Dear Colleague,
Kindly note that PPF if a famous scheme Public Provident Fund is a very useful Tax benefiting Savings Scheme with 15 years locking period and appx 7.1% is the interest. As far as VPF is concerned it is under Employees' Provident Fund scheme and appx 8% is the interest on an average for several years.
A) Public Provident Fund (PPF) was introduced in India in 1968 with the objective to mobilize small savings in the form of investment, coupled with a return on it. It can also be called a savings-cum-tax savings investment vehicle that enables one to build a retirement corpus while saving on annual taxes. Anyone looking for a safe investment option to save taxes and earn guaranteed returns should open a PPF account. A PPF account can be opened with either a Post Office or with any nationalized bank like the State Bank of India or Punjab National Bank, etc. These days, even certain private banks who are authorized to provide such facility. You need to submit required pre-mentioned documents: Duly filled account opening application form and other documents. As a rule, one can fully withdraw the PPF account balance only upon maturity i.e. after the completion of 15 years.
B) VPF: This is Voluntary Provident Fund under Employees' Provident Fund 1952 if you are member already then only you can contribute. VPF is the voluntary fund contribution from the employee towards his provident fund account. This contribution is beyond the Statutory level of 12% of contribution by an employee towards his EPF. The maximum contribution is up to 100% of his Basic Salary and Dearness Allowance. Interest is earned at the same rate as the EPF and on an average it is 8%.