Firstly, you can invest in multiples of Rs. 5 with a minimum investment of Rs. 500 per annum, and a maximum of Rs. 1,50,000 per annum. Any amount invested above Rs. 1,50,000 will not earn any interest and not be eligible for deduction u/s 80C.
You don’t need to invest it all in one shot, you can invest into your PPF the same way you would invest by way of a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), i.e. making up to 12 installments in a year of different amounts, but not more than 12 investments in a year.
Your interest will be calculated on the minimum balance in your account between the 5th and the last day of every month, so if you were planning on investing into it monthly, make sure you invest (i.e. your PPF account is credited with the investment amount) on or before the 5th of every month.
Remember, if you are investing from a different bank account (i.e. not SBI), it will take up to 3 working days for the amount to credit to your PPF, so the best thing to do would be to factor this in such that the lowest balance in your account includes the new investment, otherwise you will lose out on one month’s interest.
will the rate of return be different if invested through SIP instead of a one time yearly investment.