The government is yet to decide on revising the interest rate on small savings and linking it to inflation as recommended by a committee headed by Sebi chairman G N Bajpai."Implementing the recommendation is an option not an obligation," expenditure secretary D Swarup said today when asked whether the government would revise the small savings rate now at 8%.The Bajpai panel is understood to have suggested a slew of measures like linking the small savings rate with inflation to safeguard investors against rising prices.Earlier, the Y V Reddy panel had suggested that small savings rate be benchmarked with the weighted average yield of government papers of same maturity.However, the NDA government could not implement the Reddy panel suggestion as it would have led to reduction in the small savings rate.The present government is also under pressure from left parties to retain the small savings rate.
