On the occasion of National Girl Child Day, let us look into the two most popular schemes available for girl females and women in the country.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana:
Sukanya Samriddhi is a long-term investment option, meant for a girl child till she attains the age of 21 years. Launched in 2015, the scheme aims to provide a seamless and bright future for the girl. The account can be opened at all branches of Indian banks and also in Post Offices.
Benefits:
- A legal Guardian/Natural Guardian can open an account in the name of a Girl Child.
- A guardian can open only one account in the name of one girl child and a maximum of two accounts in the name of two different Girl children.
- Account can be opened up to the age of 10 years only from the date of birth. For the initial operations of the Scheme, one year of grace has been given. With grace, a Girl child who was born between 2.12.2003 & 1.12.2004 can open an account up to 1.12.2015.
- Account can be closed after completion of 21 years.
- If the account is not closed after maturity, the balance will continue to earn interest as specified for the scheme from time to time.
- Normal Premature closer will be allowed after completion of 18 years provided that the girl is married.
- Subsequent deposit in multiple of INR 100/- Deposits can be made in lump-sum No limit on the number of deposits either in a month or in a Financial year
- If a minimum of Rs 1000/- is not deposited in a financial year, the account will become discontinued and can be revived with a penalty of Rs 50/- per year with a minimum amount required for deposit for that year.
- Partial withdrawal, a maximum of up to 50% of the balance standing at the end of the preceding financial year can be taken after the Account holder attains the age of 18 years.
- SSY offers one of the most attractive interest rates of 8.2% with effect from April 1, 2024, which is calculated on a yearly basis and accordingly gets compounded annually. The interest shall be calculated for the calendar month on the lowest balance in the account between the close of the fifth day and the end of the month. Interest shall be credited to the account at the end of each Financial year.
Tax Benefits: Interest earned in SSY is tax-free. Also, the deposits made under the account have the tax exemption benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh under section 80C of the IT Act.
Mahila Samman Savings Certificate:
This scheme is around 2 years old. Launching in June 2023, the scheme aims to provide financial security to every girl and woman in India. The scheme can be availed at all scheduled banks including both public and private banks. The scheme is also available at Post Offices. However, the Mahila Samman scheme is only valid till March 31, 2025, as per the latest notification of the government.
Some of the key features of the scheme are:
- Offers secured, guaranteed and attractive investment options to all girls and women.
- Gives up to 7.5% interest rate per annum with the power of compounding on a quarterly basis.
- The minimum investment amount is Rs 1,000 to a maximum limit of Rs 2 lakh in the scheme.
The maturity period in the Mahila Samman scheme is for 2 years, from the date of opening the account.
- There is an option for partial withdrawal of up to 40% from the account balance after completing one year of the scheme.
Eligibility:
- The girl or woman should be an Indian citizen, and only they can apply for the scheme.
- In the case of minors, the account can be opened by their guardians. There is no upper limit to open the account, however, only single-holder type account is allowed under the scheme.
Tax Benefits:
ClearTax on its website highlighted that Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is not deducted from the interest received under this scheme. However, CBDT notified that TDS would apply to the Mahila Samman Saving Certificate Scheme. As per Section 194A of the Income Tax Act, TDS will apply only when the interest received from the post office savings scheme in a financial year is more than Rs.40,000 or Rs.50,000 (in the case of senior citizens). Since the interest amount of this scheme for a maximum of Rs.2 lakh investment for two years does not exceed Rs.40,000, TDS is not deducted from the interest received under the Mahila Samman Saving Certificate Scheme.
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Original news source Credit: www.goodreturns.in
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