Understanding the National Savings Certificate

The National Savings Certificate (NSC) is a fixed-income scheme offered by the Government of India. It is a low-risk investment option and offers tax benefits as well.

1) Interest Rate

Being a fixed-income option, the NSC earns an annual fixed interest rate. The interest rate is revised by the government every quarter.

2) Time Period

Earlier the NSC scheme had two types of certificates. However, since 2015 only the NSC VIII issue is available for subscription which has a tenure of 5 years.

3) Tax Benefits

As a tax-saving scheme, the NSC can avail tax benefits of up to Rs.1.5 lakh annually under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

4) Premature Withdrawal

It is not possible to withdraw the investments prematurely except on the death of an investor, a court order, or a forfeiture by a pledgee who is a Gazetted Government Officer.

5) Ease of Investing

A certificate can be bought from any post office by submitting KYC documents. Transferring the certificate to a different post office or person does not impact the interest or maturity.

6) Loan Collaterals

Investors can use the NSC investments as collateral for a secured loans in banks and NBFCs. The certificates are transferred to the bank on disbursal of the loan/

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