Savings Scheme Calculators

Government-backed schemes compound quietly for decades. These calculators show the year-by-year build-up so you can see what patience is actually worth.

PPF CalculatorPPF maturity, total interest and 15-year growth at the current 7.1% rate.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana CalculatorSSY maturity value, total interest and tax-free growth for your daughter at the current 8.2% rate.
NSC CalculatorNSC maturity value and total interest at the current 7.7% rate, compounded annually over the fixed 5-year term.

What makes these different from bank deposits

PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi and NSC are small-savings schemes: your money is owed by the Government of India, not a bank, so there is no credit risk and no deposit-insurance cap to think about. Their rates are reset by the government each quarter rather than set by market competition — historically they sit above comparable bank FD rates, partly to compensate for the long lock-ins. The trade is explicit: better, safer, often tax-advantaged returns in exchange for giving up liquidity for years. That makes them poor emergency funds and excellent commitment devices.

PPF: the fifteen-year compounding machine

The Public Provident Fund locks each account for fifteen years, extendable in five-year blocks — and its tax treatment is the cleanest available: deposits qualify for deduction, and both the interest and the maturity amount are tax-free. Because the rate compounds annually on a growing, untouched balance, the last five years contribute disproportionately to the final figure; the PPF calculator shows this year-by-year build-up, including partial withdrawal and loan eligibility windows along the way. The common mistake is treating the 15-year maturity as the finish line — an extended PPF with a large accumulated balance is one of the best risk-free compounding instruments an Indian saver can hold.

Sukanya Samriddhi: highest rate, narrowest gate

SSY usually carries the highest rate in the small-savings family, but only parents of a daughter under ten can open one. Deposits run for fifteen years; the account matures twenty-one years after opening (or on her marriage after eighteen), with the same fully tax-free treatment as PPF. The SSY calculator projects the maturity value from your yearly deposit — worth running before defaulting to a child plan from an insurer, which typically bundles the same goal with far higher costs.

NSC: the five-year middle path

National Savings Certificates fix your rate for exactly five years — unlike PPF, whose rate floats with each quarterly reset. Interest accrues annually and is reinvested rather than paid out, and the reinvested interest itself qualifies for deduction in all but the final year. NSCs can also be pledged as collateral for a bank loan. The NSC calculator shows the maturity value; the natural comparison is a 5-year tax-saver FD, which has the same lock-in but fully taxable interest — run both and compare post-tax. For how these sit alongside FDs and SIPs in one view, see compare investments.