Small savings schemes: PPF, NSC, KVP, MIS, SSY

PPF rules for 2026: Rs 500 to Rs 1.5 lakh a year, the 15-year term, withdrawals from year 7, and 7.1% for the Oct-Dec 2026 quarter.

NSC VIII Issue at 7.7%: the 5-year term, why Rs 10,000 becomes Rs 14,490 (not a double), the doubling maths, and why the interest is taxable every year.

NSC is a 5-year deposit; KVP doubles in 115 months. Identical on pledging and transfer, very different on what your heirs inherit. Gazette-cited comparison.

Your father opened one of these in 1999. He has been telling you for years that it doubles your money. He is right — and he is also leaving out the most important part of the story.

MIS — Monthly Income Scheme: Who It Suits, Payout Mechanics and the Reinvestment Question

Retirees ask the post office clerk two different questions, and the answers pull in opposite directions.

SSY rules for parents: who owns the account, what you can deposit, the one education withdrawal, and why the 50% wedding myth is wrong.

You opened a government small savings account because it was the one place your money would not tempt you. Then the medical bill arrived, or the son's admission fee, or the landlord changed his...

Loan against PPF at 1% or against a PMVVY policy? What it costs, how much you can borrow, and why an unpaid loan can reduce your family's death benefit.

Which small savings schemes you can pledge, what banks lend against them, and why a 6.8% NSC earns you only Rs 85 a year at SBI.

TDS on post office interest is ₹50,000 a year, or ₹1,00,000 if you are 60+. PPF, SSY and NSC interest is exempt — no TDS, no form. Form 121 replaces 15G/15H.

Most of us open a savings account at a bank and never think about it again. A quieter option sits a street away in the post office, and it works differently enough that the difference is worth...