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The Union Government on Thursday announced that the financial or banking institutions will not charge any fee for updating nominees for Public Provident Fund or PPF accounts.
In an official notification, the Ministry of Finance added that necessary changes have now been made in the Government Savings Promotion General Rules 2018 via Gazette Notification 02/4/25, which will mandate the banking institutions to make changes without any charge. As widely reported, the financial institutions were charging extra fees for adding nominees. The rule comes as the Banking Amendment Bill 2025, passed recently, allows the nomination of up to four persons for the payment of depositors' money, articles kept in safe custody and safety lockers. The order is effective from April 2, as per the official notification. The notification reads, " In the Government Savings Promotion General Rules 2018, in the Schedule II, under Fee to be charged for services, the word and figures "(b) Cancellation or charge of nomination - Rs 50" shall be deleted." In a post on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Recently I was informed that a fee was being levied by financial institutions for updating/modifying nominee details in PPF accounts." The post added, "Necessary changes are now made in the Government Savings Promotion General Rules 2018 via Gazette Notification 02/4/25 to remove any charges on the updation of nominees for PPF accounts." PPF is a long-term investment scheme in India, offering tax benefits and guaranteed returns, with a minimum investment of Rs 500 and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh annually. The Government proposed to merge the Government Savings Certificates Act, 1959 and the Public Provident Fund Act, 1968, with the Government Savings Banks Act, 1873. The main objective of the common act is to bring uniformity to the provisions of different small savings schemes presently governed by the three Acts. (ANI)
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