Amid speculations that interest rates on small savings schemes will change from July 1, the Ministry of Finance has decided to keep the rates on these schemes unchanged for the second quarter of Financial Year 2021-22. Now, the rates have been unchanged for the 2nd quarter.  

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"The rate of interest on various savings schemes for the 2nd quarter of Financial year 2021-22 starting from 1st July, 2021 and ending on 30th September, 2021 shall remain unchanged from the current rates applicable for the first quarter (1st April, 2021 to 30th June, 2021 for FY 2021-22," said the Ministry of Finance in a statement.   

Earlier on April 1, the Centre had rolled back its decision to cut interest rates on small savings schemes, soon after announcing it on March 31. It had announced a cut in small savings deposit rate from 4 percent to 3.5 percent for the first quarter of the financial year starting April 1, 2021.  

The announcement from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on April 1 came after heavy critcim of the government's move. on microblogging site Twitter. "Interest rates of small savings schemes of GoI shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021, ie, rates that prevailed as of March 2021," Sitharaman had tweeted. 

Back then, apart from proposed cut in small savings deposit rate from 4 percent to 3.5 percent for the first quarter of the financial year starting April 1, 2021, rates of other small saving schemes were also cut. 

On March 31, the ministry had cut one-year time deposit rates to 4.4 percent from 5.5 percent, and two-year, three-year, four-year and five-year recurring deposit rates to 5 percent, 5.1 percent, 5.8 percent and 5.3 percent, from 5.5 percent, 5. 5 percent, 6.7 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.  

Similarly, it had also announced to cut interest rates of the Senior Citizen Savings Schemes from 7.4 percent to 6.5 percent. Besides, interest rate on Public Provident Fund Scheme was proposed to be slashed to 6.4 percent from the earlier rate of 7.1 percent, while of the Kisan Vikas Patra scheme to 6.2 percent from 6.9 percent and of the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme to 6.9 percent from 7.6 percent.