While the fear of meeting unforeseen expenses is forcing over 81% of Indian households to save, 36% of households still prefer to stash cash at home — which does not earn any returns — and 51% park their savings in banks.

A countrywide survey of over 60,000 households, released on Wednesday, also shows that only 5% of households put their money in post offices, while 2% buy insurance policies and 0.5% invest in equities. There are 205.9 million households in the country.

At the all-India level, investment in financial instruments, such as small savings, stocks and insurance — accounts for about 3% of the estimated households income.