Bank FDs sahi hai: Why fixed deposits may be better than debt mutual funds

The returns may be similar, but there is nothing better than bank FDs when it comes to safety - the principal is safe, at least in scheduled commercial banks, given how Indian banks are regulated

Union Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman last week asked public-sector banks to make concerted efforts to mobilise deposits through special drives. This is because deposits have been lagging behind loan growth. By July-end deposits grew 10.6 per cent year-on-year compared to 13.7 per cent growth in loans. Worse, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the low-cost current and savings accounts (CASA) of banks had declined from 43 per cent of the total deposits a year ago to 39 per cent this financial year. About 10 days before the FM met the bankers, she had pointed