Special Term Deposit Scheme Sukanya
Samriddhi for Minor Girl Child launched
The Government has
launched a new deposit scheme – Sukanya Samriddhi only for minor girl child.
This is a small savings scheme which can be opened by the natural (biological)
or legal guardian of the girl child aged below 10 years. However, Government
has given a buffer time of 1 year if your child turned 10 within a year
before the announcement. This means that if the girl child turned 10
anytime between December 2013 and December 2014, you can open such an account
in her name.
Deposit account
under this scheme can be opened either in public sector bank or post office.
Features of
Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme
Opening of Account
Account under
Sukanya Samriddhi can be opened and operated either by the minor girl child who
has attained the age of 10 years or by guardian of the girl child. Only one
account shall be opened in the name of a girl child under these rules after
furnishing birth certificate of the girl child along with other documents
relating to identity and residence proof of the depositor.
However, as part
of the initial offer one year of grace period is being given. Any girl child
born between 2 December 2003 and 1 December 2004 can open account up to till 1
December 2015.
Guardian of the
girl child will be allowed to open and operate accounts of maximum of two girl
children except in the case where depositor either blessed with three girl
children in first birth or twin girls in the second birth.
Deposit Rules
The account can be
opened with a minimum of Rs.1,000. Thereafter any amount in the multiples of
Rs.100 may be deposited with a minimum amount of Rs.1,000 and maximum amount of
Rs.1,50,000 in a financial year.
The deposit shall
be made by cash, cheque or demand draft. The minimum deposit of Rs.1,000 is to
be made each year else a penalty of Rs.50 shall be levied.
Rate of Interest
For the current fiscal year i.e. 2014-15, the deposit will fetch
interest at the rate of 9.1% per annum.
For sake of
simplicity, method of calculation of interest will be similar to Public
Provident Fund (PPF). The rate of interest will be notified each year by the
Government which will be compounded yearly.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna Interest Calculation
Premature
Withdrawal
Premature
withdrawal up to 50% is allowed for the purpose of higher education and
marriage only when the account holder girl child attains the age of 18 years.
Term Period
The deposit is to
be made till the end of 14 years from the year of opening of account. The
maturity of the account is 21 years from the date of opening of account or if
the girl gets married before completion of such 21 years.
Taxation :- Relief U/s 80C including Interest after mature ( Full Amount)
On the Deposit
made:
The amount
deposited towards Sukanya Samriddhi Account is deductible under
section 80C upto Rs.1.5 lakhs. This limit also includes other deductions under
section 80C.
On the Interest
Budget 2015 has
made Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana fully tax-free.
Sukanya Samriddhi Account vs Public
Provident Fund (PPF)
Both Sukanya
Samriddhi Account (SSA) and Public Provident Fund (PPF) aims to seed the
savings habit but both schemes have their own pros and cons.
Recurring Deposits vs Sukanya
Samriddhi Account
Recurring deposits
are rather for short-term period like 6 months to 3 years while sukanya
samriddhi yojana is a pretty long-term scheme.
