Retirement
PPF
Also known as: Public Provident Fund
A 15-year government savings scheme with tax-free interest and full 80C tax benefits.
PPF is a government-backed scheme where you can invest up to ₹1.5L a year, locked for 15 years.
It offers the rare EEE status: your investment, interest, and maturity are all tax-free, and it qualifies under 80C.
Returns are modest but guaranteed and tax-free, making it a solid low-risk anchor for a long-term portfolio.
For example
Investing ₹1.5L a year in PPF for 15 years at ~7.1% builds a tax-free corpus of over ₹40L, with 80C deductions along the way.