GPF and other similar funds to carry interest rate of 7.1 per cent for Q4 2020

The interest rate on General Provident Fund and other similar funds for the October – December quarter has been declared. A notification was issued by the Budget Division of Department of Economic Affairs, under the Ministry of Finance said that the fund accumulation at the credit of subscribers of General Provident Fund (GPF) and other similar funds will carry an interest rate of 7.1 per cent for the period October to December 2020. Therefore, the GPF interest rate from October 2020 to December 2020 is 7.1 per cent.

The interest rate on small savings schemes is revised every quarter and the rate on GPF and other schemes are subsequently declared.

Earlier, the interest rate for the post office small savings products such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), NSC etc were kept unchanged for the quarter October to December 2020. Currently, the interest rate on PPF is 7.1 per cent per annum compounded annually. The interest rates were kept unchanged for the last two quarters. 

The government had reduced interest rate on GPF and similar funds to 7.1% for the April-June quarter of this year from the Jan-March quarter the rate of 7.9 per cent.

The General Provident Fund (Central Services) Rules 1960 applies to all temporary government employees after a continuous service of one year, all re-employed pensioners (other than those eligible for admission to the Contributory Provident Fund ) and all permanent government employees.

The interest rate of 7.1 per cent for the period October to December 2020, effective October 1, will apply to all the following funds:

1. The General Provident Fund (Central Services).
2. The Contributory Provident Fund (India).
3. The All India Services Provident Fund.
4. The State Railway Provident Fund.
5. The General Provident Fund (Defence Services).
6. The Indian Ordnance Department Provident Fund.
7. The Indian Ordnance Factories Workmen’s Provident Fund.
8. The Indian Naval Dockyard Workmen’s Provident Fund.
9. The Defence Services Officers Provident Fund.
10. The Armed Forces Personnel Provident Fund