Post office savings, KVP, NSC have higher household awareness than PPF, EPF, VPF: SEBI survey

More households in India are aware of Post Office savings, Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) than Public Provident Fund (PPF), Employees Provident Fund and Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF) for investment, according the Investor Survey 2025 by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

"Awareness of non-securities market products remains exceptionally high, with Fixed Deposits and Life Insurance enjoying near-universal recognition across households," the survey report said.

"Post Office savings schemes—such as Kisan Vikas Patra and National Savings Certificates—are familiar to roughly three out of four households, reflecting their long-standing presence in India’s savings culture," it added.

According to the report, real estate is acknowledged as an investment option by nearly half of households (46 percent). Other products, including the National Pension Scheme and Chit Funds, register around 30 percent awareness, indicating moderate penetration.

"In contrast, awareness of Public Provident Fund, Voluntary Provident Fund, Employees’ Provident Fund, and emerging options like Cryptocurrency falls below 30 percent, underscoring the current gap in familiarity with these instruments," the survey said.

Product awareness among households (%)

The survey also throws light on awareness of securities market products.

"At the product level, awareness of securities market products remains concentrated around established instruments. Mutual funds/ETF (53 percent) and listed equities (49 percent) are the most widely recognized securities market products among households. Recognition of these two products is substantially higher than that of other securities," ," the survey said.

Among those aware of either mutual funds/ETF or stocks, about 67 percent are aware of both the products. While out of the remaining 34 percent - 19 percent are only aware of MF/ETF and 14 percent are only aware of stocks and not MF/ETF.

There is limited awareness of securities market products such as Corporate Bonds, Futures and Options, REITs/InvITs and AIF.

Only 13 percent of households were aware of F&O, while REITs/InvITs and corporate bonds each stand at 10 percent. Awareness about AIFs was lowest at 6 percent, according to the report.