Interim pension regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Thursday introduced a new scheme, NSP Lite, for the poor. The scheme aims at building a corpus sufficient enough to buy an annuity for their old age. The government's 'Swavalamban Scheme', which grants an incentive of Rs 1,000 to all eligible New Pension System (NPS) accounts shall be available to all NPS Lite account holders as well, if they meet the prescribed criteria, said PFRDA.
National Savings Certificate Here's everything you need to know about the 5-year savings scheme offered by the Government This is a 5-year small savings scheme of the government. From 1 July 2016, a National Savings Certificate (NSC) can be held in the electronic mode too. Physical pre-printed NSC certificates have been discontinued and replaced with Public Provident Fund-like passbooks. What's on offer The minimum amount you can invest in them is Rs100 and there is no upper limit. Under this scheme, all deposits up to Rs1.5 lakh qualify for deduction under section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The interest earned is taxable. You can invest in multiples of Rs 100. These certificates can be owned individually, jointly and also on behalf of minors. The interest rates for all small savings schemes are released on a quarterly basis. The effective rate for NSC from 1 October to 31 December is 8%. The interest is calculated on an annual compounding basis and is given along w...