The interest rates on the Public Provident Fund (PPF) keep changing from time to time. Here is a comprehensive list of interest rates changes year after year in PPF.
| Financial Year | Interest Rate |
|---|---|
| 1968-69 | 4.8% |
| 1969-70 | 4.8% |
| 1970-71 | 5% |
| 1971-72 | 5% |
| 1972-73 | 5% |
| 1973-74 | 5.3% |
| 1.4.1974 to 31.7.1974 | 5.8% |
| 1.8.1974 to 31.3.1975 | 7% |
| 1975-76 | 7% |
| 1976-77 | 7% |
| 1977-78 | 7.5% |
1978-79...
PPF account has a lock-in period of 15 years. Up until now, you were allowed to close the account prematurely only in the event of the death of the Account holder. But now you can close prematurely, after completion of 5 years, for medical emergency and higher education also, though with a penalty of 1% reduction in interest rate throughout.
On Jun 18th 2016, finance ministry issued a new notification containing updated rules for premature closure of PPF. You can see the official gazette notification here. Let us understand the details -