Submitting your Aadhar is now mandatory in invest in any of the government-backed small savings schemes from April 1, 2023, the finance ministry said in notification issued on March 31, 2023. Before April 1, 2023, one could submit other identity and address proofs in place of Aadhaar to invest in schemes like PPF.
The government-backed small savings schemes include Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra, Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, etc.
Under Rule 5 of the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018, those interested in investing in government’s small savings schemes have to submit a recent passport size photograph, the deposit amount and their pay slip along with identity documents specified in Rule 6. PAN and Aadhaar have been listed as following identity documents containing proof of identity and address for the purpose of opening an account under Rule 6.
According to a notification published in the Gazette of India on October 5, 2018, “where the Aadhaar Number has not been assigned to an individual, he shall furnish proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar, and if the individual does not submit the proof of application of enrolment, he shall furnish a certified copy of an officially valid document containing details of his identity and address along with a recent photograph,”
This text has now been substituted with the text provided in the latest notification issued on March 31, 2023.
Where the Aadhaar Number has not been assigned to an individual, he shall furnish proof of application of enrollment for Aadhaar at the time of opening an account and the account holder shall furnish the Aadhaar number to the Accounts Office within a period of 6 months from the date of opening of account for linking the account with Aadhaar Number, it says. Those depositors who have has already opened an account and have not submitted their Aadhaar will do so in 6 months with effect from April 1, 2023, it adds.
“In the event of failure of the depositor to submit the Aadhaar number within 6 months, his account shall cease to be operational till the time he submits the Aadhaar,” it says.
Providing your PAN is also a must to open these accounts in case:
- Your account balance at any point in time exceeds Rs 50,000, or
- The aggregate of all credits in the account in any financial year exceeds Rs 1 lakh or
- The aggregate of all withdrawals and transfers in a month from the account exceeds Rs 10,000.
Individuals who have not submitted their PAN at the time of opening an account should submit it within 2 months from the date of above-mentioned occurrences. Failure to do so will result in the account becoming inoperative till the time the PAN is submitted.
Rate of interest on govt small savings account scheme
With effect from April 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023
| Instrument | Interest rate from Jan 1 to March 31, 2023 | Interest rate from April 1 to June 30, 2023 |
| Savings deposit | 4% | 4% |
| 1-year deposit | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2-year deposit | 6.8% | 6.9% |
| 3-year deposit | 6.9% | 7% |
| 5-year deposit | 5.8% | 6.2% |
| Senior Citizen Savings Scheme | 8% | 8.2% |
| Monthly Income Account Scheme | 7.1% | 7.4% |
| National Savings Certificate | 7% | 7.7% |
| PPF | 7.1% | 7.1% |
| Kisan Vikas Patra | 7.2% (to mature in 120 months) | 7.5% (to mature in 115 months) |
| Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme | 7.6% | 8% |
