Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Sukanya Samriddhi Account
Country India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Launched 22 January 2015 (2015-01-22)
Status: Active

Sukanya Samriddhi Account (literally Girl Child Prosperity Account) in a Government of India backed saving scheme targeted at the parents of girl children. The scheme encourages parents to build a fund for the future education and marriage expenses for their female child.[1]

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 as a part of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. The scheme currently provides an interest rate of 8.6% (for FY2016-17) and tax benefits. The account can be opened at any India Post office or a branch of some authorised commercial banks.[2][3]

Summary

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana.[4][5] The accounts can be opened at any India Post office or a branch of some authorised commercial banks.[2] Initially, the interest rate was set at 9.1% but later revised to 9.2% in late March 2015 for FY2015-16.[2][3]

The account can be opened anytime between the birth of a girl child and the time she attains 10 years age by the guardian. Only one account is allowed per child. Parents can open a maximum of two accounts for each of their children (exception allowed for twins and triplets). The account can be transferred to anywhere in India.[6]

A minimum of 1,000 must be deposited in the account annually. The maximum deposit limit is 150,000. If the minimum deposit is not made in a year, a fine of 50 will be levied.[6]

The girl can operate her account after she reaches the age of 10. The account allows 50% withdrawal at the age of 18 for higher education purposes. The account reaches maturity at the age of 21. If the account is not closed, then it will continue to earn interest at the prevailing rate.[6] If the girl is over 18 and married, normal closure is allowed.[7]

Tax benefits

At the time of launch, only the deposits in the account were eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, which is 150,000 in 2015-16. However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced, during the 2015 Union Budget, tax exemption on the interest from the account and on withdrawal from the fund after maturity, making the tax benefits similar to that of the Public Provident Fund. These changes were applied retrospectively from 1 April 2015. These benefits will be reassessed annually.[1][8][6]

Summary of revisions
Serial Number Financial Year Date Range Interest Rate Minimum Investment Maximum Investment
1 2014-15 01 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 9.1% 1,000 150,000
2 2015-16 01 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 9.2% 1,000 150,000
3 2016-17 01 April 2016 to 30 June 2016 8.6% 1,000 150,000

Reception

By mid-March 2015, within 2 months of launch, 1,80,000 accounts had been opened under the scheme. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh reported highest number of new accounts.[2] The number of accounts opened up to October, 2015 under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana across the country is 76,19,668. The impact is that 76,19,668 girl children got Rs. 2838.73 crore deposited in their name.[9]

See also

References

Further reading

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