A Comparative Study of Post Office Small Savings Schemes in India: Risk-Free Instruments for Household Savings and Financial Inclusion

Authors

  • Raja Sekhar
  • M. Jagathish

Keywords:

N/A

Abstract

India Post operates one of the largest retail savings networks in the world, reaching savers in rural and urban India alike
through a portfolio of small savings instruments that carry an explicit sovereign guarantee. This article presents an elaborated
overview of the small savings schemes currently offered through post offices in India. It traces their historical evolution from
the colonial-era postal savings bank to the present-day India Post Payments Bank, classifies the current schemes by purpose,
tenure, and target beneficiary, and undertakes a detailed comparison of interest rates, deposit ceilings, liquidity, and tax
treatment. It further situates these instruments against bank fixed deposits and mutual funds, discusses their contribution to
financial inclusion, identifies structural challenges facing the system, and outlines directions in which a full-length empirical
research paper could be developed from this foundation

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References

1. Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Quarterly

2. Notifications on Small Savings Interest Rates. Government of India, https://dea.gov.in/.

3. Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. India Post: Savings

4. Schemes. India Post, https://www.indiapost.gov.in/.

5. India Post Payments Bank. India Post Payments Bank: Official Website. Department of Posts,

6. Ministry of Communications, Government of India, https://www.ippbonline.com/.

7. Ministry of Communications, Department of Posts. India Post Payments Bank: Official

8. Communications on Mandate, Launch, and Operations. Government of India,

9. https://www.ippbonline.com/.

10. National Savings Institute. Small Savings Schemes: Rules and Historical Interest Rates. Ministry

11. of Finance, Government of India, https://www.nsiindia.gov.in/.

12. Reserve Bank of India. Annual Report. Reserve Bank of India, https://www.rbi.org.in/.

13. Reserve Bank of India. Reports on Household Financial Savings and Deposits. Reserve Bank of

14. India, https://www.rbi.org.in/.

15. Reserve Bank of India. Reports on Payments Banks and Financial Inclusion. Reserve Bank of

16. India, https://www.rbi.org.in

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Published

2026-10-06

How to Cite

1.
Sekhar R, Jagathish M. A Comparative Study of Post Office Small Savings Schemes in India: Risk-Free Instruments for Household Savings and Financial Inclusion. J Neonatal Surg [Internet]. 2026 Oct. 6 [cited 2026 Oct. 14];14(33S):1589-94. Available from: https://jneonatalsurg.com/index.php/jns/article/view/10634

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 33S (2025): Journal of Neonatal Surgery

Section

Original Article

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