General Provident Fund
GPF Interest Rate
General Provident Fund or GPF is a type of provident fund account, the benefits of which can only be availed by government employees. The rate of GPF interest is revised from time to time according to the notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance. All the government servants that come under the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare can avail of this scheme and the competitive interest rates.
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What is the Current GPF interest rate?
As per the earlier notification released by The Budget Division of Department of Economic Affairs, under the Ministry of Finance, the fund accumulation at the credit of subscribers of General Provident Fund (GPF) and other similar funds would provide an interest rate of 7.9% for the period January to March 2020.
However, the Government of India has revised the interest rate on GPF again for the period between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2020 in the financial year 2020-21 (April-March). In this period, it will fetch an interest rate of 7.1% for all the subscribers to the General Provident Fund and other similar funds.
GPF Interest Rate Year-wise List
Knowing about the past interest rate of the General Provident Fund will help you to analyze the pattern of revision by the government. If you are a government employee and want to open an account under the GPF scheme, the year-wise list of GPF rates of interest can help you make the decision quickly. All the government employees should be aware of any changes in General Provident Fund Interest Rate as it impacts their money and their future immensely.
| Year | Rate of Interest |
| 1980-81 | 8.50% |
| 1981-82 to 1982-83 | 9.00% |
| 1983-84 | 9.50% |
| 1984-85 | 10.00% |
| 1985-86 | 10.50% |
| 1986-87 to 1999-2000 | 12.00% |
| 2000-01 | 11.00% |
| 2001-02 | 9.50% |
| 2002-03 | 9.00% |
| 2003-04 to 2010-11 | 8.00% |
| 01-04-2011 to 30-11-2011 | 8.00% |
| 01-12-2011 to 31-03-2012 | 8.60% |
| 2012-13 | 8.80% |
| 2013-14 to 2015-16 | 8.70% |
| 01.04.2016 to 30.06.2016 | 8.10% |
| 01.07.2016 to 30.09.2016 | 8.10% |
| 01.10.2016 to 31.12.2016 | 8.00% |
| 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2017 | 8.00% |
| 01.04.2017 to 30.06.2017 | 7.90% |
| 01.07.2017 to 31.12.2017 | 7.80% |
| 01.01.2018 to 31.03.2018 | 7.60% |
| 01.4.2018 to 30.06.2018 | 7.60% |
| 01.07.2018 to 30.09.2018 | 7.60% |
| 01.10.2018 to 31.12.2018 | 8.00% |
| 01.01.2019 to 31.03.2019 | 8.00% |
| 01.04.2019 to 30.06.2019 | 8.00% |
| 01.07.2019 to 30.09.2019 | 7.90% |
| 01.10.2019 to 31.12.2019 | 7.90% |
| 01.01.2020 to 31.03.2020 | 7.90% |
| 01.04.2020 to 30.06.2020 | 7.10% |
- The government levied interest rate on GPF and similar funds at 7.1% for April-June quarter of FY 20-21
- As per the notification released by the finance ministry on 31st March 2020, the new rate was set to 7.1%, effective from April 1 till June 30 of FY21.
- In the previous quarter, i.e. January – March, the rate of GPF interest was 7.9%
- According to the Government officials, this is in line with the cut in the Public Provident Fund or PPF rates under small savings schemes.
List of funds on which the new rate will be applicable
The interest rate cut rate will not only affect the GPF interest rates but will be applicable to provident funds of central government employees, railways, and defense forces as well. Also, the rate is in line with that of the Public Provident Fund. The list of concerned funds under this rate cut are:
- The General Provident Fund (Central Services)
- The Contributory Fund (India)
- The All India Services Provident Fund
- The State Railway Provident Fund
- The General Provident Fund (Defense Services)
- The Indian Ordnance Department Provident Fund
- The Indian Ordnance Factories Workmen’s Provident Fund
- The Indian Naval Dockyard Workmen’s Provident Fund
- The Defense Services Officers provident Fund
- The Armed Forces Personnel Provident Fund
Who is eligible for the General Provident Fund?
As per the website of The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, all temporary government employees after a continuous service of one year, all re-employed pensioners (other than those eligible for admission to the Contributory Provident Fund ) and all permanent government employees are eligible. The General Provident Fund (Central Services) Rules 1960 applies to all the above-mentioned types of government servants.
How does GPF work?
As mentioned earlier, General Provident Fund (GPF) is a type of savings instrument for government employees. An employee can contribute a part of his/her savings regularly till the time he/she is employed. On retirement, the employer will credit the total accumulated amount in the GPF account to the employee.
GPF Deposit Limit
- Minimum deposit amount can be 6% of the subscriber’s salary
- Maximum deposit amount can be 100% of the subscriber’s salary
GPF subscription validity
A subscriber shall subscribe monthly to the Fund except during the period when he/she is under any kind of suspension.
When does the subscription end?
Subscription to Provident Fund is stopped 3 months prior to the date of superannuation. GPF interest Rates of subscription shall not be less than 6 percent of subscriber’s emoluments and not more than his total emoluments
GPF Rules
Government Servants’ Provident Fund Rules were first issued in the year 1954. Since then, to mitigate the problems faced by Government servants in receiving their provident fund claims cleared and to enable fast disposal of claims, various amendments, decisions, and clarifications have been issued in regard to these Rules periodically.
Owing to these changes, the state Government decided to redesign the rules to simplify the procedures and to implement all the changes on GPF interest rates, to make available at one place for ready reference and use. With these objectives in mind, the new General Provident fund Rules, 1997 were formulated and were made effective from 1st June 1997.