Old is Gold: Revitalizing Government Schemes

Sushweta Ghosh, a senior writer with a leading publication in India is a regular investor in National Savings Certificates (NSC). It formed a major part of her investment in the 1990s, but the last time she purchased a certificate was in 2007. “It was a much sought-after investment, but my nieces and nephews don’t even know such a scheme exists; they are all into Mutual Funds big time,” says Ghosh. She has redeemed all her NSC certificates fully now, since there are more attractive options in liquid mutual funds. There are many like Ghosh in India, who have lost interest in NSC and youngsters have almost forgotten about it. “NSC was integral to my investments, tax saving was secondary…no, my son who is in government service does not even know such a scheme exists,” says VV Ramachandran, a retired auditor. To renew the interest and to make it an...