અંકિત રાણા

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana For Girl Child

Sukanya Samriddhi Account is a saving scheme for the girl child. The Modi government has started this scheme to promote saving among the middle class. This scheme has a purpose, therefore, it carries greater motivation. The government has started this scheme under Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Banner.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account gives an interest rate of 9.1% in the year 2015. This interest rate will change every year. Before Sukanya Samriddhi Account, the  government used to operate other saving schemes. But Sukanya Samriddhi Account is giving you the best interest rate. PPF account has many benefits, but Sukanya Samriddhi Account gives a better interest rate than it. Even, the mandatory EPF account also gives lower return than Sukanya Samriddhi Account. However, the recurring deposit interest rate and fixed deposit interest rate of some banks may be better than Sukanya Samriddhi Account, but they don’t give government guarantee. Only senior citizen saving scheme of the post office gives a greater return than Sukanya Samriddhi Account, But it does not give similar tax benefit.

Government Backing

The best part of Sukanya Samriddhi Account is the government backing. The scheme is operated by the government of India. Your money goes to the government account. It remains with the government till the maturity. Since, there is very little chance of default by the government, your money remains in the safe hand. The interest rate on Sukanya Samriddhi Account is also fixed by the government. Since, the government has linked the interest rate of saving schemes with the 10 year government bond, you will always get the competitive interest rate.

Best Tax Saving

Tax saving benefit is the biggest draw of the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. It is one of the most tax efficient schemes. You get the tax benefit on investment, interest and redemption. The tax benefit of Sukanya Samriddhi Account is similar to the PPF, Equity linked saving scheme and insurance schemes. You get the tax benefit on Sukanya Samriddhi Account under the section 80C. In the section 80C, you get many tax deductions up to the limit of Rs 1.5 lakh. Therefore, you can invest maximum 1.5 lakh in a Sukanya Samriddhi Account.

Rules Of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

The Sukanya Samriddhi Account is not an ‘open for all’ scheme. There are some limitations in this scheme. You must know the rules of Sukanya Samriddhi Account.

Only for Two Female Child

You can open The Sukanya Samriddhi Account  in the name of the girl child only.

The girl child should be under the age of 10.
You can open maximum 2 accounts for the 2 girl child. You can open 3 accounts if second and third girl child are twins.

Get Money After Getting Adult

The maturity of the Sukanya Samriddhi Account is linked to the maturity of the girl child. The Sukanya Samriddhi Account matures on the date your girl child becomes 21 years old.
Up to 50% withdrawal is possible after the age of 18. The withdrawal must be for the education, treatment or marriage of the girl child.

Minimum and Maximum Investment Limit

You must invest minimum Rs 1000 to the Sukanya Samriddhi Account every year.
The maximum investment in Sukanya Samriddhi Account a year can’t go beyond 1.5 lakh. It is a combined limit for one parent.
If you can’t deposit the minimum amount, you must pay the penalty of Rs 50 for every skipped year.

How To Open Sukanya Samriddhi Account

You can open a Sukanya Samriddhi Account with any post office in India. The bank which opens a PPF account, also open the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. The biggest bank of India, SBI also opens Sukanya Samriddhi account. The ICICI bank also gives SSA facility.
But this facility is not available at every branch. The branch which gives the facility of PPF account also opens the Sukanya Samriddhi Account.

The Banks Which Open Sukanya Samriddhi Account

1. State Bank of India
2. State Bank of Patiala
3. State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur
4. State Bank of Travancore
5. State Bank of Hyderabad
6. State Bank of Mysore
7. Andhra Bank
8. Allahabad Bank
9. Bank of Baroda
10. Bank of India
11. Punjab & Sind Bank
12. Bank of Maharashtra
13. Canara Bank
14. Central Bank of India
15. Corporation Bank
16. Dena Bank
17. Indian Bank
18. Indian Overseas Bank
19. Punjab National Bank
20. Syndicate Bank
21. UCO Bank
22. Oriental Bank of Commerce
23. Union Bank of India
24. United Bank of India
25. Vijaya Bank
26. Axis Bank Ltd.
27. ICICI Bank Ltd.
28. IDBI Bank Ltd.

The process of opening Sukanya Samriddhi Account is similar to the PPF account in SBI. The government has prescribed a form of the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. I am attaching the sample Sukanya Samriddhi Account form of the government. The banks can customize it for them. Meanwhile, this form will work for opening the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. You can also see the sample passbook of Sukanya Samriddhi Account.
To open a Sukanya Samriddhi Account, you need to produce a copy of these documents

1. Birth certificate of the girl child
2. Identity proof of the guardian.
3. Address proof of the guardian.
4. PAN of the guardian.

Operation of Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Regular Deposits

The deposits into the account may be made till completion of fourteen financial years, from the date of the opening of the account.
You need to pay the penalty of Rs 50 for the skipped year with the minimum investment amount for every year.

Mode of Payment

You can deposit the money in the Sukanya Samriddhi Account through cash, cheque or demand draft. You must write the name of the account holder and account number on the back of cheque or demand draft. The cheque or demand draft should be addressed to the manager or the postmaster.
The date of encashment would be the date of deposit for the cheque.

Online Payment

The government has not said anything about the online payment. In the ‘mode of payment’ section, it has given the option of cash, cheque and DD. There is no mention of online payment. Hence, we should not  think of the online payment. This may be a major drawback of the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. However, this scheme is made on the structure of PPF, you can expect the online payment as well in the future. Banks give online payment facility to the PPF account.

Transaction In Sukanya Samriddhi Account

The guardian must operate the Sukanya Samriddhi Account till the 10 years age of the girl child. After the age of 10 years, girl child herself can operate the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. However, anyone can deposit money to the Sukanya Samriddhi Account of a girl child.

Extension of Sukanya Samriddhi Account

The money can stay in the account after the girl becomes 21 years old. The account will also earn the interest as prescribed earlier. After the age of 21, one can redeem the maturity amount anytime.

Premature Withdrawal from Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Premature withdrawal is permitted before the age of 21. But there are some conditions for the premature withdrawal.

1. The age of the girl should be more than 18 years.
2. Withdrawal should be for the marriage or education of the girl.
3. Withdrawal can’t be more than 50% balance of the account at the end preceding financial year.

Closure Of Sukanya Samriddhi Account

A Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be closed after the girl becomes 21 years old. However, one can keep the money in the account after the age of 21 years. The account will keep earning the interest.

Premature closure of account

Premature closure of Sukanya Samriddhi Account is permitted under these circumstances
1. If the girl child dies the account would be closed immediately. The guardian will get the maturity amount. The guardian must produce the death certificate. These are the words of the government gazette.

“In the event of death of the account holder, the account shall be closed immediately on production of a death certificate issued by the competent authority, and the balance at the credit of the account shall be paid along with interest till the month preceding the month of premature closure of the account, to the guardian of the account holder.”

2. If guardians are facing hardship for the survival. This decision would be taken by the competent government authority. These are the words of the Government Gazette.

“Where the Central Government is satisfied that operation or continuation of the account is causing undue hardship to the account holder, it may, by order, for reasons to be recorded in writing, allow pre-mature closure of the account only in cases of extreme compassionate grounds such as medical support in life threatening diseases, death, etc.”

Transfer Of Account

Like a PPF account, you can also transfer the Sukanya Samriddhi account to anywhere in the country. You can transfer your account from a post office to another post office or a bank. You can also transfer your Sukanya Samriddhi Account from the bank to the post office or another bank.

Interest Payment on Sukanya Samriddhi Account

The interest payment  on Sukanya Samriddhi Account is similar to the PPF.

• The interest on Sukanya Samriddhi Account is compounded Annually. The interest is given monthly, but compounding happens at the end of the financial year.
• For interest calculation, the lowest balance before the 5th day of the month is taken. Therefore, to get the interest on the total balance of the month, one should deposit the amount before 5th day. Please note, the cheques should be realized till 5th day.

The Growth of Money In Sukanya Samriddhi Account

If you deposit Rs 1000 every year before the 5th of April, The money will grow in the given fashion. Please note, I have taken the current interest rate  of 9.1%. It may change in the future, which will result in the change of these values as well.

	Rate	9.10%
	Yearly Investment	Balance At the End of Financial Year
1	1000	1091
2	1000	2281
3	1000	3580
4	1000	4997
5	1000	6542
6	1000	8229
7	1000	10069
8	1000	12076
9	1000	14266
10	1000	16655
11	1000	19261
12	1000	22105
13	1000	25208
14	1000	28593
15	1000	32286
16	1000	36315
17	1000	40710
18	1000	45506
19	1000	50738
20	1000	56446
21	1000	62674

 Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is one of the best small saving schemes. The unique feature of this scheme is the stated goal. You save money for the girl child’s marriage and education. The defined objective gives you more motivation to save regularly. There is not a single reason to avoid this scheme. It gives you the best interest rate among all government saving schemes. It gives you most tax benefit. It gives you enough flexibility of investment.
The child plans of insurance companies are left after this scheme. If your sole motive is the investment for your daughter, you must subscribe to this scheme.