The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Postal savings schemes retain popularity

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Monday, Mar 31, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Postal savings schemes retain popularity

R.Sujatha

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

NOT DIMINISHING: Savings customers at a post office in the city on Friday.

CHENNAI: The small savings schemes, administered by the Postal Department, remain popular, particularly among senior citizens, even in the face of the aggressive marketing and introduction of value-added products by public and private sector banks.

The various small savings schemes are user-friendly and accessible, say users. Under the postal savings bank account with cheque facility, the minimum balance to be maintained is Rs.500 . PAN number is not necessary to open an account.

Postal agent C.Bhava Narayanan makes a case for postal savings, “The Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme is very comfortable for customers. The withdrawal format here is also simple. I find it difficult to go to a bank. .” Senior citizen C.S. Seetharaman says: “The post office has a scheme where you could invest up to Rs.6 lakh for yourself and your spouse and be sure of the interest. The interest from the Monthly Income Scheme could be transferred to the small savings scheme and we are assured of regular income.”

The elderly also opt for Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) but the cut in interest rate has affected people like Mr. Seetharaman. “I retired from a private firm and companies like mine did not offer voluntary retirement scheme or pension. The government could increase the interest rates for senior citizens,” he suggested.

Savings options such as the PPF, National Savings Certificates, Kisan Vikas Patras and time deposits are popular. Currently the post offices in the State boast of 69 lakh savings bank accounts and over 73 lakh recurring deposit accounts.

The popularity of postal savings is reflected in the figures for the State for the period from April 1, 2007 to January 31, 2008.

The small savings collection during the period was Rs. 5,380.19 crore.

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