On January 22 2025, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), a flagship initiative of Government of India (GoI) which aims to secure the financial future of girl children in India, has completed 10 years of successful implementation.
- The scheme was launched by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on January 22, 2015 as part of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) campaign in Panipat(Haryana).
- The Department of Economic Affairs(DEA) under the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the SSY.
About Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY):
i.Small Deposit Scheme: It is a small deposit scheme, designed to meet the education and marriage expenses of a girl child.
ii.Eligibility Criteria: As per the scheme, the guardian can open the account immediately after the birth of the girl child till she attains the age of 10 years.
- The girl child should be a resident of India from the time of maturity or closure of the account.
- Maximum one account can be opened per child. However, parents/guardians are allowed to open a maximum of two accounts in case of twins or triplets.
iii.Documents required to open SSA: Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) Opening Form, Birth certificate of girl child, Identity(ID) proof and resident proof (as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Know Your Customer,KYC).
iv.Minimum and Maximum deposit: Under this scheme, parents are allowed to open SSY accounts for girls at any post office or designated commercial bank branch.
- The minimum deposit amount required to open SSY is Rs 250, and subsequent deposits can be made in multiples of Rs 50, provided that at least Rs 250 is deposited in a Financial Year (FY).
- Maximum deposit of Rs 1.5 lakh per FY can be maintained in the account under the SSY.
- Maximum time period for which deposits can be made is 15 years from the account opening date.
Note: As per Section 80C of the Income Tax Act of 1961, the parent making SSY investment can avail tax deduction benefit of up to Rs 1.5 lakh in a FY.
v.Guardian manage SSA: The account is managed by the guardian until the girl child reaches the age of 18.
vi.Maturity Period: The account matures on completion of a period of 21 years from the date of opening of account or until the marriage of girl (after 18 years)
vii.Interest rate on SSA: Initially, when the scheme was launched in 2015, it offered 9.1% interest rate and since then, the interest rate on SSA have been fluctuated. The interest rate on SSA is revised quarterly by the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
- Since January 2024, the SSA has offered an interest rate of 8.2%.
viii.Interest Calculation: Interest on SSA is calculated every month on the lowest balance in the account between the close of the 5th and the end of the month.
ix.Withdrawals: An account holder is allowed to withdraw a maximum 50% of the balance at the end of the preceding FY, specifically for educational purposes.
- This withdrawal is permissible only after the account holder attains the age of 18 or completes the 10th standard, whichever comes first.
- Also, withdrawals can be made either as lump sum or in installments, with a maximum of one withdrawal per year for up to 5 years.
x.Premature Closure: The premature closure of SSA is allowed after the completion of 5 years of opening the account in the case of account holder’s untimely death.
- Premature closure of account is allowed in some other cases like: account holder facing life-threatening medical issues or the death of the guardian. The account office will consider premature closure only after thorough documentation is provided.
Key Points:
i.As of November 2024, more than 4.1 crore SSAs have been opened under SSY.
ii.As of November 2024, Uttar Pradesh (UP) emerged as the largest contributor to SSY, with 45 lakh accounts have been opened under the scheme, followed by Tamil Nadu (TN) (30 lakh) and Bihar (22 lakh).
About Ministry of Finance (MoF):
Union Minister- Nirmala Sitharaman (Rajya Sabha- Karnataka)
Minister of State (MoS)- Pankaj Chaudhary (Constituency- Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, UP)
