This government scheme aims to right gender imbalance

Coming as yet another welcome initiative from the central government in the line of social security schemes, Sukanya Samriddhi Account is a part of “Beti Bachao – Beti Padhao” policy of the government.

Even though the government has been taking many initiatives, the sex ratio in India has become a grave concern. Coming up to remedy the situation, the main objective of the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is to cure the gender imbalance and provide a conducive environment for the education of girl children.

What is Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme?

Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme comes through a bank account opened in the name of a girl child. This is a savings scheme that can secure the future of a girl child.

Benefits of Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Savings account with the highest interest rate

This savings account provides the highest interest rate among the various savings account options. The rate of interest of this account will be linked with the market. The government of India will declare the interest rates on the deposits in this scheme for every year. The interest will be compounded every year meaning it will be credited to the account on a yearly basis.

Saves on taxes

For the sake of encouraging more people to open Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts, the government has exempted the contributions to this account under the 80C section of Income Tax Act, 1961.

Lock-in-period

The account will mature when the girl attains 21 years of age or gets married, whichever is earlier. If marriage is arranged, the girl must have attained the age of 18. The account cannot be operated after the girl gets married. In case the family wants funds for supporting the higher education of the child, one withdrawal is permitted when the girl attains 18 years of age. Only 50% of the balance accrued can be withdrawn in case of premature withdrawal.

Payments directly given to the girl child

Once the account matures, the balance in the account along with the interest accrued will be paid out only to the girl child concerned (account holder). In this way, we can say that this scheme aims at making girls financially independent.

Interest paid even after the maturity of the account

In most financial schemes, the interest will be paid only till the deposit or investment matures. However, in case of Sukanya Samriddhi Account, the interest will continue to be paid until the account is closed finally.

Flexibility

The account can be opened with Rs 1,000 minimum deposit. Deposits can be made thereafter in multiples of Rs 100 subject to the maximum limit of Rs 1.5 lakhs in a given financial year. In order to keep the account live, a minimum of Rs 1,000 must be deposited in every financial year. In case of a household having two girl children, the cumulative amount deposited in two Sukanya Samriddhi Account cannot exceed 1.5 lakhs in a financial year.

Once the girl attains the age of 10, she can choose to operate the account on her own.

If the account is resulting in some hardships to the account holder, it can be closed.

The account can be transferred to any part of the country.