National Savings Certificate (NSC) interest rate April-June 2026: What will ₹1 lakh become in 5 years?

The ministry has decided to keep the NSC interest rate unchanged at 7.7%.

The National Savings Certificate interest rate for the January-March quarter of FY 2025-26 was announced by the ministry on December 31, 2025. The government had then also decided to keep the interest rate of this popular small savings scheme unchanged.

You can open the NSC account only at a post office. The scheme's 7.7% interest is compounded annually, but the accumulated interest is paid to investors on maturity after 5 years.

The NSC interest rate has remained unchanged at 7.7% since April 1, 2025.

The interest rates of small savings schemes like NSC, SCSS, PPF, and SSY track secondary market yields of G-secs of comparable maturities plus 25 basis points. However, the Finance Ministry often keeps rates unchanged even when there is a change in G-sec yields.

According to the Post Office website, an NSC account can be opened by a single adult. A joint NSC account with up to three adults can also be opened.

Minors above 10 years of age are allowed to open an NSC account. A guardian can open the NSC account on behalf of a minor or on behalf of a person of unsound mind.

What will ₹1 lakh become in 5 years?

The scheme allows a person to invest a minimum ₹1000. However, there is no limit on the maximum deposit that can be made under this scheme.

An NSC account matures after 5 years. At 7.7% interest rate, the scheme is currently offering an opportunity to turn ₹1,00,000 into approx. ₹1,44,900 on maturity after five years.

Investments up to ₹1.5 lakh in a NSC account qualify for deduction under Section 123 of Income-tax Act 2025 (Section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961). This benefit can be availed only by taxpayers in the old tax regime.