The welfare of girl children in the country has been one of the prime and challenging aims of the government of India. Several policies, reforms, and initiatives have been put into place. One of the well-known, influential initiatives in this regard is “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.” This is a measure to mitigate discrimination and oppression of girl child and create an atmosphere where parents can be secure and joyful for giving birth to a girl child. The initiative is India’s answer to fight for girls’ education. Another flag under the same aim of “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” is “Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.” It is crucial to calculate the total amount achieved through this scheme through the SSY calculator.
The Yojana of Sulkanya Samriddhi is for investing to save money for the important and cost-demanding phases of a girl’s life, viz, education and marriage. SSY aims to defeat the sense of burden upon parents and society in general by providing lucrative returns and securing the financial aspect of education and marriage of girl child. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana calculator is an immediate go-to to get raw numbers of the amount achievable through the Yojana.
The following article attempts to act as a comprehensive guide to knowing about Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.
Table of Contents
What is Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)?
In direct terms, an SSY scheme is an investment option for the parents of a girl child. The Yojana provides a current interest rate of 7.6%, which even beats the Public Provident Fund (PPF). The scheme can be availed from most banks of the country and Indian Post offices. The scheme also qualifies for EEE (exempt-exempt-exempt) status as the taxes are exempted from the principal invested amount, earned interest, and maturity amount.
When Can a Sukanya Samriddhi Account be Opened?
The parents must open an account under the Sukanya Samriddhi before the girl child turns ten years old. Then, one of the parents or the guardian is the primary account holder of the account, while the girl child, who is still a minor, is accorded as the joint holder. For parents having more than one girl child, it’s important to remember that the scheme of sukanya samriddhi yojana benefits can be availed for a maximum of two girl children of the parent.
As mentioned above, the sukanya yojana qualifies for EEE (exempt-exempt-exempt), so the parent investing under the SSY can avail of the tax deduction for a maximum of ₹1.5 lakh (Section 80C of Income Tax Act 1961) and can invest up to ₹1.5 lakh. The investment can be either a one-time transaction or done in several transactions adding up to the said amount.
The maturity period of the sukanya samriddhi yojana online is when the girl child turns 21 years old. In that case, the maturity amount can be withdrawn, invested, or saved in another form. There is also a provision of partial withdrawal for education after the girl child passes the examination of the 10th class. In such situations, up to 50% of the amount can be withdrawn.
Interest Rates of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
The scheme for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is government-initiated, so it provides handsome rates of interest, which are reviewed every quarter. The variable interest rates throughout the years are considered in the sukanya yojana calculator and can be calculated smoothly.
The sukanya samridhi yojana interest rate and the relevant quarter are arrayed in the following table.
April ’20 – Current: 7.6%
July’19 – March’20: 8.4%
Oct ’18 – June ’19: 8.5%
Jan ’18 – Sep ’18: 8.1%
July ’17 – Dec’17: 8.3%
Apr’17 – June’17: 8.4%
Oct’16 – Mar’17: 8.5%
Apr’16 – Sep ’16: 8.6%
Salient Features of SSY
The sukanya samriddhi yojana details are as follows:
- The parent may remember that for one girl child, one can open a single account under the Sukanya Samriddhi.
- The account in the name of the girl child must be opened before the girl child turns ten years old.
- Only two of the daughters of a parent/guardian are allowed to have an investment in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.
- To prevent the account from getting into the dormant stage, a minimum amount of Rs. 250 is to be deposited.
- If somehow, one needs to deposit the minimum amount of Rs. 250 in the SSY account, the same can be reactivated by paying Rs. 50 as a penalty and Rs. 250 as the minimum deposit required per year.
- The closure of the account under SSY is allowed only under the circumstance of either the demise of the girl child or parent. Also, the closure can cover medical expenses in case of an adverse disease.
- It is also important to bear in mind that the event of premature closure is allowed only after five years from the account’s opening date.
- If anyone wants to calculate interest rates on the SSY scheme, then they can use the sukanya calculator.
Documents required for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
- The birth certificate of the girl child/ Baal Aadhar.
- The parent or the guardian of the girl child’s identity proof/addressed proof.
- Permanent Account Number Card of the parent or guardian of the girl child.
- Passport-size photos of the parent or guardian who shall open the account under SSY on behalf of the girl child.
- Some extra documents like salary slips may be sought in some cases.
Who can open an account under Sukanya Samriddhi Account?
- The account must be opened on behalf of the girl child before she turns ten.
- There can be a single account under SSY for a girl child.
- The parent or guardian can open up to two accounts for up to two girl children.
- In the case of twins and similar medical situations, more than one account is allowed after a qualified medical officer is certified.
- The parent of the girl child must be an Indian citizen, and that too strictly at the time of account opening.
How to Open a Sukanya Samriddhi Account?
One needs to follow the below steps to open an account under the SSY scheme.
Step 1: One needs to fill out the form of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana form
Step 2: The filled form is then submitted before any Indian Post Office or any bank allowing account opening under the SSY scheme (most banks allow SSY account opening)
Step 3: An accompanying document of Know Your Customer (KYC) is usually submitted along with the application for the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account.
Step 4: For opening the account, an amount minimum of Rs. 250 and a maximum of Rs. 1.5 lakh needs to be deposited.
Step 5: After the account opening, you are provided with passbooks that help keep track of the deposits and transactions.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is an excellent initiative of the Indian government which aims at the welfare of girl children and has shown positive results too. The maturity amount at the end of the maturity period can be realized using an SSY calculator.
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