Savings
SBI FD interest rates: the 444-day Amrit Vrishti peak and the buckets around it
SBI pays 6.45% on the 444-day Amrit Vrishti deposit and less on every longer tenure; seniors get 7.05% at five years. The penalty, the 80-plus band and the traps.
State Bank of India’s retail term-deposit card, effective 15 December 2025, peaks for the general public at 6.45% on exactly one tenure — the 444-day Amrit Vrishti deposit — with 6.95% for depositors aged 60 and above and 7.05% for those aged 80 and above under SBI Patrons. Every ordinary bucket longer than that pays less, down to 6.05% for five to ten years. Senior citizens are the exception: their five-to-ten-year rate is 7.05%, the highest figure on the card, because a 50-basis-point We-care premium is built into that row.
Rates below are read from SBI’s own deposit-rates page on 10 September 2026 — the page carries a last-updated stamp of 16 June 2026 — and apply to resident domestic term deposits below ₹3 crore. Confirm the rate on the booking screen; the effective date on SBI’s page is what controls.
The buckets that actually pay
| Tenure | General | Age 60–79 | Age 80+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7–45 days | 3.05% | 3.55% | 3.65% |
| 46–179 days | 4.90% | 5.40% | 5.50% |
| 180–210 days | 5.65% | 6.15% | 6.25% |
| 211 days to under 1 year | 5.90% | 6.40% | 6.50% |
| 1 year to under 2 years, other than 444 days | 6.25% | 6.75% | 6.85% |
| 444 days exactly (Amrit Vrishti) | 6.45% | 6.95% | 7.05% |
| 2 years to under 3 years | 6.40% | 6.90% | 7.00% |
| 3 years to under 5 years | 6.30% | 6.80% | 6.90% |
| 5 years to 10 years | 6.05% | 7.05% | 7.15% |
SBI prints two columns, public and senior citizen. The third applies the SBI Patrons rule stated on the same page — 10 basis points over the senior rate at 80 and above — to each row, and the senior figure at 444 days applies the card’s 50-basis-point senior benefit to the printed 6.45%, because the page states the rule for the special tenor rather than the number. The five-to-ten-year senior rate is printed as 7.05% and footnoted as including 50 basis points under SBI We-care; the Patrons exclusion list does not name We-care, so 7.15% is arithmetic, not a printed figure.
Of the eight ordinary buckets only the 2-to-under-3-year one moved in the December 2025 revision, from 6.45% to 6.40%; the special tenor moved with it, from 6.60% to 6.45%. For orientation, SBI’s savings rate is 2.50% a year across all balances, effective 15 June 2025.
Nothing longer pays more, unless you are over 60
The gap between the peak and the two-year bucket is only five basis points, about ₹304 on ₹5,00,000 over 444 days, so a depositor who wants two to three years gives up very little by not chasing the special tenor.
For a depositor aged 60 or above the curve turns over: 6.95% at 444 days, 7.05% on anything from five to ten years, because We-care doubles the uplift on that row. How SBI’s peak sits against the other large banks, each on its own effective date, is in our comparison of FD interest rates across major banks.
Amrit Vrishti: the 444-day special tenor
The scheme appears on SBI’s rate page as a note, not a row, and that note is all the bank publishes on it. Two things follow.
First, the tenor is one day wide. It sits inside the one-year-to-under-two-years bucket at 6.25%, so 443 and 445 days both earn 20 basis points less — roughly ₹1,216 of simple interest on ₹5,00,000 over the term, lost silently, because the booking screen accepts 445 days without comment. Ask for the tenure in days: fifteen calendar months is about 456 days and lands in the lower bucket. A deposit booked on 10 September 2026 for 444 days matures on 28 November 2027; the FD interest rates calculator gives the maturity value for any principal.
Second, there is no end date. SBI’s page prints no validity period against the special tenor, and the previous rate of 6.60% is the only history it gives. The safe reading is that the rate is current while the note stays on the page.
Maturity, and the day after it
SBI’s Policy on Depositors’ Rights, April 2026 edition, sets out the mechanics. Interest on a term deposit is calculated at quarterly intervals; monthly payment is the quarter’s interest at a discounted rate; broken periods are worked on a daily-product basis over a 365-day year. On the cumulative variant, which SBI calls a Special Term Deposit, quarterly interest is added to principal and paid with it at maturity. A deposit maturing on a non-business day earns the contracted rate for the intervening days.
Where no mandate is received by maturity, the policy reinvests the amount for the same period as the original deposit at the rate prevalent on the maturity date; tax-saving, non-callable, capital-gains and differential-rate deposits are excepted. A 444-day deposit therefore rolls into another 444 days at that day’s rate, and the policy is silent on what happens if the special tenor has been withdrawn by then.
Where a deposit matures and the proceeds go unpaid, the unclaimed amount attracts the savings-account rate or the contracted rate, whichever is lower — a fall from 6.45% to 2.50% on the day after maturity.
Breaking it early: the rate is rebuilt, then half a point or a whole one comes off
SBI publishes the penalty in a table on its deposit-rates index page and repeats the mechanism on the Special Term Deposit page: 0.50% on retail deposits up to ₹5 lakh, 1% above ₹5 lakh, all tenors, and 1% on bulk deposits. The rate you receive is the lower of two figures — the penalty below the rate that applied, on the date of deposit, to the period the money actually stayed, or the penalty below the contracted rate.
Take ₹5,00,000 booked for 444 days at 6.45% and closed on day 200. Two hundred days falls in the 180-to-210-day bucket, which paid 5.65% on the day of booking; the deposit is exactly ₹5 lakh, so the penalty is 0.50%, and 5.15% is lower than 5.95%. You receive about ₹14,110, against roughly ₹17,671 had the same 200 days run at the contracted rate. Of the ₹3,562 gap, the penalty is only ₹1,370; the rebuild to the shorter bucket is the other ₹2,192. Both figures are simple interest; quarterly compounding lifts each a little and does not change the comparison. A single rupee over ₹5 lakh moves the penalty to 1% — on ₹10,00,000 closed at the same point the extra half-point costs about ₹2,740.
Around that mechanism:
- No interest is paid on a deposit that stays less than seven days.
- Closure to reinvest is permitted at the rate on the date of renewal, provided the new deposit runs longer than the balance of the old one; the closed deposit earns the rate for the period it ran, and the policy says the bank “may” levy the penalty, not that it will waive it.
- Death of the depositor before maturity: the rate for the run period, without penalty, when the survivor, heirs or nominee claim.
One SBI page disagrees. The YONO fixed-deposit page says the penalty is waived up to ₹5 lakh and 0.5% above it — but it was last updated on 30 December 2021, while the penalty table has applied since 1 April 2017 on a page last updated 14 August 2026, and the Special Term Deposit page carries a 1 December 2025 date. The dated rule governs; anyone relying on the waiver should get it in writing.
If the cash need is temporary, compare closure with a loan against the FD. SBI publishes the margins — 5% where the deposit has up to 36 months left, 10% from 36 to 60 months, 15% beyond — and the loan leaves the contracted rate and maturity date intact.
Seniors, and the 80-plus band
| Category | Uplift over the general rate |
|---|---|
| Age 60 and above, tenures under 5 years | +50 basis points |
| Age 60 and above, 5 to 10 years | +100 basis points (50 senior, 50 under SBI We-care) |
| Age 80 and above (SBI Patrons) | +10 basis points over the senior rate |
| Patrons not available on | Recurring deposits, Green Rupee TD, Tax Savings Scheme 2006, MODS, capital-gains scheme, non-callable deposits |
In rupees the bands are modest: the senior uplift is worth about ₹3,041 on ₹5,00,000 held for 444 days, and Patrons adds ₹608. We-care is the larger prize — 50 extra basis points on a five-year ₹5,00,000 deposit is ₹12,500 of simple interest over the term.
Patrons is applied by the system from the date of birth in SBI’s records, so an existing depositor need not apply; on a joint deposit the first holder must be 80 or above; staff qualify. The policy’s only provision on turning 60 is that an existing deposit is renewed under the senior category if the customer has reached 60 on or before the renewal date; it does not say a running deposit is repriced, so treat the booked rate as fixed until renewal and ask the branch if you cross 60 mid-term. The retail card prints no footnote on NRO or HUF deposits. The one exclusion SBI states is on the non-callable retail product, where NRI senior citizens are not eligible for the addition — so an NRO depositor should ask rather than read the silence as consent.
None of this makes an SBI senior deposit the first home for retirement money. The Senior Citizens Savings Scheme pays 8.2% for the quarter ending 30 September 2026, sovereign, with a quarterly payout, subject to a ₹30 lakh ceiling, age 60 and its own exit rules — 1.15 percentage points above SBI’s best senior rate. Our SCSS versus FD page works the comparison; how other banks structure the 80-plus band is in our page on senior citizen FD rates.
The schedules SBI publishes separately
Non-callable retail (NCD-R) takes ₹1,00,01,000 to under ₹3 crore on two tenors only: one year at 30 basis points over the card rate (6.55% public, 7.05% senior) and two years at 40 over (6.80% and 7.30%). Premature withdrawal is not allowed except on a court or regulator’s direction, winding-up, death or set-off; a demand loan is available but no overdraft; booking is at a branch only. The premium for surrendering all early access is about ₹30,003 a year on the minimum ticket.
The Tax Savings Scheme 2006 pays the ordinary card rate for its tenor of five to ten years — 6.05% for the public at five years — with a five-year lock-in, no loan or pledge, a ₹1,000 minimum, a ₹1,50,000-a-year ceiling and early closure only on death. The section 80C deduction exists in the old regime only, and neither page says whether We-care reaches this product, so a senior should have the rate confirmed rather than assume 7.05%.
The Green Rupee Term Deposit runs 1,111, 1,777 or 2,222 days — roughly three, four and three-quarter and six years — “at par with card rate” from 1 May 2026, which on the current card means 6.30%, 6.30% and 6.05%. There is no premium for going green, and a running deposit cannot be converted into or out of it.
Bulk deposits of ₹3 crore and above have their own card, revised 15 August 2026, a 1% penalty on all tenors, and lower rates than retail on most rows — 6.15% against 6.40% for two to under three years, 6.00% against 6.30% for three to under five. Beyond 45 days size buys nothing at SBI: the bulk card is above retail only on its 7-to-14-day (4.25%) and 15-to-45-day (4.75%) rows and level at one to under two years.
Tax takes the next bite
FD interest is taxable at your slab rate as income from other sources, in the year it accrues, whether or not the bank has paid it out. A cumulative 444-day deposit runs past at least one 31 March, so it is taxed across two financial years and sometimes three.
SBI deducts tax at source once interest across all your deposits at the bank crosses ₹50,000 in a financial year, or ₹1,00,000 for a resident senior citizen — 10% with PAN on record, 20% without. The thresholds apply bank-wide, so splitting one deposit into four at SBI changes nothing. Where you have no tax liability at all, the declaration is Form 121, which replaced Forms 15G and 15H from 1 April 2026; SBI’s product pages and even the April 2026 edition of its policy still name the old forms, so expect the branch to. The policy is clear that the declaration is needed afresh each financial year and for every new or manually renewed deposit, that an auto-renewal within the year needs no repeat, and that one without PAN is invalid. Our guide to tax on FD interest sets out the test and the accrual rule.
At 6.45% before tax, a depositor in the 30% slab keeps about 4.4% after cess, and one in the 20% slab about 5.1%. Those are the numbers to compare with anything else.
Insurance stops at ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank
Deposit insurance covers principal and accrued interest up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank, in the same right and capacity, after lawful set-off; SBI’s own page repeats the figure.
To keep the whole maturity value of a ₹5,00,000 Amrit Vrishti deposit inside the limit the principal has to be capped at roughly ₹4.6 lakh — our arithmetic on SBI’s rate and tenor with quarterly compounding, not a figure either institution states — and every savings balance and other deposit at SBI is aggregated into the same ₹5 lakh. Joint accounts, capacities and claim timing are in our page on DICGC deposit insurance.
Before you book
| If the money is needed in | The bucket that fits | General rate | The trap next to it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 45 days | 7–45 days | 3.05% | Only 0.55 pp over the savings rate, and you lose access |
| Two to five months | 46–179 days | 4.90% | 180 days pays 5.65% — a fortnight’s wait can be worth 75 bps |
| Six to seven months | 180–210 days | 5.65% | 211 days pays 5.90% |
| Seven months to a year | 211 days to under 1 year | 5.90% | Exactly 1 year pays 6.25% |
| About a year | 1 year to 443 days | 6.25% | 444 days pays 6.45% |
| Fourteen to fifteen months | Exactly 444 days | 6.45% | 443 or 445 days pays 6.25% |
| Two to three years | 2 to under 3 years | 6.40% | 3 years pays 6.30% |
| Three to five years | 3 to under 5 years | 6.30% | 5 years pays 6.05% for the public |
| Five years or more | 5 to 10 years | 6.05% | Worst-paid for the public, best-paid for seniors at 7.05% |
Set the tenure in days, read the maturity date on the confirmation screen, give the maturity instruction at booking, and check the customer category printed on the advice — a deposit booked at the general rate by someone entitled to the senior or Patrons band is corrected by the bank noticing, not by the rate page. Keep the deposit advice: a dated document from SBI outranks any rate page, including this one.
Common questions
Is 6.45% the highest FD rate SBI pays?
For the general public on an ordinary retail deposit, yes: 6.45% on the 444-day Amrit Vrishti tenor, on the card effective 15 December 2025. It is not the highest figure on the page. A depositor aged 60 or above earns 7.05% on five to ten years because a separate 50-basis-point We-care premium is built into that row, and the non-callable retail product pays 6.80% at two years — but only on deposits of ₹1,00,01,000 and above, with no premature withdrawal except on a court or regulator's direction, winding-up, death or set-off. Which rate is "highest" therefore depends on age, ticket size and whether you can live without access to the money.
What happens if I book 445 days instead of 444?
The rate falls from 6.45% to 6.25%. The Amrit Vrishti scheme is exactly 444 days wide; both 443 and 445 days sit inside SBI's ordinary one-year-to-under-two-years bucket, which pays 6.25%. On ₹5,00,000 held for the term the 20 basis points are worth about ₹1,216 of simple interest before tax. Enter the tenure in days rather than months on the booking screen — fifteen calendar months is roughly 456 days and lands in the lower bucket — and read the maturity date on the confirmation before you accept it.
Does SBI's Amrit Vrishti 444-day scheme have an end date?
SBI's rate page prints none. The scheme appears there only as a note stating that the rate was revised from 6.60% to 6.45% with effect from 15 December 2025, without a validity period. Several other banks print an end date against their special tenors; SBI does not, so the only safe reading is that the rate is current while the note stays on the page. If the deposit is left to auto-renew, SBI's policy reinvests it for the same period at the rate prevailing on the maturity date, and the policy does not say what happens if the special tenor has been withdrawn by then. Give a maturity instruction instead.
What is the penalty for closing an SBI FD early?
Two things happen. The rate is first rebuilt to the one that applied, on the date of deposit, to the period the money actually stayed; then 0.50% comes off for deposits up to ₹5 lakh and 1% for deposits above ₹5 lakh, all tenors — or the same deduction from the contracted rate, whichever gives the lower result. Close a ₹5,00,000 Amrit Vrishti deposit on day 200 and the money has run inside the 180-to-210-day bucket at 5.65%, so you receive 5.15%, about ₹14,110 against roughly ₹17,671 at the contracted rate. Nothing at all is paid on a deposit closed inside seven days.
What does a depositor aged 80 or above get at SBI?
Ten basis points over the senior-citizen rate, under the SBI Patrons scheme — 7.05% on 444 days against 6.95% for a depositor aged 60 to 79, worth about ₹608 on ₹5,00,000 over the term. The uplift is applied by the system from the date of birth on SBI's records, so an existing customer need not apply for it; on a joint deposit the first holder must be 80 or above. It does not reach recurring deposits, the Green Rupee Term Deposit, the Tax Savings Scheme 2006, MODS, the capital-gains scheme or non-callable deposits, and it is limited to retail deposits below ₹3 crore.
Does SBI renew an FD automatically?
Yes, unless you told it otherwise when you booked. SBI's Policy on Depositors' Rights states that where no maturity mandate is received, the amount is reinvested for the same period as the original deposit at the rate of interest prevalent on the date of maturity; tax-saving deposits, non-callable deposits, capital-gains deposits and differential-rate deposits are the exceptions. Where a deposit matures and the proceeds go unpaid instead, the unclaimed amount earns the savings-account rate or the contracted rate, whichever is lower — 2.50% rather than 6.45% on an Amrit Vrishti deposit.
Sources
Rates and rules on this page were read directly from the following sources on the dates shown. Figures change — if you are about to act on one, confirm it at the source.
- Interest Rates on Retail Domestic Term Deposits (below ₹3 crore), revised w.e.f. 15/12/2025 — page last updated 16-06-2026
- Interest Rates on Savings Bank Deposits w.e.f. 15.06.2025
- Deposit Rates — index page carrying the premature-withdrawal penalty table for retail and bulk term deposits
- Special Term Deposit (Reinvestment Plan) — features, loan margins and premature-closure rule, last updated 01-12-2025
- Fixed Deposit — Term Deposit features and terms, last updated 01-12-2025
- SBI Patrons: Term Deposit Scheme for Super Senior Citizens, last updated 02-12-2025
- Non-Callable Term Deposit — Retail (NCD-R), last updated 01-12-2025
- SBI Tax Savings Scheme, 2006, last updated 01-12-2025
- SBI Green Rupee Term Deposit (SGRTD), last updated 01-05-2026
- Interest Rates on Domestic Bulk Term Deposits (₹3 crore and above), revised w.e.f. 15/08/2026
- Policy on Depositors' Rights, Version 7.0, issue date 01.04.2026 — sections 21 to 26 on interest, premature withdrawal, premature renewal and overdue deposits
- Fixed Deposit — YONO product page, last updated 30-12-2021
- Insurance Cover For Deposits
- Guide to deposit insurance
- Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme — interest rate history (8.20% for 1.04.2023 to 30.09.2026)
- Income Tax Department e-Filing portal