Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her 2023-24 budget speech, announced an increase in the maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) from 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. In January, the interest rates under SCSS, a government-backed plan that offers guaranteed regular income after retirement, were raised from 7.6 per cent to 8 per cent. The rates were increased—after a gap of nine quarters—in the third quarter of FY 2022-23 from 7.4 per cent to 7.6 per cent, and then to 8 per cent in January 2023. The government also revised rates for other small savings schemes, including Post Office Monthly Income Scheme, National Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), for the January quarter. SCSS is among a few schemes focused towards savings and providing regular income to senior citizens. Who Can Open It? Seniors can open the account individually or jointly with spouses, but joint accounts are attributed only to the first account holder. People above 60 years and those above 55 but less than 60 with voluntary retirement (VRS) can open SCSS...