According to the circular, the funds concerned are:
- The General Provident Fund (Central Services);
- The Contributory Provident Fund (India);
- The All India Services Provident Fund;
- The State Railway Provident Fund;
- The General Provident Fund (Defence Services);
- The Indian Ordnance Department Provident Fund;
- The Indian Ordnance Factories Workmen’s Provident Fund;
- The Indian Naval Dockyard Workmen’s Provident Fund;
- The Defence Services Officers Provident Fund; and
- The Armed Forces Personnel Provident
EPF is a compulsory retirement saving option that is available to salaried people in the organised sector. In this case, contributions are made by both the employee and the employer. The interest rate on EPF for FY 2020-21 is 8.5%; the governemtn is yet to declare the rate for FY 2021-22.
GPF account, on the other hand, is a provident fund account available only for government employees. These employees can contribute a certain percentage of their salary to the General Provident Fund. Hence, the total amount accumulated during the employment term is paid at retirement to the employee.
Small savings rates
Just last week, the government had also announced that interest rates of small savings schemes will be unchanged for the December quarter. What this means is that for the quarter ending December 31, 2021, investors in small savings schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) will continue to earn the same interest rate as they were earning during the quarter ending September 30, 2021. New investments made during the October-December 2021 quarter into these schemes will also earn the same interest rates as in the previous quarter.
This was announced by the finance ministry via a circular dated September 30, 2021. As per the ministry circular, PPF will continue to earn 7.1%, the NSC will fetch 6.8%, and the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme Account will earn 6.6%.
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