaves it unchanged in Wednesday's notification, the scheme will have gone through 11 consecutive quarters without a revision.

The current SSY rate is broadly supported by the bond-market formula. The scheme is benchmarked to long-term government securities with a 75-basis-point spread. Recent 15-year and 30-year government securities have yielded around 7.2% and 7.55%, respectively, putting the formula-implied range at roughly 8%-8.3%.\

SCSS: Formula suggests a lower rate

SCSS currently pays 8.2% and has not seen a rate change since April 2023. Based on the five-year G-sec's July-September average yield of around 6.5% and the prescribed 100-basis-point spread, the formula-implied rate is around 7.5%.

That leaves a gap of roughly 70 basis points between the formula-implied rate and the actual SCSS rate.

SCSS: Formula-implied rate vs current rate

What investors should know

PPF, SSY and SCSS rates are reviewed every quarter and are not permanently locked when an account is opened. The rate declared for a quarter applies to the outstanding balance. Therefore, a change in the October-December rate would also affect existing balances from that quarter.

PPF, SSY and SCSS: Key facts

The September 30 notification will therefore determine whether the long-running freeze continues or whether the government changes rates in response to the evolving bond-market environment.