Kerala - Kozhikode   

State to press for removing anomalies in savings scheme

Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE: Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said the State will make an impassioned plea to the Centre on making conducive conditions for the functioning of the National Savings Scheme (NSS) at a meeting with Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on July 21.

The need to make NSS more attractive to depositors is vital at a time when the savings scheme is passing through a crisis vis-À-vis its relevance in the projected revenue and receipts in the State budget, he said at a State convention of National Savings Scheme agents here on Saturday.

Dr. Isaac said the State would make a strong plea at the meeting on the urgency to remove the anomalies that had crept into the NSS for the last few years. This has created an unprecedented dent in the public savings scheme.

One of the suggestions made is to increase the interest rate on NSS deposits from the present 7.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent in uniformity with banks and other financial institutions. Tax exemption, besides providing opportunities to institutions for deposits (a facility that was withdrawn for NSS), is another suggestion. The 10 per cent bonus on monthly savings scheme should be re-established. The fine imposed on premature withdrawal of monthly savings scheme of senior citizens should be cancelled. The new rule that an agent cannot be deputed as messenger by the depositor to deposit an amount in the post office has to be withdrawn.

He said the postal authorities had been taking an unhelpful stand towards the NSS and depositors found it difficult to conduct the operations. Under the circumstances, facilities should be provided to deposit money in other agencies also.

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