ISLAMABAD: The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has accomplished Rs 85 billion savings target by December 31, 2017 as compare to Rs. 68 billion in same month of previous fiscal year.

The CDNS has set Rs.254 billion net target for fiscal year (2017-18), senior official of CDNS told APP here on Monday.

The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) had achieved the revised target of Rs 228 billion set for the financial year 2016-17 by June 30, this year.

Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) have notified similar profit rates for various saving certificates from October 1, 2017 to benefit its investors especially the widow and pensioners.

“The consistency in previous rates is made in the backdrop of current market scenario and in accordance with the government’s policy to provide market based competitive rate of return to the investors of National Savings”, he said.

He said as per notification issued by the federal government, the rates for Defence Savings Certificate, Special Saving Certificate and Account, Regular Income Certificate and Savings Accounts had been revised upward at an average of 7.54 percent, 6.03 percent,6.54 percent and 3.95 percent respectively. The official said the profit rate of return for specialized savings schemes like Bahbood Savings certificates and Pensioners’ Benefit Account had also been revised up and fixed at 9.36 percent to provide safety net to specialized segments of the society.

The CDNS had launched its modernization plan in collaboration with National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT), for facilitating the customers, he said.

He said that around 800 branches would be computerized and links with modern Information Technology (IT) tools by June 30, 2018.