Covid-19 effect: Small savings cross Rs 1-trillion mark in first 6 months

A record, this is 25% more than last year, and 130% more than the average of the past five years

Indians pumped nearly Rs 1 trillion into small savings schemes during the first six months of the fiscal year (2020-21, or FY21) even as the Covid-19 pandemic upended normal life. This is the highest-ever contribution in savings deposits and certificates — essentially the investment instruments targeted at farmers, senior citizens, the girl child, salaried class, and labourers — in a period of six months, underlining how their role as the piggy bank for the lower middle class is changing rapidly.

The amount collected in the first half was 25 per cent more than last year, and 130 per cent more than