Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has confirmed that financial institutions will no longer charge any fee for updating or modifying nominee details in Public Provident Fund (PPF) accounts. The government has taken necessary steps to amend the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018, via a Gazette Notification dated April 2, 2025, to remove all charges related to nominee updates.
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In a social media post on X, Sitharaman stated that she was recently informed about financial institutions levying a ₹50 fee on customers for updating nominee details in their PPF accounts. Taking swift action, the Finance Ministry issued an official notification ensuring that such charges are no longer applicable. “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,” she wrote.
According to the Gazette notification, the specific clause in Schedule II under “Fee to be charged for services,” which mentioned a ₹50 charge for cancellation or change of nomination, has been deleted. The new rules have come into immediate effect following the notification’s publication.
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Additionally, Sitharaman highlighted that the Banking Amendment Bill 2025, recently passed by Parliament, now allows account holders to nominate up to four individuals for the distribution of funds in their accounts, as well as for articles stored in safe custody or safety lockers.
PPF remains one of the most popular government-backed savings schemes in India, offering tax-free and compounded returns with a 15-year lock-in period. The interest rate for PPF accounts is currently 7.1% per annum, subject to periodic government reviews.
Nomination details play a crucial role in PPF accounts, as they determine the rightful beneficiary of funds in case of the account holder’s demise. These changes are expected to provide significant relief to millions of PPF account holders, ensuring that they can update nominee details without additional financial burden.
The issue of hidden banking fees and service charges has been a topic of discussion in Parliament in recent months. Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha from the Aam Aadmi Party had previously raised concerns about banks levying hidden fees on customers for basic services such as SMS alerts, NEFT transactions, nominee changes, and other banking services, inadvertently leading to substantial earnings for financial institutions from unassuming customers.
Account holders who wish to update their nominee details can now do so free of cost by submitting the necessary forms either online through internet banking portals of banks such as SBI, HDFC, and ICICI, or offline by submitting a physical nomination form at their bank branch or post office.
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