Sukanya Samriddhi
Account to Earn 9.2% Interest in 2015-16
The Sukanya Samriddhi
scheme (SSS) will earn a higher interest rate of 9.2% interest (yearly
compounded) in the fiscal year 2015-16 (2015 April to 2016 March).
In 2014-15 (FY15),
the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme earned interest of 9.1%. SSS is a small savings
scheme launched in January this year (2105) and is aimed at encouraging savings
for a girl child's education and marriage.
Here is a 10-Point
Cheat-Sheet
1. Interest Rate..!
For 2015-16, the
central government would be paying 9.2% interest on Sukanya Samriddhi scheme,
higher than the 8.7% announced for PPF accounts.
The government will
every year declare the interest rate of small savings schemes such as Sukanya
Samriddhi scheme and PPF.
In 2014-15, Sukanya Samriddhi scheme earned 9.1% as
compared to 8.7% for PPF.
2. Income Tax..
A contribution of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under
Sukanya Samriddhi scheme qualifies for income tax deduction under Section 80C
of Income Tax Act.
Also, interest income
& maturity amount would be tax-free, making Sukanya Samriddhi scheme
similar to public provident fund (PPF) in terms of tax aspects.
3. Opening of
Account..!
A Sukanya Samriddhi account can be opened by
the guardian in the name of a girl child till she attains the age of ten years.
However, this year a
one-year grace period has been given. Under this, an account for a girl child
can be opened who is born between December 2, 2003, and December 1, 2004. This
relaxation on account opening is applicable only is till December 1, 2015.
However, only one
account is allowed per girl child. Parents can open this account for a maximum
of 2 children. In case of twins or triplets, this facility will be extended to
the 3rd child. Account can be opened in post offices or / authorised bank
branches.
4. Operation of
Account..!
The account will be operated by the guardian of a
girl child till the girl child, in whose name the account has been opened,
attains the age of 10 years. On attaining age of 10 years, the girl child may
herself operate the account.
5. Deposit for 14 years only..!
You need to deposit a
minimum of Rs. 1,000 and a maximum of Rs. 1,50,000 only for the first 14 years,
after which you are not required to deposit any amount.
Your account will
keep earning the applicable interest rate for the remaining 7 years or / till
it gets matured on your daughter’s marriage.
The account may be
opened with an initial deposit of Rs. 1,000 & thereafter any amount in
multiple of Rs. 100 can be deposited. The minimum deposit for a financial year
is Rs. 1,000 & maximum Rs 1.5 lakh. There is no limit on number of deposits
either in a month or in a financial year.
6. Maturity..!
The account can be closed after the girl child
in whose name the account was opened completes the age of 21. If account is not
closed after maturity, the balance will continue to earn interest as specified
for the scheme from time to time.
7. Partial
Withdrawal..!
Up to 50% of the accumulated amount can be
withdrawn after the account holder turns 18.
8. Transferability..!
The account may be transferred anywhere in
India.
9. Penalty..!
An account where
minimum amount has not been deposited in a particular year will attract a fine
of Rs 50 per year.
10. Compares With
PPF..!
Public provident fund (PPF) scores over
Sukanya Samriddhi scheme in terms of flexibility: withdrawal & loan
facility.
In PPF, partial
withdrawal is permissible every year from the 7h financial year of opening the
account. In case of Sukanya Samriddhi account, up to 50% of the accumulated
amount can be withdrawn only after the account holder turns 18 while full
withdrawal is possible after she turns 21.
A loan facility is
available from the third financial year of opening the PPF account. In Sukanya Samriddhi account, there is no
such facility.
Note: -The scheme gets matured on completion of 21
years from the date of opening of the account or as the girl child gets
married, whichever is earlier. Please note that the girl attaining the age of
21 years has no relevance to maturity of this scheme.
Documents Required:
You need birth certificate of the girl child,
along with the identity proof & residence proof of the guardian, to open an
account under this savings scheme. You can approach any post office or
authorised branches of some of the banks to get this account opened.
No comments:
Post a Comment