Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY): Account Eligibility, Interest Rate, Benefits

In relation to the campaign launched by the India government, a number of schemes were started. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was introduced by the government in relation to the campaign “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”. Sukanya Yojana is a saving scheme backed by the government of India. Sukanya Samriddhi account is for children between 10 to 21 years of age. Suppose the girl child marries on becoming major the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account ceases to exist.

Read through the article to know the sukanya samriddhi scheme along with sukanya yojana details.

Meaning of Sukanya Samriddhi scheme:

Government has been taking multiple measures for the development of girl children in terms of their education and health. One such scheme that is promoted by the government is Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account. Sukanya Samriddhi Account is a savings account to provide a way for parents to save money. The money saved goes towards a girl child education and marriage.

Sukanya Samriddhi is a small-time saving scheme. The account can be opened in post offices of India. The account can also be opened in recognized private and public banks. Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme details state that the account is to be opened in the form of savings accounts.

What is the objective of the scheme?

The main objective of the government behind launching Sukanya Samriddhi is female child devolvement. It is an unfortunate situation that we see in India where certain cultures see a girl as a burden. Female feticide is still in practice even after its ban by the government. Given such a situation, a number of schemes were undertaken by the government for the social welfare of a female child.

So, the main objective of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is reducing gender imbalance. Apart from this, the scheme also aims at offering a conducive environment for the education of the female child.

What are the features of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme?

The primary features of Sukanya scheme are stated as follows:

  1. The first important feature of the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme is that the account can be opened for the girl child alone.
  2. The account can be opened by the parents of the child or legal guardian.
  3. The number of Sukanya Samriddhi account that can be opened by a person is two. But in the case of twin girls, the maximum accounts that can be opened is three.
  4. The account carrier has a high-interest rate of 8.1 per cent. It also has a reasonable sum to the paid-for opening the account of 250 rupees.
  5. The Sukanya Scheme provides tax benefits. Deposits made under the scheme towards the account are exempted from the taxable income.
  6. The deposits towards the account can be made through a number of ways. The most common and accepted ways of deposit are cash, cheque and demand drafts. In addition to this, the girl child in whose name the account is opened can withdraw 50 percent of balance after attaining 18 years.
  7. The last and most important feature of the account is that it can be permanently closed on the death of the depositor.

What are the eligibility criteria for opening the SSY account?

The eligibility criteria for opening the Sukanya Yojana Scheme account are mentioned below:

  1. The account can be opened by the parents or legal guardian, as mentioned in the earlier part of the article.
  2. At the time of opening the account, the girl child must be less than 10 years of age.
  3. A family is entitled to open only two accounts. In other words, one account per girl child.
  4. Suppose the girl child is a single daughter, then the account cannot be opened.
  5. Opening the account offer multiple benefits such as a higher interest rate
  6. The first instalment for opening the account is 250 rupees. But it can go up to a 1, 50,000 maximum annually.

How to open a Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account?

Opening a Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account is pretty simple. The account can be opened at the post office and at certain banks. The procedure for opening Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana post office account or at a bank is the same.

Offline method

Procedure for  opening the account:

  1. Visit the nearest bank or post office in the locality.
  2. Ask for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana form; fill the form with correct details.
  3. Submit the form along with signature and photography.
  4. At the time of submission, the bank or post office may require the account opener to submit certain documents. Enquiry at the bank or post office about the documents and keep it ready.
  5. Submit the photocopy of the document self-attested to the bank or post office
  6. Pay the deposit amount between 250 to 1.5 lakhs.
  7. After receiving the filled and signed form along with documents, the concerned authority will verify the details.
  8. On being approved, the account will be opened. Collect a passbook for the account after getting intimation of application approval.

Online Method

The SSY account can also be opened online at certain reputed banks. This can be set-up with the help of the net banking facility. The procedure for opening the SSY account online is the same as offline.

What are the documents to be produced for opening the SSY account?

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana online or offline account requires certain supporting documents to complete the procedure. The documents that need to be submitted at the time of account opening are as follows:

  • A completely filled SSY account form
  • The birth certificate of the girl child in whose name the account is being opened. This is required to verify the age of the beneficiary
  • Address proof of the parent or legal guardian opening the account. Aadhaar card, bank passbook, a passport is the best address proof to be submitted
  • Finally, ID proof of the parent or legal guardian. PAN card, Aadhaar card, driving license and voter ID can act as ID proof.

ID and address proof documents of the applicant opening the account are essential for KYC.

What is Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana interest rate?

Sukanya Samriddhi interest rate is pretty high in comparison to other accounts. The account carries a high-interest rate to benefit the girl child for education and marriage. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana chart on interest rate is given below in the tabular form. The Government of India fixes the interest rate of the scheme after considering various factors. The interest rate of the account is changed quarterly by the government.

The interest rate of SSY account from the year 2017 to 2020 is as follows:

Financial Year

Rate of Interest

 1 April 2020 – 30 June 2020

7.6

1 January 2020 – 31 March 2020

8.4

1 April 2019 – 30 June 2019

8.50

1 January 2019 – 31 March 2019

8.50

1 October 2018 – 31 December 2018

8.50

1 July 2018 – 30 September 2018

8.10

1 April 2018 – 30 June 2018

8.10

1 January 2018 – 31 March 2018

8.10

1 October 2017 – 31 December 2017

8.30

1 July 2017 – 31 September 2017

8.30

1 April 2017 – 30 June 2017

8.40

What are the benefits of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana?

There are plenty of benefits for availing Sukanya Yojana scheme. The important benefits of the scheme are as follows:

It can be opened with minimal amount

For the opening of a SSY account, you need not spend a ton of money. The account can be opened with a nominal amount of 250 rupees. The amount has to be deposited for 15 years from the date of opening. Absence of which will lead to the account becoming inactive. For activation of SSY account, a fine of Rs.50 will be charged for every year.

Tax Saving

Opening of the account is also advantageous for saving taxes. The government of India has exempted the deposit made towards the account from income tax. This has encouraged a lot of families to open SSY accounts. Also Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana interest rate is good, which increases the deposited amount.

The account behaves like an FD

The account comes with a lock-in period. This is the best and most important benefit of a SSY account. The account cannot be used to withdraw money until the girl child attains 18 years of age. Only the girl child in whose name the account is opened can withdraw from it.

Girl child gets the proceeds of the account

The next benefit of opening SSY account is that the proceeds of it are paid to the girl child on maturity. The interest that has been accumulating from the date of opening the account is also paid directly to the girl child. This provides financial freedom to the girl child to pursue her life goals.

Interest is paid even after maturity

As against the general rule of paying interest the account has a special feature. Under SSY account the interest on the amount deposited is paid even after maturity. This feature comes into play only if the amount is not closed.

What is the use of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana calculator?

The best part of this account is available of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana calculator. The aim of the scheme is to promote saving that enables in meeting the education or marriage expenses of the child. But sometimes it happens that parents find it difficult to decide on annual investment.

But with the help of Sukanya Samriddhi calculator, this decision is made simple. The calculator is available online and asks details like the age of girl child, annual contribution, and start year. On feeding these details it will show the maturity year and amount. Check to see if the amount shown is sufficient to meet the expenses.

In case the maturity amount is less or more than what a parent expected no problem. The calculator will allow the parents or legal guardian to make changes to the annual investment.

What are the changes to the rules of SSY accounts?

In the year 2019, some changes were made to Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account. These changes were against an old rule that the child can operate the account after becoming a major. Earlier the child could operate the account if she is 10 years of age.

One other significant change in the rules is that the account can be opened for more than two girl children. For opening such an account the parent must submit an affidavit. The final change in the rule is that the interest of the account will be credited at the end of the financial year.

Bottom Line:

With this, the article on SSY account is concluded. The article contains complete Sukanya Yojana details. The account is one of the best measures taken by the government of India. Its aim is to provide an opportunity for the parents of the girl child to pay for big expenses. The scheme believes that being able to plan finances early the parents would stop seeing girl child as a burden.

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