Sukanya Samriddhi

       • Till a girl attains an age of 10 years, the Sukanya Samriddhi account yojana can be opened under her name
       • Only one account under this scheme is permissible for every girl child
       • Walk into any post office or authorized banks to open the account
       • To open an account under SSAY, Birth Certificate of the girl child would be required to submit
       • The opening amount for the account is Rs 1,000. Thereafter a multiple of Rs 100 can be deposited to the account with a minimum of Rs 1,000 per year
       • The maximum limit for deposits in the account is Rs 1,50,000 per year
       • The maturity duration of the account is 21 years
       • Sukanya Samriddhi Account is transferrable to anywhere in India from a Post office or bank to others

       1. The interest rate for SSA would be 8.6% for FY 2016 -17 annually for the current fiscal year (2015-16) to be compounded yearly. The rates may vary with each financial year’s budget, but would surely be at par with PPF and other small saving schemes.
       2. Parents or legal guardians of the girl child can open this account with any post office or nationalized banks listed by RBI for this scheme with an initial deposit of Rs 1,000 or more. A multiple of Rs 100 can be deposited to the account any number of times grossing to a maximum of Rs 1,50,000 per fiscal year.
       3. The account would be opened in the name of the girl child by the parents or legal guard ian of the child.
       4. Only one account can be opened per girl child. That means, a girl can not have more than one account across all post offices and banks. A maximum of two girl child would be covered under the scheme for any given parents.
       5. The opening of account can take place for any girl child till she attains a maximum age of 10 years. Since the scheme has been launched in current fiscal year, a one year grace period is given for opening of the account. That means that those girl children who are born between 2nd December 2003 and 01st December 2004 can also have an account opened till 01st December 2015. Age Limit for SSA
       6. There is a minimum amount of Rs 1,000 to be deposited every year. In case if it does not happen in a particular year, the account would be discontinued. However, it can be reac tivated by paying a penalty of just Rs 50 along with the minimum deposit amount of Rs 1,000 for that financial year.
       7. Partial withdrawal is allowed up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the balance during the preceding year of withdrawal. It is noteworthy that this could only be done in case of the marriage of the girl child or for her higher education; both after 18 years of her age.
       8. The account will mature after 21 years from the date of opening of the account. In case if the girl child does not wish to close the account after maturity, the deposits would keep growing at the same rate of interest as per the scheme for every financial year.
       9. All contributions or deposits made towards Sukanya Samriddhi Account would be exempted from income tax under section 80C. Since the features of the scheme may keep improving every financial year, we hope that the interest too would be exempted form taxes.
Overall, Sukanya Samriddhi Account is an excellent mode of saving for modern parents of the girl child. This way, they can make sure that they save a certain money every year while making it grow at a steady pace, secure the future of their girl child and last but not the least, avail full tax benefits out of the investments.

Since this is an account dedicated to the girl child, a parent or guardian of the girl child could be depositor of the account.

Any legal guardian or parents of a girl child can open Sukanya Samriddhi Account under this scheme anytime at the time of birth of the child till she attains an age of ten years. As a matter of exception, any girl who attained an age of ten years within one year prior to announcement of this scheme would also be entitled to get this account opened under her name.
As a grace period, any girl born between 02nd February 2003 and 01st December 2004 is also eligible to get an account under the scheme; however, they would have to get the account opened by 1st December 2015.

The process of opening a Sukanya Samriddhi account is quite simple and not much documentation is required in normal cases. Here is a list of document a parent or guardian needs to take along when applying for an account under the scheme:
       • Certificate of Birth of the Girl child
       • Proof of Address of parents/guardians
       • Proof of identity of the parents/guardian
So, in all, you need just three basic documents and Sukanya Samriddhi Account would be opened for your girl child.

The government is still in the process of authorizing various financial institutions for opening of account under this scheme. However, as of now, you can walk in to any nearby post office or any branch of the banks listed below:
List of Banks to Open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Accounts

State Bank of India (SBI)
State Bank of Patiala (SBP)
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ)
State Bank of Travancore (SBT)
State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH)
State Bank of Mysore (SBM)
Allahabad Bank
Andhra Bank
Axis Bank
Bank of Baroda (BoB)
Bank of India (BoI)
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM)
Canara Bank
Central Bank of India (CBI)
Corporation Bank
Dena Bank
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)
Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC)
Punjab National Bank (PNB) –
Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB)
Syndicate Bank
UCO Bank

The normal tenure of the account is up to the age of 21 years of the girl. However, if she wishes to continue the account further, the maturity amount would grow at the same interest rate as per the scheme’s current rates. The interest would be compounded on a monthly/yearly basis and would get credited to the account once the girl reaches an age of 14 years.

As mentioned earlier in the article, the account could be opened by the parents of legal guardian of the girl child. They would be operating the account until the girl child turns 10 years. After 10 years, a girl child may operate her own account, if she chooses to.

Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme has been launched across India and hence the account is transferrable to any part of the country in situation of the account holder or the depositor moving to other places.

The scheme clearly envisages that a pre-mature amount of up to 50% is allowed for withdrawal after the account holder turns 18 year for the requirement of either marriage or higher education.

In case of marriage of the account holder after 18 years, the operation of the account may not be possible and hence this scheme offers closure of the account after marriage of the account holder. In that case, an affidavit and relevant proof would be require stating that the girl is above 18 year of age and has been married after that.

Any amount that would be deposited in Sukanya Samriddhi Account would be exempted from tax under 80C of IT Act, 1961, till a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh. The interest and maturity amount on this account is also exempted from income tax.

• High and best in market interest rates

• Full tax benefits under 80C of Income Tax act

• Maturity amount to be given directly to the girl child

• Interest would be paid even after maturity of the account, if it is not closed by the account holder or depositor

• No fixed number of deposits. The depositor can deposit a multiple of Rs 1,000 through out the year, with no limitation on    number of deposits. This is indeed a big advantage of the scheme.

• Account can be transferred anywhere in India

• Girl child / Account holder may operate her account, if she wishes to. This would give a lot of financial independence to the    girl child as well.

       • Lock in period is a little on higher side
       • The account is limited for just two girl child of the parents
       • The scheme does not facilitate online transfer facility and that would be a discomfort for the IT savvy customers
       • No surety account the Rate of Interest in future
To conclude, the intent of the scheme is quite noble and would certainly provide a lot of financial independence to the girl child as well as their parents and guardians.The only thing we would not be sure of as of now is how this scheme would be taken by the forthcoming budgets and government at the center.