Where To Invest Your Money For High-Interest Returns?

Let us analyze and understand the best investment options with high returns in India step by step

Why invest?

Investment is considered as an extra source of income that funds your retirement or helps you at the time of financial crisis. It is wise to invest your money as per the investment options available keeping in mind your needs and requirements. From low-risk to high, from short-term to long, all kinds of investment plans are available in the market.

Let us look at some of the investment plans:

Mutual funds

One of the most popular investment options these days, mutual funds refer to a pool of accumulated sums by various investors. A mutual fund is an investment vehicle formed when an asset management company (AMC) or fund house pools investments of various individuals to earn a return on their capital over some time.

The returns are generated as per the market performance of the fund. Even though the risk exposure in mutual fund investment is higher, it offers much better returns as compared to other best investment options in the market.

1. Type of Mutual funds

   • Debt Funds
   • Equity Funds
   • Hybrid Funds

2. Features Of Mutual Funds

   • Offers a diversified investment portfolio
   • Every scheme has an allocated fund manager who helps you to choose a lucrative investment for the scheme
   • Exemption from wealth tax
   • Transparent investment

Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Being a government-backed scheme, PPF is one of the most secured and trusted investment plans in India. A tax-free investment, a PPF account can be opened in your nearby bank or post office. The invested money is locked for the tenure of 15 years. Moreover, in this investment option, you can earn compound interest on the accumulated money. You can also extend the time frame for the next five years.

1. PPF Interest Rate From 2012 to 2021

   Financial Year	Interest Rate
   2012-2013	8.8
   2013-2014	8.7
   2014-2015	8.7
   2015-2016	8.7
   2016-2017	8.1
   2017-2018	7.6
   2018-2021	7.6

2. Features of Public Provident Funds

   • The principal amount along with the interested amount in the account is safe and guaranteed
   • It has a lock-in period of 15 years which can extend for up to 5 years post the completion of the lock-in period
   • The minimum premium amount invested can be from Rs 500 up to Rs 1.5 lakh annually
   • Offers benefit to avail loan against the amount of investment

Bank Fixed Deposits

For investors looking for good returns with minimal risk involved, bank fixed deposits are the best options to invest in. By investing in FD, you can get assured returns at a fixed interval of time. The profits are payable month to month, quarterly or yearly, according to the bank rules.

1. Features of Fixed Deposits

   • Offers financial stability which lets you earn high returns on a surplus fund
   • The renewal is easy and certain banks provide overdraft facilities against fixed deposits
   • The market fluctuation does not affect the fixed deposit and the returns are fixed as well

National Pension Scheme (NPS)

Regulated and administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority(PFRDA), National Pension Scheme is a reliable government-backed plan. Any individual aged between 18 years and 60 years can open the National Pension Scheme Account.

1. 2 options available under NPS are:

   1. Auto Choice

      • It is a default option available to subscribers
      • The asset is allocated automatically depending upon your age
      • You cannot decide the proportion of allocation under auto choice

   2. Active Choice

      • Where you decide asset allocation in
      • Equity
      • Corporate Bonds
      • Government Securities
      • Different percentages can be allocated in different classes
      • A maximum of 75% can be allocated towards Equity
      • Subscribers can switch investment options as well as the fund manager

2. Features of National Pension Scheme

   • It offers the flexibility of choice between auto and active
   • Permits the investors for partial withdrawal of funds
   • Let’s you remain independent even after you retire

Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

A Government-sponsored savings option, specifically designed to provide financial security to the senior citizens of the country. The Senior Citizen Savings Scheme offers regular income to Indian residents aged 60 years and above even after retirement. The deposits under the scheme are invested for the tenure of 5 years and also can be extended once by the addition of 3 years.

SCSS is available across India through post offices and banks. The maximum amount one can invest in this scheme is 15 lakh rupees.

1. Eligibility under Senior Citizen Saving Scheme

   For Senior Citizen Saving Scheme eligibility, you need to fulfill the following criteria.

   • An Indian citizen with the age of 60 years or above.

   An applicant can be in 55-60 years of age, provided the person has been retired under the VRS category. The retired policyholder must have a Senior Citizens Saving Scheme account within 1 month of enjoying the retirement benefits. Also, the invested amount cannot be more than the amount of the retirement benefits.

   • If there is a joint account, the eligibility is determined based on the aforementioned age criteria of the primary account holder. Age restrictions do not apply to the secondary policyholder.

2. Features of Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

   • At the time of opening an SCSS account, the nomination facility is accessible
   • The scheme offers a high rate of interest that is 7.4%
   • Funds can be withdrawn prematurely, in case of emergency
   • The tenure of this investment scheme is flexible

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY)

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana is a non-participating, non-linked pension scheme that is launched by the Government of India. The modified scheme includes pension rates and an extended period of sale of this policy for an extended time of 3 years from the financial year 2020-21 up till 31st March 2023.

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana offers a loan and the interest on it would be recovered from the pension sum, payable under the plan. The applicable rate of interest should be based on options that are approved by the IRDAI.

1. Eligibility under Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana

   For buying the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana scheme, you need to be eligible in the following criteria:

   Parameters	Details
   Policy Tenure	10 years
   Premium Paying Term	10 years
   Premium Paying Mode	Yearly, Semi-Annually, Quarterly, and Monthly.
   Entry Age	60 years
   Maturity Age	70 to 10 years after the entry age
   Grace Period	30 days
   Sum Assured	A maximum pension of ₹1,11,000/ can be availed
   Liquidity	The loan can be availed under this plan

2. Features of Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana

   • Regular pension for the senior citizen at a regular point in time
   • When you have the scheme hold for 3 years, a loan can be taken upon 75% of the purchase price
   • The scheme also offers a free look period and assured pension is provided

   These are some of the top investment plans one should consider if you are looking to invest your money for high-interest returns.

   However, there are some more plans that you can look out for referring to the table below.

   Investment Options	Period of Investment (Minimum)	Who Can Invest	Risks	Returns Offered
   Direct Equity	NA	An investor who knows to balance risk and return	High	NA
   Mutual Funds	Within a scheme like ELSS a lock-in period of 3 years	An investor who has an appetite for medium to high risk	Low-High	Market-Linked
   National Pension Scheme	60 years	An investor looking forward to retirement plans	Low-High	Market-linked ( 8 to 10 percent)
   Public Provident Fund (PPF)	15 years	Long-term investment goals	Nil	7.9 percent
   Bank Fixed Deposits	7 days	One who doesn’t wish to take the risk or be exposed to an equity	Nil	Fixed Returns, different from bank to bank
   Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)	5 years	Senior Citizens	Nil	8.7 percent
   Real Estate	5 years	Anyone	Medium	19-15 percent
   Gold ETF	NA	Anyone	Low – Medium	Market-linked
   RBI Bond	7 years	Indian Citizen	Nil	7.75 percent
   Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY)	10 years	Senior Citizens	Nil	7.4 percent
   Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP)	Less or equals to 45 years	An investor keen on wealth creation and life cover	High	Depending on the investor’s profile
   Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS)	5 years	Indian Citizen	Nil - Low risk	7.7 percent
   Initial Public Offerings (IPO)	NA	An investor should have a Demat cum trading account	Moderate-High	NA

Wrapping it up

The thumb rule of making a smart investment is to keep a proper understanding of the different types of investment options available in the market. For most investors, the purpose of the investment may vary depending in terms of financial objective, period, and risk levels, so forth. Thus, to make the money grow, an individual needs to invest in smart investment options that can generate lucrative returns in the long term.