A Bank Fixed Deposit scheme is offered by most banks to those who have  money they wish to deposit.  The period is usually fixed anywhere from 15 days to 5 years.  On maturity, the depositor gets a fixed amount (Principal + interest).  Bank fixed deposits are generally safe because they come under the jurisdiction of the Reserve Bank.  Fixed Deposits attract a higher interest than savings bank account.  Within certain guidelines, banks are free to offer different rates based on various time periods.  Senior citizens are generally offered about 0.5% to 1% more. The deposit amounts can vary from Rs. 100 to lakhs depending on the investor.  Convenient facilities like overdraft on deposit amount and premature withdrawal [at a loss of a small amount of interest] are available on deposits.  A depositor should consider a few factors before making his deposit.  He should first check schemes in various banks and then instead of making one large deposit, divide them into smaller convenient amounts and if possible split them between 2 or 3 banks.  In this way in an emergency, the depositor can close one or two deposits and lose less interest instead of closing one large deposit and losing a large amount.