Best FD rates in India on 16 October 2026: up to 9.00%

The highest FD rate in India on 16 Oct 2026 belongs to a co-operative bank: The Bapunagar Mahila Co-operative Bank Ltd., which operates in Gujarat, lists 9.00% for 2 years. Among the mainstream banks (public, private and small finance banks), Suryoday Small Finance Bank leads at 8.25% for 5 years, and small finance banks take 20 of the 25 top-five places across the five standard terms. The largest banks pay 5.75% to 6.65% for 1 to 5 years, well below the leaders. Senior citizens get up to 0.50 percentage points more at the banks shown. All rates are for a ₹5,00,000 deposit.

Our take. For most savers the realistic choice is the mainstream leaders, not the 9% headline: a co-operative bank is smaller, often serves one district or city, and you may not be able to open an account at all. If you can, split a large sum so each bank stays within the ₹5,00,000 insurance limit. And note the timing: the RBI raised the repo rate 9 days before this snapshot, so some banks may still revise their deposit rates.

Bank deposit rates are set by each bank, but they move with the RBI's policy repo rate and with how much money banks need to raise. When the RBI raised the repo rate by 250 basis points between May 2022 and February 2023, the cost of money rose across the system; when it cut by 125 basis points in 2025, banks cut their deposit rates in steps (see the 2025 section below). The repo rate has been 5.50% since 7 October 2026.

The Post Office time deposit is set by the government each quarter and is the one deposit rate with a clean public record. It rose from 5.50% to 6.90% for 1 year and from 6.70% to 7.50% for 5 years during 2023, and has not changed since July 2023 (1 year) and April 2023 (5 years).

RateScan.in tracks bank FD rates daily, but our verified history starts in September 2026, so we do not chart bank FD rates before then; the dated 2025 bank changes below come from press reports.

The RBI cut the repo rate in February, April, June and December 2025, from 6.50% to 5.25%. Large banks passed the cuts on to depositors within days or weeks, mostly by trimming rates on selected tenures and changing their special-rate deposits. These are the dated changes we could verify from press reports; they are a selection, not every change at every bank.

The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to banks. When it rises, banks' funding gets more expensive and they tend to raise the rates they pay on deposits, usually with a lag and not by the same amount at every bank. When it falls, deposit rates tend to fall. Banks also look at their own need for deposits, so two banks can react very differently to the same decision.

An FD you already hold keeps its rate for the whole term, whatever the RBI does next. A repo change only affects the rates offered on new and renewed deposits.

New deposits may get better offers, but not automatically. After a hike, some banks raise rates quickly and others wait. If you are choosing between a short and a long term, a short one lets you reinvest at later rates; a long one locks in today's rate. Neither is right for everyone, and no one can say where rates go next.

Check the date on any rate you are comparing. A rate card published before 7 October may not reflect the decision. Each rate in this article is linked to the bank's own page with the date we last checked it.

The Post Office time deposit rate is reset each quarter by the finance ministry. After the RBI's 2022 to 2023 hikes it rose in three steps, and it has held since. For October to December 2026 the government left small savings rates unchanged, so the 1-year deposit pays 6.90% and the 5-year 7.50%. Post Office deposits carry a sovereign guarantee, which is why many savers compare them with bank FDs. See all schemes on the Post Office schemes page.

1. Match the term to when you need the money. Breaking an FD early often costs around 0.5% to 1% of the rate, and some banks do not allow it at all, so a slightly lower rate for a term you will actually hold beats a higher one you may have to cut short.

2. Check the insurance cover. DICGC insures up to ₹5,00,000 per depositor per bank, principal and interest combined. Above that, spreading deposits across banks keeps each one covered. How DICGC cover works.

3. Compare the sector, not just the rate. Small finance and co-operative banks usually pay more than the largest banks, in part because they are smaller and compete harder for deposits. Look at the bank's size, ratings and track record on its page on RateScan.in, linked from every table here.

4. Think about tax. FD interest is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, and banks deduct TDS once a depositor's interest at one bank passes a yearly threshold (₹50,000, or ₹1,00,000 for senior citizens, at the time of writing). The maturity figures above are before tax.

5. Pick cumulative or payout. A cumulative FD reinvests the interest and pays everything at maturity, which is why the earnings above grow faster; a payout FD pays interest monthly or quarterly for regular income at a slightly lower effective return.

6. Read the rate band and the date. Banks quote ranges such as "1 year to less than 2 years", and the rate applies to the band you land in. Confirm yours on the bank's page, linked in every table. Senior citizens usually get a higher rate, so compare the senior column if you qualify.