A loan becomes a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) when the interest or principal becomes overdue for a period of:

The correct answer is B. The Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance notifies the rates at the start of every quarter, and since the Shyamala Gopinath Committee reported in 2010 the rates are linked to the yields on government securities of comparable maturity, with a spread for some schemes. Option A is wrong; the Reserve Bank sets the policy repo rate and regulates bank interest, but it does not fix small savings rates. Option C is wrong because the Budget may announce a new scheme, as it did for the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, without fixing the quarterly rates. Option D is wrong since the Department of Posts only sells and services the schemes through post offices; it does not decide the rate at which they pay.

The correct answer is B, the National Small Savings Fund. The fund was created in 1999 in the Public Account of India, all small savings collections flow into it, and the Centre and the States draw loans from it, which is why small savings are treated as a source of government borrowing. Option A is wrong; the Consolidated Fund of India under Article 266 holds the government's revenues and loans raised, and money from it can be withdrawn only by law, whereas the small savings fund sits in the Public Account. Option C is wrong because the Contingency Fund of India under Article 267 is a small fund at the disposal of the President for unforeseen expenditure. Option D is wrong since the National Investment Fund was created to hold the proceeds of disinvestment of government holdings in public sector companies.

The correct answer is B, Kisan Vikas Patra. The Kisan Vikas Patra is sold as a certificate that doubles the amount invested over a period notified by the government, and that period moves up or down as the interest rate is revised. Option A, the National Savings Certificate, is wrong; it is a five-year certificate on which interest accumulates but the amount does not double. Option C, the Public Provident Fund, is wrong because it is a fifteen-year account with annual deposits, not a single certificate with a doubling promise. Option D, the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme, is wrong since it pays interest out every month and returns the principal at the end of five years. Note also that the Kisan Vikas Patra gets no deduction under section 80C, unlike the NSC.

The correct answer is B, 5 years. The eighth issue of the National Savings Certificate is a five-year certificate on which interest is compounded annually and paid along with the principal when it matures, and deposits in it qualify for deduction under section 80C. Option A, three years, is wrong; three years is one of the terms available under the Post Office Time Deposit, not for the NSC. Option C, seven years, is wrong and recalls the discontinued ninth issue of the certificate, which ran for a longer term. Option D, ten years, is wrong because no current small savings certificate runs for ten years. The five-year block is worth remembering because the NSC, the Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme, the Monthly Income Scheme and the Recurring Deposit all share it.

The correct answer is C, 60 years. The scheme, which began in 2004, is open to an individual who has attained sixty years, and it has a term of five years that can be extended by three years, with interest paid every quarter. Option A, fifty-five years, is wrong as a general rule but is the strongest distractor, because a person who retires under a voluntary retirement or superannuation scheme may open an account after fifty-five and before sixty, within the period allowed after receiving retirement benefits. Option B, fifty-eight years, is wrong and corresponds to no provision of the scheme. Option D, sixty-five years, is wrong; there is no upper age bar, so sixty-five is permitted but is not the qualifying age. Retired defence personnel enjoy a wider relaxation than civilian retirees.