National Savings Certificate (NSC) interest rate October-December 2026 announced; check all details

The National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to earn 7.7% interest for the October-December 2026 quarter of FY 2026-27. The Finance Ministry on Wednesday kept the small savings rates unchanged for a tenth consecutive quarter.

The NSC's rate has now stood at 7.7% for 14 straight quarters. It was last set on April 1, 2023 with what remains the biggest single hike of the current rate cycle, a 70-basis-point jump from 7.0%.

All small savings rates for October-December 2026

NSC scheme details and returns

The NSC (VIIIth issue) is a five-year certificate with a minimum investment of ₹1,000 and no upper limit. Interest on deposits under this scheme compounds annually and is paid at maturity. The investment qualifies for Section 80C deduction up to the ₹1.5 lakh ceiling, and the interest deemed reinvested in the first four years also counts towards 80C. However, the interest is taxable at slab rate and 80C benefit is available only under the old tax regime.

At the 7.7% rate, every ₹10,000 invested under this scheme returns ₹14,490 at maturity; a ₹1 lakh certificate can grow to about ₹1.45 lakh, and ₹5 lakh can grow to roughly ₹7.25 lakh.

Under the Shyamala Gopinath Committee framework, the five-year NSC is benchmarked to the 5-year G-sec with a 25-basis-point spread, which is same as the five-year post office time deposit. The 5-year G-sec averaged roughly 6.5% over the July-September reference quarter, implying a formula rate of about 6.75% against the 7.7% actually paid.

The NSC rate is locked at the time of purchase for the full five-year term. So, certificates bought during the October-December quarter earn 7.7% no matter what future notifications bring. The five-year TD pays 0.2 percentage point less against the same benchmark, and bank five-year FDs pay less still, which keeps the NSC among the fixed income instruments currently available.