After a wait of nine months, the government on Thursday increased the interest rates on Post Office Small Savings Schemes by up to 40 basis points for the third quarter (October-December) of the ongoing financial year (FY 2018-19). The revised interest rates on some of the Small Savings Schemes are as under:
| Post Office Instrument | Rate of Interest w.r.t. 01.07.2018 to 30.09.2018 | Rate of interest w.r.t. 01.10.2018 to 31.12.2018 |
| 1 year term deposit | 6.60% | 6.90% |
| 2 year term deposit | 6.70% | 7.00% |
| 3 year term deposit | 6.90% | 7.20% |
| 5 year term deposit | 7.40% | 7.80% |
Despite the revision, the top Indian banks are offering higher interest rates on deposits for select tenures. The below table offers a comparative analysis of the interest rates offered by the Post Office against those offered by top Indian banks.
| Institution | 1 year term deposit | 2 year term deposit | 3 year term deposit | 5 year term deposit |
| Post Office | 6.90% | 7.00% | 7.20% | 7.80% |
| State Bank of India | 6.70% | 6.75% | 6.80% | 6.85% |
| HDFC Bank | 7.25% | 7.25% | 7.10% | 7.10% |
| ICICI Bank | 6.75% | 7.00% | 7.25% | 7.25% |
| Axis Bank | 7.25% | 7.25% | 7.25% | 7.00% |
| Canara Bank | 6.70% | 6.70% | 6.20% | 6.20% |
Some of India’s major banks continue to outshine the Post Office, except for a five year tenure. In terms of safety, deposits with the Post Office count as government schemes and hence have a government guarantee. Bank deposits while relatively safe, only have a formal deposit guarantee up to Rs 1 lakh under the DICGC (Deposit Insurance Credit Guarantee Corporation).
