Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that updating nominee details in Public Provident Fund (PPF) accounts will now be free of cost.
She shared this update on Twitter, explaining that financial institutions were previously charging a fee for making changes to nominee information. This will no longer be allowed.
A Gazette Notification issued on April 2, 2025, will officially update the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018, to reflect this change.
In addition, the ₹50 fee for cancelling or changing nominations in other small savings schemes has also been removed.
PPF: A Trusted Long-Term Investment Option
PPF is considered a safe and reliable investment with guaranteed returns. While it’s widely used for tax benefits, it also offers other advantages.
Interest Rate: 7.1% per year, compounded annually
Investment Limit: Between ₹500 and ₹1.5 lakh per year
Maturity Period: 15 years
As per the RBI’s bulletin from December 2024, Indian citizens had over ₹10 lakh crore invested in PPF accounts by March 2024—a 39% increase since June 2021.
For individuals in the highest tax bracket, the effective return on PPF investments is even higher than 7.1% due to tax savings.
Major Reforms in the Banking Amendment Bill 2025
Finance Minister Sitharaman also spoke about important changes in the Banking Amendment Bill 2025:
More Nominees Allowed: Depositors can now nominate up to four people for their funds, locker contents, and other bank-held items.
Higher Definition of ‘Substantial Tax’: The old limit of ₹5 lakh, unchanged for nearly 60 years, has been raised to ₹2 crore.
Longer Tenure for Cooperative Bank Directors: The term for directors (except the chairman
and full-time directors) has been extended from 8 to 10 years. This aligns with the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011.
