The Centre of Indian Trade Unions condemns the hasty move by the Govt in announcing sharp reduction in all small savings instruments including Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra and other term deposits on Wednesday through a notification. CITU also noted the hurried announcement today by the Finance Ministry saying that such announcement on interest rate cut has been done by mistake ‘due to oversight’ with a clear  intent to avoid criticism in the run up to assembly elections. But the cat has come out of the bag on the real intention of the Govt.  The atrocious decision has been just put on hold and the Govt is destined to go ahead with the retrograde measure after the elections.

Just one year before, around the same days in 2020 the BJP Govt made similar move in reducing interests on all small savings instruments by around 140 basis point as a follow up of similar drastic reduction in June 2019, immediately after assuming power at the centre for the second round.  Now within a year’s span same atrocious onslaught on common peoples’ savings has been repeated and the extent of reduction in interest rate is ranging from 40 to 110 basis point.

Such a move will affect the common people most, particularly the employees and very severely  senior citizens and superannuated persons who practically survive on return on their life-time savings. The Govt in its single minded pursuit of its policies to only benefit the big-business/corporate entities through cut in corporate taxes, rebates in various other financial obligations, allowing  deliberate tax default leading to huge accumulation of tax  dues to over Rs 6 lakh crore, patronizing default in bank loans by corporates followed by writing off debt obligation liberally etc, has been simultaneously seeking to neutralize a part of such huge burden of liberal concessions and giveaways to their corporate masters through increasing unbearable burden on the common people and this interest rate reduction on small savings is one of those atrocious measures.

Moreover, the consistent reduction in return on small savings instruments almost every year is also aimed at diverting savings and deposits of common people away from the banking system towards various deceptive and fraudulent speculative instruments, chit funds and similar businesses promising huge returns to finally cheat them. These businesses have mushroomed  in a big way with the patronization of those in governance.     

CITU condemns such anti-people move of the Govt by way of consistent reduction of interest rates in small savings instruments. CITU reiterates its demand that interest rates on social security savings and small savings instruments must be treated differentially from other commercial deposits and maintained at a higher level. CITU calls upon the working people to voice their united protest against such onslaught on the life-time and social security savings of the common people. 

Issued by
( Tapan Sen )
General Secretary