The banks are now free to offer varying in fixed deposits of different maturities. Several banks have announced their own interest rates on deposits.
Interest is compounded once a quarter, leading to a somewhat higher effective rate.
There has been a sharp contraction in bank deposits. Apart from safety, return, and liquidity, banks offer extraordinary convenience to customers through their wide network of branches. In case of any urgent requirement for funds, only one or two deposit receipts can be prematurely encashed. The loss sustained in interest will, thus, be less than if one big deposit were to be encashed. Get the folder containing the FD interest rules and carefully check the rates of Interest for different for different periods.