Currently, the government has launched two savings schemes by targeting women and girls. One is Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana and the other is Women’s Honor Savings letter. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was implemented in January 2015 and is still going on. At the same time, the Women’s Honor Savings Certificate was launched in April 2023 for 2 years. The scheme is valid only till 31 March 2025.
Both these schemes have been mainly introduced to meet the financial needs of women and girls. However, their objectives and benefits are different. Let us know in detail about both schemes.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
Under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), parents can open an account in the name of their daughter up to the age of 10 years. This account can be opened in the name of a maximum of two daughters and only one account can be opened in the name of a daughter. In the case of twin girls, it can be opened up to three girls. If someone already has a daughter and then twins are born or in the event of 3 girls born in the first birth, this rule will apply. In this case, evidence of having a twin child will have to be given.
Under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, only local residents of India can open girls account. A person who is a resident of India but lives in any other country will not be able to take advantage of this scheme. In this scheme, accounts can be opened in the bank as well as the post office.
The SSY account can be started from a minimum of Rs 250. In this, the minimum capital has been fixed at Rs 250 and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh in a financial year. Currently the interest rate on this scheme is 8.2% per year. If necessary, the account can be transferred from one bank branch to another bank branch, from one bank to another, from one post office to another, from the bank to post office and from the post office to the bank.
SSY can be invested for a maximum period of 15 years. The account can be closed only after the age of the girl is 21 years. However, a normal -pre -abortion is allowed when the girl turns 18 and gets married. After the age of 18, the girl can do partial withdrawal of cash from the SSY account. The withdrawal limit is up to 50 percent of the remaining amount in the account at the end of the previous financial year.
Parents or legal parents can open an account on behalf of the girl. This means that if someone has adopted the girl, then he can open Sukanya Samriddhi account for her as well. This account can be discontinued ahead of time when the depositors’ parents die or to treat any serious illness, ie money can be withdrawn.
You can deposit money at any time under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, either at once or in small installments. There is no limit to the number of capitals. Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, a tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh can be claimed on the amount deposited in SSY. Apart from this, the money received on the deposit amount and the money received on maturity is also tax-free.
Women’s honor savings certificate
This scheme is also available in all 1.59 lakh post offices in the country. Under this scheme, investment can be made at an interest rate of 7.5 percent. The scheme currently comes with a maturity period of 2 years. Under this scheme, any woman can invest for herself or in the name of her guardian minor girl. The minimum investment limit in the account is Rs 1000. The maximum limit is 2 lakh rupees. If more than one female honor savings certificate is eaten in the name of the same account holder, then the limit of Rs 2 lakh will be added to all accounts with the amount deposited.
After opening one account, there should be a gap of 3 months between opening a second new account. There is also an option for partial withdrawal in this scheme. 40% amount can be withdrawn after one year from the account opening date. The account is allowed to close the account ahead of time in the event of the death of the account holder, the incurable disease or the death of the guardian. In addition, even after 6 months of opening the account, it can be closed without any reason. But premature closure will reduce the interest by 2 percent.
