The minimum annual deposit for accounts under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana – a government-backed savings scheme for the prosperity of the girl child – has been slashed from ₹1000 to ₹250, a move aimed at ensuring more people can take advantage of the programme.
Launched on 22 January 2015 under the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ initiative, the government-backed project targets parents of girl children in India, encouraging them to build a fund for the future education of their female child. According to the scheme, parents or legal guardians can open an account in the name of the girl child, and make a deposit as small as ₹250, but the maximum limit extends upto ₹1,50,000 in one financial year. The interest rate on the account is revised every quarter, and the current interest rate for the July to September quarter has been set at 8.1%.
The scheme can be availed at most banks and all post offices across the country. The banks which have been sanctioned to open accounts under this scheme are: State Bank of India, Vijaya Bank, United Bank of India, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, Syndicate Bank, Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, Dena Bank, Corporation Bank, Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, Andhra Bank and Allahabad Bank.
A guardian can open only one account in the name of one girl child, and a maximum of 2 accounts in the name of 2 girl children. The account can be opened in the name of the girl child till she attains the age of 10 years and can be closed once the girl completes 21 years. Partial withdrawal upto 50% of the amount (for the purpose of higher education) or premature closure (in case she gets married) is allowed once the girl turns 18. In order to make a withdrawal, the account should have deposits of at least 14 years or more. However, one of the biggest advantages of the scheme is that the deposits made into the account, the interest earned, and the maturity amount are all fully exempted from tax.
While presenting the Union budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that as of November 201, more than 1.26 crore accounts had been opened across the country under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, amounting upto ₹19 crore.