Deposit in an MIS account at the post office offers interest at the rate of 7.6%, payable monthly.

India Post, which has a network of over 1.5 lakh post offices across the country, provides a range of financial services other than its mailing operations. The Department of Posts offers nine savings schemes with different interest rates. The interest rates on post office saving schemes move in line with the government's interest rates on small savings schemes, which are revised on a quarterly basis. One such savings scheme offered by India Post is the Monthly Income Scheme (MIS). Investment in the post office Monthly Income Scheme fetches interest at the rate of 7.6​ per cent with effect from July 1, according to the post office website, indiapost.gov.in.

Here are key things to know about the India Post Monthly Income Scheme (MIS):

Account opening

A Monthly Income Scheme account can be opened by individuals through cheque or cash. In case of cheque, the date of realisation of cheque in government's account is the date of opening of account.

Interest rates

The post office MIS account offers an interest rate of 7.6 per cent per annum, which is payable monthly.

Amount

The minimum amount required to set up the account is Rs. 1,500. The maximum investment limit is Rs. 4.5 lakh in a single account and Rs. 9 lakh in a joint account, according to the India Post website.

Maturity period

The maturity period of an MIS account is five years.

Withdrawal

The deposit can be prematurely encashed after one year but before three years at a discount of two per cent of the deposit, and after three years, at a discount of 1 per cent of the deposit. Discount here means deduction from the deposit.

Transferability and other facilities

An MIS account can be transferred from one post office to another. A nomination facility is available at the time of opening as well as after opening of the account.