Public Provident Fund (PPF) interest rate for January-March 2026: To be announced today

The PPF interest rate for the October-December quarter of FY 2025-26 was announced by the Finance Ministry on September 30, 2025. The Ministry had then decided to keep the interest rate unchanged at 7.1%.

We will update this article with the revised PPF interest rate after the announcement by the Government today. In past, we have extensively covered details about the PPF scheme. Meanwhile, if you are still interested in knowing more about it then take a look at its key features below:

The PPF interest rate has remained unchanged since April 1, 2020. Prior to this date, PPF offered 7.9% interest between July 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, and 8% interest between October 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.

What is the eligibility for opening a PPF account?

Following persons can open a PPF:

• a single adult by a resident Indian.

• a guardian on behalf of a minor/person of unsound mind. ​

However, you can have only one account in your name across the country, either in the Post Office or any Bank.

What does PPF allow and offer?

The PPF account allows you to deposit up to ₹1.5 lakh per person per year and claim tax deduction under Section 80C. But this benefit is available only under the old tax regime. However, final withdrawal and the interest earned from investing in PPF account are fully tax-free under both old and new tax regimes.

The amount you invest in a PPF account matures after 15 years.

Amid falling fixed deposit rates, the public provident fund account offers a safe and tax-free long-term fixed-income investment option.

How is the PPF interest rate decided?

The Government uses the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee as a guiding principle for deciding the PPF account interest rate. The rate can be linked to the average secondary market yield on 10-year government securities (G-Secs) from the previous quarter, plus a spread of 25 basis points. However, the government doesn't always strictly follow the recommendations of the committee.

For instance, the average yield on 10-year G-Secs was between 6.32% and 6.54% during the July-September quarter. Applying the formula recommended by the committee, the new PPF rate during the previous quarter worked out to be between 6.57% and 6.79%, which was significantly lower than the current rate of 7.1%.

However, the Government kept the rate unchanged.