A Recurring Deposit is the simplest forced-savings tool: fixed monthly amount, fixed rate, guaranteed maturity. There's no market risk, no NAV checking, no panic selling.

But that safety has a cost. A 6.8% RD compounded quarterly delivers ~7% effective pre-tax. At a 30% slab, that's under 5% net — barely beating inflation.

An equity SIP at 12% expected return easily doubles that long-term, but with volatility. The right answer is rarely 100% either way — use an RD for goals under 3 years and SIPs for 5+ year goals.

Step-up matters more than you think. Increasing your monthly deposit by just 10% a year roughly doubles the corpus over 15 years versus a flat amount.

TDS on RD interest is deducted if total interest crosses ₹40,000 (₹50,000 for seniors) in a financial year. The calculator's TDS stat helps you plan whether to split deposits across banks.