Sukanya Samriddhi
Account/Yojana is a Small Savings Special deposit Scheme for girl child.
This
scheme is specially designed for girl’s higher education or marriage needs.
Highest fetching interest scheme across all schemes.
The Scheme launched for the
welfare of the girl child, to save and educate the girl child.
·
Who can open the
account? – Sukanya Samriddhi a/c
(or Khata) can be opened on a girl child’s name by her natural (biological)
parents or legal guardian.
·
What is the Age
limit? – SSA can be opened in
the name of a girl child from the birth of the girl child till she attains the
age of ten years. (In this year only, Age limit is relaxed to 11 Years)
·
How many accounts
can be opened? – A depositor may open and operate only one
account in the name of same girl child under this scheme. The depositor (or)
guardian can open only two SSA accounts. There is one exception to this rule.
The natural or legal guardian can open two or three accounts if twin girls are
born as second birth or triplets are born in the first birth itself.
· How to open a SSA account? Accounts
in name of the girl child can be opened in post offices or in any branch of a
commercial bank that is authorized by the Central Government to open an account
under this scheme rules.
·
What is the minimum
deposit to open the account? – The account may be opened with
an initial deposit of one thousand rupees. The minimum contribution in any
financial year is Rs 1000. Thereafter the contributions can in multiples of one
hundred rupees.
·
What is the maximum
deposit amount? – a minimum of
one thousand rupees shall be deposited in a financial year but the total money
deposited in an account on a single occasion or on multiple occasions shall not
exceed Rs 1.5 Lakh in a financial year.
·
Deposits in an account may be made till
the child completes fourteen years, from the date of opening of the
account.
·
Is there any
penalty? – If minimum (Rs 1000 pa) amount is not deposited, the
account will be treated as an irregular account. This can be
regularized/renewed on payment of Rs 50 per year as penalty. Along with
this, the minimum specified subscription for the year (s) of default should be
paid.
·
What is the mode of
deposit? – The deposits in Sukanya
Samruddhi scheme can be made in the form of Cash or Demand Draft or
Cheque. Where deposit is made by cheque or demand draft, the date of encashment
of the cheque or demand draft shall be the date of credit to the account. The
cheque or DD should be drawn in favour of the postmaster of the concerned post
office or the Manager of the concerned bank.The depositor (parents or guardian)
has to write the account holder’s name (child’s name) and the account number on
the backside of the instrument.
·
What is the Rate of
Interest on Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – The applicable
rate of interest on SSA for the financial year 2014-2015 is 9.1%. This is one
of the highest rates of interest offered by Government on small savings scheme
·
Is interest rate
fixed or variable? – The rate of
interest is not fixed and will be notified by the central government on a
yearly basis.
·
The account can be transferred anywhere in
India if the girl shifts to a place other than the city or locality where the
account stands.
·
Is Premature
withdrawal allowed? – 50 % (half of the fund) of the
accumulated amount in SSA can be withdrawn for girl’s higher education and marriage
after she attains 18 years of age. The account’s balance at the end of
preceding financial year is used for the calculation.
·
Can the girl child
operate the account? On
attaining age of ten years, the account holder that is the girl child may
herself operate the account, however, deposit in the account may be made by the
guardian or parents.
·
Is premature
closure allowed? In the event of
death of the account holder, the account shall be closed immediately on
production of death certificate. 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.
·
The scheme would mature on
completion of 21 years of the girl child, from the date of opening of the
account, with an option of keeping the account till marriage.
·
Can the girl child
continue the account after her marriage? –
The operation of the account shall not be permitted beyond the date of the
girl’s marriage.
·
What are the
required documents to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – Birth
certificate of the girl child has to be produced. The depositor (parents or
guardian) has to submit his/her identity and address proofs.
·
On opening an account, the depositor
shall be given a pass book. It will have date of birth of the girl
child, date of opening of account, account number, name and address of the
account holder and the initial amount deposited. The depositor has to present
the passbook to the post office or bank at the time of depositing/receiving the
interest/on maturity.
Tax Benefits on Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme
The amount that is deposited
under Sukanya Samriddhi Account will be eligible for income
tax exemption under Section 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961.
At
present, only the contribution of up to Rs 1.5 lakh toward Sukanya Samridhi
Yojana is eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C. But discussions are on
to also exempt the interest income and withdrawal amount. We can expect a
formal announcement on this in the coming Union Budget 2015-16.
(Issue of making interest
income and withdrawal exempt from taxation can be done by Department of Revenue
(DoR) through legislative amendments. The matter is under examination of DoR)
January 31, 2015
Kalaivaraikalai
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