kanya Samriddhi Yojana Account(SSY) for Girl Children

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana/Scheme is one of the most popular government schemes launched by the Indian Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi. The scheme is aimed at the betterment of girl child in the country. Sukanya Samriddhi scheme has been launched to offer a means of saving to the girl child in every family. The money saved via this scheme is to provide for the higher education of girl and for her wedding expenses. The scheme has been accepted very well by the public since this is a great step towards providing financial security and financial dependence on women.

Features and Benefits of Sukanya Samriddhi Account

There are several advantages of availing the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme. Some of the most significant benefits of this scheme are listed here.

Attractive rate of interest of 8.6% per annum which is more than that offered by most other schemes in the market. This rate is to be revised by the Finance Ministry every year in the month of April. Last year the interest rate was as high as 9.2%. Any changes related to rate will then be communicated to the account holders.
Investments made under the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme are exempt from income tax under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961
Once the girl child attains the age of 18 years, partial withdrawals on account of marriage or higher studies are allowed
The account can be opened by the parent or guardian of the girl child and can be operated on her behalf until she reaches the age of 18
Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme can be availed for any girl child who is 10 years old or less
Birth certificate of the girl child is the main document that is required to open the Sukanya Samriddhi Account
The maturity period of the account is 21 years from the date of opening the account
Payment towards this scheme needs to be made for 14 years. After that, the benefits continue to accrue until the 21st year of the policy
The maximum amount that can be deposited in an account, under this scheme is Rs.1,50,000
This scheme can be opened at any of the authorized banks or at any post office
The Sukanya Samriddhi scheme is a transferable deposit scheme and as such, it can be transferred from one authorized bank to another and from post office to any authorized bank and vice versa
Only one Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be availed in the name of one girl child. Multiple accounts are not allowed and if found are liable to hefty penalty.
Up to 50% of the deposit amount can be prematurely withdrawn once the girl reaches the age of 18 years
A penalty fee of Rs.50 is levied in case the account is not credited with the relevant amount by the due date
Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be closed only when the girl child attains 21 years of age. If the account is not closed and the money is not withdrawn even after the child turns 21 then the account continues to earn interest

How to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened at not just any post office but also at any of the public or private authorized banks in the country. The form for the scheme can be availed at any of these offices and can be filled and submitted along with relevant documents. The bank or post office will then verify the filled in details and approve the account opening. The account can be opened by legal guardian or parents of the girl child. The depositor also is either of the two. Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme comes from the Ministry of Finance and is aimed at uplifting the financial status of women in the country and to aid in their education and development.

Interest Rate on Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme offers an attractive rate of interest to account holders in order to facilitate and popularize the scheme. The current rate of interest being offered by the government of 8.4% per annum. It was 9.1%, when it was introduced in FY 2015-16.

Eligibility criteria for opening Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Like any other deposit account, availing Sukanya Samriddhi Account too requires a certain set of eligibility criteria to be met. The most basic being the age of the girl child under whose name the scheme is being availed.

Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme can be availed by parents or legal guardians of a girl child on behalf of the girl child. The Account is opened in the name of the child and is operated by parents or legal guardians. Following is the eligibility requirement to obtain the scheme.

Scheme can be availed any time before girl child reaches the age of 10 years
As a grace period, any girl child born between 2nd February 2003 and 1st December 2015 is also eligible to obtain the account under this scheme

Documents required to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account

A fixed set of documents are required in order to open a Sukanya Samriddhi Account. These documents need to be submitted to either bank or post office. Along with these documents, a duly filled application form also needs to be submitted. The list of required documents is mentioned below.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account Opening Form
Birth Certificate of girl child (Account Beneficiary)
Identity Proof of depositor (Parent or legal guardian)
- PAN card, Ration card, Driving License, Passport
Address Proof of depositor (Parent or legal guardian)
- Passport, Ration Card, Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill, Driving License

Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme Application Form

The application form for Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is hosted online on all the authorized bank websites as well as on the post office websites. Alternatively, the hard copy of the form is available at all post offices as well as authorized bank branches. The form consists of personal details like name, age etc. of the account holder and identity details and address details. The rest of the form is for official use by banks or post offices.

The application form can be downloaded from any of the above-mentioned websites and can then be printed and filled so as to speed up the process of account opening.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account opening in the post office

Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened by customers both at banks as well as at post offices. The advantages and features of the scheme remain the same whether it is availed via an authorized bank or via post office.

You can walk into any of your nearest post offices and fill in the Sukanya Samriddhi Application form and submit it along with relevant documents to avail the scheme. The documents required and the form remains the same for both post offices as well as authorized banks. Both these entities are facilitators of this government scheme and hence play a key role in the popularization of the scheme and dissipation of relevant information.

The initial deposit amount required is Rs.1000 at the time of account opening. Installments after that can be a minimum of Rs.100 and thereafter in multiples of Rs.100. There is no maximum limit to the number of times you can deposit money into your Sukanya Samriddhi Account. Like banks, post offices too, furnish account passbook for tracking the account transactions. Although the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is availed in the name of a girl child, the presence of the child is not required at the time of account opening. The opening of the scheme can be done in the presence of legal guardian or parents whose signatures are required at the time of availing the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme.

List of authorized Banks for Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

Listed below are all the authorized banks (public and private both) which have been granted permission by the Finance Ministry to officially open and maintain Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts.

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
Union Bank of India
United Bank of India
Vijaya Bank
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)

Sukanya Samriddhi Account Rules and Guidelines

Since, the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is a government-issued scheme, there are set rules and guidelines that apply to this account no matter where this scheme is availed from. Be it banks or post offices, customers at both these centers are required to follow the following rules and guidelines for the operation of this account. Let us look into some of the most important rules that customers need to abide by while availing and maintaining Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme.

Premature closure of Sukanya Samriddhi Account

Premature closure of Sukanya Samriddhi Account is permissible under specific circumstances like death of the girl child who is the account holder. Under such situations, the account will be closed and the proceedings of the same will be handed over to the legal guardian or parents of the girl child. This will be done by furnishing a valid death certificate in the name of the account holder.

The second situation or premature closure of the scheme is when the central government feels that it is becoming increasingly difficult or rather almost impossible for the parent or guardian to carry forward the scheme. Permission for the same is to be issued by the central government under extreme conditions where a medical exigency or a serious illness plagues the guardian or the parent of the account holder.

Withdrawal rules applicable to Sukanya Samriddhi Account

100% withdrawal of deposit amount is only possible once the girl child attains the age of 21. Partial withdrawal is permissible for up to 50% of the deposit amount after the girl child has attained the age of 18 years. This partial withdrawal is allowed only if the money is required for tending to some serious medical illness or on account of higher education or marriage expense of the girl child.

Permissible withdrawal amount under the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

Withdrawal of deposit amount is allowed only if the account has been active for at least 14 years. Only up to 50% of the deposit amount can be withdrawn after the girl child reaches the age of 18 years and before she reaches 21 years of age. No withdrawal, partial or otherwise is allowed in case the girl child is below 18 years of age.

Account closure for Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be closed only once the girl child has reached the age of 21. Any premature closure is allowed only under exceptional circumstances that are mentioned in the above section.

The most important rule regarding Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is that any kind of withdrawal can be made only by the girl child in whose name the account has been availed. This feature is believed to lend a lot of financial freedom to women in future. One very important point about the scheme is that the account ceases to operate once the girl gets married. Also, 100% amount of withdrawal can be made only by the girl and that too when she reaches the age of 21 years.

Tax Benefits on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

However, like all deductions under section 80C, the maximum limit for tax-deductible amount for Sukanya Samriddhi scheme too is Rs.1,50,000 per year. Any amount deposited over and above this figure does not attract any tax rebate.

Transfer of existing Sukanya Samriddhi Account

With the current trend of more inclusive and more coupled education and job structure, there are many times an individual may need to move from one location to another. Since, deposits under Sukanya Samriddhi Account can only be made by visiting bank or post office, and cannot be made online from anywhere, hence the government has factored-in the transferability of the scheme from one location to another and from post office to bank and also from one bank to another.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be moved from post office to any authorized bank by filling up a transfer form for the scheme. This feature has been offered by the Finance Ministry to make the scheme as hassle-free as possible. Minimum amount of hassle will ensure that the scheme remains popular and the number of account holders does not dwindle owing to reasons that are not serious enough. Not just this, the account can be transferred from one location to another within the country as well as from one authorized bank to another based on customer preference.

As a result, any account holder of the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme can move his or her scheme from post office to an authorized bank by following the following steps.

Visit the post office where your Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is currently open. The girl child (beneficiary) is not required to accompany her parents or guardians
Surrender the passbook received by you at the time of account opening
Inform the executive at the post office that you wish to close your account at the post office and move it to a particular bank
It is now the responsibility of the bank executive to get your account closed at the post office and get it opened at the bank by transferring the relevant documents and details
Visit the bank branch where you have transferred your Sukanya Samriddhi Account and submit relevant documents and well as forms furnished to you by the post office authorities
A new passbook will then be issued by the bank. This will carry forward your previous account balance details
The new Sukanya Samriddhi Account will then be opened at the bank and you can begin your transactions

Similar steps are carried out for transfer of Sukanya Samriddhi account from one bank to another and from one location to another.

Advantages of Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

There are certain amazing advantages associated with Sukanya Samriddhi scheme launched by Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Let us look into a few of these features that aim to make this scheme popular and profitable.

One of highest interest rates is being offered on Sukanya Samriddhi scheme out of all the other financial products in the market
Tax benefits under section 80C make this scheme lucrative for not just the girl child but her parents or guardians too
Maturity amount to be given directly to the girl child ruling out all possible discrepancies in last mile delivery
Even after the account completes 14 years of tenure, interest gets accrued until the child turns 21 years of age
Girl child who is mature to understand the operation of account is free to handle the account on her own
The best part about Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is that it is an agent-free scheme and as such people can directly reach out to authorized banks and post offices to fill up an application form and avail the scheme. No middleman is required to lead you through the process of account opening.
No fixed number of deposits in a single year apart from the minimum yearly amount required Rs.1000 and the maximum amount limit of Rs.1.5 lakhs.
Sukanya Samriddhi scheme has been given the EEE tax status in budget 2015 which means that the scheme is available for tax exemption in all its stages namely, deposit, growth and withdrawal. This in short means that the scheme is 100% tax-free.
Flexibility in terms of the amount of deposit and the frequency of deposit is an essential feature of Sukanya Samriddhi scheme. People from all economic sections can thus avail this scheme without feeling bound by regular installments or fixed amounts of deposit. Deposits to Sukanya Samriddhi account can be made as and when convenient to the account holder

Disadvantages or shortcomings of Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

Apart from the various great features and benefits that the scheme offers, there are a few drawbacks associated with the scheme which may deter some if not many users. Like all financial schemes in the market, there are pluses and minuses with Sukanya Samriddhi scheme too. However, experts are of the view that the number of advantages of the scheme surely outnumber the disadvantages of this scheme. Listed below are a few of these drawbacks that have been talked about by industry experts.

The lock-in period of the deposit amount is quite long as compared to other financial products currently in the market
The scheme can be availed by any parent or guardian for a maximum of a number of two girl child. So if a couple has 3 or more daughters, the benefit cannot be availed for all.
The scheme does not offer the facility of online submission of the amount and hence can prove taxing to tech-savvy individuals. Deposits to the account can be made either via cheque or cash or demand draft only
The rate of interest being offered currently is not fixed and is to be revised every year in the month of April. Experts are of the view that the rate may dwindle in future since currently the scheme has been in the launch phase and hence higher rate of interest is being offered to popularize it among citizens
Deposits made under Sukanya Samriddhi Account do not offer the added benefit of availing loan against them.

Terms related to Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

Since Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is a newly launched government scheme, to understand the essence of the scheme it is essential that we know all major terms associated with the scheme. Listed below are these terms along with their meaning in the context of the scheme.

DepositorDepositor is any legal guardian or parent who opens Sukanya Samriddhi Account on behalf of the girl child and deposits money in it
GuardianGuardian is any person who is either father or mother of the girl child or a person entitled under law to take care of the property of minor until she reaches the age of 18 years. This is valid when neither of the parents of the girl child is alive or are incapable of acting.
One for oneSukanya Samriddhi Yojana can be availed for girl child only. One such account per girl child is permissible. More than one account cannot be held by the same beneficiary.
For the third girlSukanya, Samriddhi scheme can be availed only for a maximum of two girl child per couple. However, in case the first or the second births result in twin girls being born, the scheme is extended to the third girl child too by furnishing relevant proofs of twin birth.