Good rates, moderate tenure: What makes NSC a great debt instrument

Locking-in now would help investors earn 8 per cent for the next five years. In a falling interest rate regime, it would be a great advantage

With the financial year starting, many investors would be looking at lucrative investment options. The good news is that with elections round the corner, the government has not tinkered with the rates of small saving schemes despite two successive rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, there are expectations that once elections are over and the new government settles in, there will be pressure to cut rates of small saving schemes. Otherwise, the overall transmission of rate cuts that the RBI is worried about is unlikely to happen. 

For investors who want to lock-in their money now,