<span style="color: #222222;">Government has kept interest rates on the popular Public Provident Fund (PPF) and other small saving schemes unchanged for the third quarter of current fiscal. <br />''<br />''A circular issued by the finance ministry said that PPF will continue to earn 7.10%, NSC 6.8%, and Post Office Monthly Income Scheme Account will earn 6.6% interest during the October-December quarter. The status quo on small savings schemes rates comes as a big relief for savers amid low interest rates provided by banks on fixed deposits. The rates provided by the government on these schemes are between 100-250 basis points higher than the rates provided by banks on similar deposits.</span><br />