Definition: A savings account is an account provided by a bank for individuals to save money and earn interest on the cash held in the account. A savings account can be used to save money for specific expenses or for longer-term undefined goals, all while earning interest on the money in the account.

The 'saving account' is generally opened in bank by salaried persons or by the persons who have a fixed regular income. This facility is also given to students, senior citizens, pensioners, and so on.

Commercial banks (like ICICI, HDFC, etc.), co-operative banks (like Saraswat, Cosmos, etc.), public sector banks (like State bank of India, Bank of India, etc.) and postal departments accept deposits by way of opening saving bank account with them.

Saving accounts are opened to encourage the people to save money and collect their savings.

In India, saving account can be opened by depositing र100 (approx. US $2) to र5000 (approx. US $100). The saving account holder is allowed to withdraw money from the account as and when required. The interest which is given on saving accounts is sometime attractive, but often nominal.

At present, the rate of interest ranges between 4% to 6% per annum in India. The interest rates vary as per the amount of money deposited (lying) in the saving bank account, scheme opted, and its maturity range. It is also subject to current trend of banking policies in a country.

Features of Saving Account:

The main objective of saving account is to promote savings.

There is no restriction on the number and amount of deposits. However, in India, mandatory PAN (Permanent Account Number) details are required to be furnished for doing cash transactions exceeding र50,000.

Withdrawals are allowed subject to certain restrictions.

The money can be withdrawn either by cheque or withdrawal slip of the respective bank.

The rate of interest payable is very nominal on saving accounts. At present it is between 4% to 6% p.a in India.

Saving account is of continuing nature. There is no maximum period of holding.

A minimum amount has to be kept on saving account to keep it functioning.

No loan facility is provided against saving account.

Electronic clearing System (ECS) or E-Banking are available to pay electricity bill, telephone bill and other routine household expenses.

Generally, equated monthly installments (EMI) for housing loan, personal loan, car loan, etc., are paid (routed) through saving bank account.

Advantages of Saving Account:

Saving account encourages savings habit among salary earners and others who have fixed income.

It enables the depositor to earn income by way of saving bank interest.

Saving account helps the depositor to make payment by way of issuing cheques.

It shows income of a salaried and other person earned during the year.

Saving account passbook acts as an identity and residential proof of the account holder.

It provides a facility such as Electronic fund transfer (EFT) to other people's accounts.

It helps to do online shopping via facility like internet banking.

It aids to keep records of all online transactions carried on by the account holder.

It provides immediate funds as and when required through ATM.

The bank offers number of services to the saving account holders.

Definition: Current bank account is opened by businessmen who have a higher number of regular transactions with the bank. It includes deposits, withdrawals, and contra transactions. It is also known as Demand Deposit Account.

Current account can be opened in co-operative bank and commercial bank. In current account, amount can be deposited and withdrawn at any time without giving any notice. It is also suitable for making payments to creditors by using cheques. Cheques received from customers can be deposited in this account for collection.

In India, current account can be opened by depositing Rs.5000 (approx. US $ 100) to Rs. 25,000 (approx. US $ 500). The customers are allowed to withdraw the amount with cheques, and they usually do not get any interest. Generally, current account holders do not get any interest on their balance lying in current account with the bank.

Current account holder get one important advantage of overdraft facility.

Features of Current Bank Account:

Current bank accounts are operated to run a business.

It is a non-interest bearing bank account.

It needs a higher minimum balance to be maintained as compared to the savings account.

Penalty is charged if minimum balance is not maintained in the current account.

It charges interest on the short-term funds borrowed from the bank.

It is of a continuing nature as there is no fixed period to hold a current account.

It does not promote saving habits with its account holders.

Banker requires KYC (Know your Customers) norms to be completed before opening a current account.

The main objective of current bank account is to enable the businessmen to conduct their business transactions smoothly.

There is no restriction on the number and amount of deposits.

There is also no restriction on the number and amount of withdrawals made, as long as the current account holder has funds in his bank account.

Generally, bank does not pay any interest on current account. Nowadays, some banks do pay interest on current accounts.

Advantage of Current Bank Account:

Current account is mainly opened for businessmen such as proprietors, partnership firms, public and private companies, trust, association of persons, etc. that has a large number of daily banking transactions, i.e. receipts and/or payments.

It enables businessmen to carry out their business transactions properly and promptly.

The businessmen can withdraw from their current accounts without any limit, subject to banking cash transaction tax, if any levied by the government.

Home branch is that location where one opens his bank account. There are no restrictions on deposits made in the current account opened in a home branch of a bank. However, the current account holder can deposit the cash from any other branch of a bank other than the home branch by paying a nominal charge as applicable.

It helps businessmen to make a direct payment to their creditors by issuing cheques, demand-drafts or pay-orders, etc.

It enables a bank to collect money on behalf of its customers and credits the same in their customers' current accounts.

It enables the current account holder to obtain overdraft (short-term borrowing) facility.

The creditors of the account holder can get credit-worthiness information of the account holder through inter-bank connection.

It facilitates the industrial progress of the country. Without its help, businessmen would face difficulties in running their businesses.

It has the facilities of Internet-banking and mobile-banking to carry out important business transactions with ease and quickly.

It also provides various other advantages (benefits) such as:

Recurring deposit account is generally opened for a purpose to be served at a future date. Generally opened to finance pre-planned future purposes like, wedding expenses of daughter, purchase of costly items like land, luxury car, refrigerator or air conditioner, etc.

Recurring deposit account is opened by those who want to save regularly for a certain period of time and earn a higher interest rate.

In recurring deposit account certain fixed amount is accepted every month for a specified period and the total amount is repaid with interest at the end of the particular fixed period.

Features of Recurring Deposit Account:

The main objective of recurring deposit account is to develop regular savings habit among the public.

In India, minimum amount that can be deposited is Rs.10 at regular intervals.

The period of deposit is minimum six months and maximum ten years.

The rate of interest is higher.

No withdrawals are allowed. However, the bank may allow to close the account before the maturity period.

The bank provides the loan facility. The loan can be given upto 75% of the amount standing to the credit of the account holder.

Advantage of Recurring Deposit Account:

Recurring deposit encourages regular savings habit among the people.

Recurring deposit account holder can get a loan facility.

The bank can utilise such funds for lending to businessmen.

The bank may also invest such funds in profitable areas.

The account which is opened for a particular fixed period (time) by depositing particular amount (money) is known as Fixed (Term) Deposit Account.

The term 'fixed deposit' means that the deposit is fixed and is repayable only after a specific period is over.

Under fixed deposit account, money is deposited for a fixed period say six months, one year, five years or even ten years. The money deposited in this account can not be withdrawn before the expiry of period.

The rate of interest paid for fixed deposit vary (changes) according to amount, period and from bank to bank.

Features of Fixed Deposit Account:

The main purpose of fixed deposit account is to enable the individuals to earn a higher rate of interest on their surplus funds (extra money).

The amount can be deposited only once. For further such deposits, separate accounts need to be opened.

The period of fixed deposits range between 15 days to 10 years.

A high interest rate is paid on fixed deposits. The rate of interest may vary as per amount, period and from bank to bank.

Withdrawals are not allowed. However, in case of emergency, banks allow to close the fixed account prior to maturity date. In such cases, the bank deducts 1% (deduction percentage many vary) from the interest payable as on that date.

The depositor is given a fixed deposit receipt, which depositor has to produce at the time of maturity. The deposit can be renewed for a further period.

Advantages of Fixed Deposit Account:

Fixed deposit encourages savings habit for a longer period of time..

Fixed deposit account enables the depositor to earn a high interest rate.

The depositor can get loan facility from the bank.

On maturity the amount can be used to make purchases of assets.

The bank can get the funds for a longer period of time.

The bank can lend such funds for short term loans to businessmen.

Fixed deposits indirectly boost economic development of the country.

The bank can also invest such funds in profitable areas.

In simple words it: If a company makes its service/product cheaper by removing the extra features, that is no frill. Eg. Mobile phone postpaid package without unlimited ringtones or free night talk. Dish TV package without 100 sports channels.

For our discussion purpose: No frill account is a type of bank account, with low / Zero balance requirement with extra-features removed.

RBI came up with this No-frill concept, because poor people cannot open regular bank accounting having requirements like Rs.5000/- minimum balance etc.So there are no frill accounts for them. So that poor people can open bank accounts and take loans, that’ll save them from the 36% interest rate charged by the evil money lenders.

A joint account is an account that belongs to more than one person. Joint accounts are often set up by couples that are living together or people who have finances that are closely linked. Both current and savings accounts can be opened jointly.

Joint accounts can be set up so each individual account holder can use the account or so that all account holders have to authorise transactions.

With a joint account, you are liable for any debts run up by other account holders.

Most banks provide accounts specifically for students in higher education. These are current accounts that have been designed with student finance in mind. They usually offer interest-free overdrafts up to a certain limit to help students cope with the debts that often accumulate while studying.

Most people who run businesses have a business account so their business and personal money are kept separate.They are more or less same as Current Accounts.

A growing number of banks and building societies offer current and savings accounts that are designed and run in accordance with Shariah law, which is Islamic law. Under Shariah law, interest is prohibited so Shariah compliant accounts provide a return on your money that is not interest.

Besides these , there are certain accounts, which gained momentum in the past few years .These accounts can never be ignored while we talk about the categories of accounts.

The most important of all, the lifeline of Stock Market is the DEMAT Account.

In India, shares and securities are held electronically in a Dematerialized (or "Demat") (account, instead of the investor taking physical possession of certificates.

A Dematerialized account is opened by the investor while registering with an(or sub-broker).

The Dematerialized account number is quoted for all transactions to enable electronic settlements of trades to take place. Every shareholder will have a Dematerialized account for the purpose of transactingshares

Access to the Dematerialized account requires an internet passwords and a transaction password.

Benefit to the company:

The depository system helps in reducing the cost of new issues due to lower printing and distribution costs. It increases the efficiency of the registrars and transfer agents and the secretarial department of a company. It provides better facilities for communication and timely service to shareholders and investors.

Benefit to the investor:

The depository system reduces risks involved in holding physical certificates, e.g., loss, theft, mutilation, forgery, etc. It ensures transfer settlements and reduces delay in registration of shares. It ensures faster communication to investors. It helps avoid bad delivery problems due to signature differences, etc. It ensures faster payment on sale of shares. No stamp duty is paid on transfer of shares. It provides more acceptability and liquidity of securities.

Benefits to Brokers:

It reduces risks of delayed settlement. It ensures greater profit due to increase in volume of trading. It eliminates chances of forgery or bad delivery. It increases overall trading andprofitability. It increases confidence in their investors.

Fees involoved:

There are four major charges usually levied on a demat account: account opening fee, annual maintenance fee, custodian fee and transaction fee.

Account Opening fee:

Private banks, such as HDFC Bank and AXIS Bank, do not have one. However, players such as Kotak Securities, Sushil Finance, ICICI Bank, Globe Capital, Karvy Consultants and Bajaj Capital Limited do impose an opening fee. State Bank of India does not charge any account opening charge while other maintenance and transaction charges apply. Most players levy this when re-opening a demat account. However, the Stock Holding Corporation offers a lifetime account opening fee, which allows the investor to hold on to his/her demat account for a long period. The fee is also refundable.

Annual maintenance fee:

This is also known as folio maintenance charges, and is generally levied in advance. It is charged on annual or monthly basis.

Custodian fee:

This fee is charged monthly and depends on the number of securities (i.e. ISINs) held in the account. It generally ranges between Rs 0.5 to Rs 1 per ISIN per month. DPs will not charge a custody fee for an ISIN on which the companies have paid one-time custody charges to the depository.

Transaction fee:

The transaction fee is charged for crediting/debiting securities to and from the account on a monthly basis. While some DPs, such as SBI, charge a flat fee per transaction, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank peg the fee to the transaction value, which is subject to a minimum amount.

The fee also differs based on the kind of transaction (buying or selling). Some DPs charge only for debiting the securities, while others charge for both. Some DPs also charge the investor even if the instruction to buy/sell fails or is rejected. In addition, service tax is also charged by the DPs.

In addition to the other fees, the DP also charges a fee for converting the shares from the physical to the electronic form or vice-versa. This fee varies for both demat (physical-to-electronic) and remat (electronic-to-physical) requests. For demat transactions, some DPs charge a flat fee per request in addition to the variable fee per certificate, while others charge only the variable fee.

However, having Demat Account invites only one disadvantage that there is no provision to close a demat account, which is having illiquid shares. The investor cannot close the account and he and his successors have to go on paying the charges to the participant, like annual folio charges etc.

After liquidating the holdings, many Indian investors don't close their dp account. They are unaware that DPs charge even on accounts with nil holdings.

You should refer the given link for better understanding of this concept. Personally, ifeel that the link will be really helpful in grasping the entire concept:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/caclubindia/cdn/forum/files/302370_932607_binder1.pdf

An escrow account is a temporary pass through account held by a third party during the process of a transaction between two parties.

This is a temporary account as it operates until the completion of a transaction process, which is implemented after all the conditions between the buyer and the seller are settled.

Escrow Accounts are legally permitted in India and for that you should be either an Advocate or a C.A. or a person of a high repute or a banker or a person on both the parties to the dsipute or the transactions are ready to keep the money in Escrow with that person.For this, no certificate from any person, authority or RBI is required.

Accounts maintained by investors with the Primary dealers for holding their Government securities and Treasury bills in the demat form are know as Gilt accounts.

The salient features of Gilt accounts are: It is like a bank, which debits or credits the holders account on withdrawal or deposit of the money. Similarly in a gilt account the holder's account is debited or credited on the sale or purchase of the securities.

The term "gilt account" is also a term used by the RBI to refer to a constituent account maintained by a custodian bank for maintenance and servicing of dematerialized government securities owned by a retail customer.

Apart from above there is a series of categories of Accounts for NRI’s

If a person is NRI or PIO, she/he can, without the permission from the Reserve Bank, open, hold and maintain the different types of accounts given below with an Authorised Dealer in India, i.e. a bank authorised to deal in foreign exchange. NRO Savings accounts can also be maintained with the Post Offices in India. However, individuals/ entities of Bangladesh and Pakistan require prior approval of the Reserve Bank.

Types of accounts which can be maintained by an NRI / PIO in India

A. Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee Account (NRO Account)

NRO accounts may be opened / maintained in the form of current, savings, recurring or fixed deposit accounts.

Account should be denominated in Indian Rupees.

Permissible credits to NRO account are transfers from rupee accounts of non-resident banks, remittances received in permitted currency from outside India through normal banking channels, permitted currency tendered by account holder during his temporary visit to India, legitimate dues in India of the account holder like current income like rent, dividend, pension, interest, etc., sale proceeds of assets including immovable property acquired out of rupee/foreign currency funds or by way of legacy/ inheritance.

Eligible debits such as all local payments in rupees including payments for investments as specified by the Reserve Bank and remittance outside India of current income like rent, dividend, pension, interest, etc., net of applicable taxes, of the account holder.

NRI/PIO may remit from the balances held in NRO account an amount not exceeding USD one million per financial year, subject to payment of applicable taxes.

The accounts may be held jointly with residents and / or with non-resident Indian.

B. Non-Resident (External) Rupee Account (NRE Account)

NRE account may be in the form of savings, current, recurring or fixed deposit accounts. Such accounts can be opened only by the non-resident himself and not through the holder of the power of attorney.

NRIs as defined in Notification No. FEMA 5/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 may be permitted to open NRE account with their resident close relatives (relative as defined in Section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956) on ‘former or survivor ‘ basis. The resident close relative shall be eligible to operate the account as a Power of Attorney holder in accordance with the extant instructions during the life time of the NRI/liIO account holder.

Account will be maintained in Indian Rupees.

Balances held in the NRE account are freely repatriable.

Accrued interest income and balances held in NRE accounts are exempt from Income tax and Wealth tax, respectively.

Permissible credits to NRE account are inward remittance to India in permitted currency, proceeds of account payee cheques, demand drafts / bankers' cheques, issued against encashment of foreign currency, where the instruments issued to the NRE account holder are supported by encashment certificate issued by AD Category-I / Category-II, transfers from other NRE / FCNR accounts, sale proceeds of FDI investments, interest accruing on the funds held in such accounts, interest on Government securities/dividends on units of mutual funds purchased by debit to the NRE/FCNR(B) account of the holder, certain types of refunds, etc.

Eligible debits are local disbursements, transfer to other NRE / FCNR accounts of person eligible to open such accounts, remittance outside India, investments in shares / securities/commercial paper of an Indian company, etc.

Loans up to Rs.100 lakh can be extended against security of funds held in NRE Account either to the depositors or third parties.

C. Foreign Currency Non Resident (Bank) Account – FCNR (B) Account

FCNR (B) accounts are only in the form of term deposits of 1 to 5 years

All debits / credits permissible in respect of NRE accounts, including credit of sale proceeds of FDI investments, are permissible in FCNR (B) accounts also.

Account can be in any freely convertible currency.

Loans up to Rs.100 lakh can be extended against security of funds held in FCNR (B) deposit either to the depositors or third parties.

The interest rates are stipulated by the Department of Banking Operations and Development, Reserve Bank of India.

Opening of accounts by individuals/entities of Bangladesh / Pakistan nationality requires prior approval of the Reserve Bank. All such requests may be referred to the Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Foreign Exchange Department, Foreign Investment Division, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, Mumbai - 400 001.

A person resident in India who has gone abroad for studies or who is on a visit to a foreign country may open, hold and maintain a Foreign Currency Account with a bank outside India during his stay outside India, provided that on his return to India, the balance in the account is repatriated to India. However, short visits to India by the student who has gone abroad for studies, before completion of his studies, shall not be treated as his return to India.

A person resident in India who has gone out of India to participate in an exhibition/trade fair outside India may open, hold and maintain a Foreign Currency Account with a bank outside India for crediting the sale proceeds of goods on display in the exhibition/trade fair. However, the balance in the account is repatriated to India through normal banking channels within a period of one month from the date of closure of the exhibition/trade fair.

Returning NRIs /PIOs may open, hold and maintain with an authorised dealer in India a Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) Account to transfer balances held in NRE/FCNR(B) accounts.

Proceeds of assets held outside India at the time of return can be credited to RFC account.

The funds in RFC accounts are free from all restrictions regarding utilisation of foreign currency balances including any restriction on investment in any form outside India.

RFC accounts can be maintained in the form of current or savings or term deposit accounts, where the account holder is an individual and in the form of current or term deposits in all other cases.

RFC accounts are permitted to be held jointly with the resident close relative(s) as defined in the Companies Act, 1956 as joint holder (s) in their RFC bank account on ‘former or survivor basis’. However, such resident Indian close relative, now being made eligible to become joint account holder shall not be eligible to operate the account during the life time of the resident account holder.