13 Deposits.

(1) The fixed deposits shall be accepted for a minimum period of six months and a maximum period of sixty months.

(2) Recurring deposits shall be accepted for a minimum period of twelve months and a maximum period of sixty months.

(3) In case of recurring deposits relating to mortgage loans, the maximum period of recurring deposits shall correspond to the repayment period of such loans granted by Nidhi.

(4) The maximum balance in a savings deposit account at any given time qualifying for interest shall not exceed one lakh rupees at any point of time and the rate of interest shall not exceed two per cent. above the rate of interest payable on savings bank account by nationalised banks.

(5) A Nidhi may offer interest on fixed and recurring deposits at a rate not exceeding the maximum rate of interest prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India which the Non-Banking Financial Companies can pay on their public deposits.

(6) A fixed deposit account or a recurring deposit account shall be foreclosed by the depositor subject to the following conditions, namely:-

(a) a Nidhi shall not repay any deposit within a period of three months from the date of its acceptance;

(b) where at the request of the depositor, a Nidhi repays any deposit after a period of three months, the depositor shall not be entitled to any interest up to six months from the date of deposit;

(c) where at the request of the depositor, a Nidhi makes repayment of a deposit before the expiry of the period for which such deposit was accepted by Nidhi, the rate of interest payable by Nidhi on such deposit shall be reduced by two per cent. from the rate which Nidhi would have ordinarily paid, had the deposit been accepted for the period for which such deposit had run:

Provided that in the event of death of a depositor, the deposit may be repaid prematurely to the surviving depositor or depositors in the case of joint holding with survivor clause, or to the nominee or to legal heir with interest up to the date of repayment at the rate which the company would have ordinarily paid, had such deposit been accepted for the period for which such deposit had run.