Every parent must have done some brainstorming to ensure their daughter's future at least once in their life. To ease a parent's responsibility, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme was launched. 

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The Scheme aims to offer a means of savings for every girl child until they are married or till 21 years from the date of opening the account.

India's girl, child sex ratio, may have improved with respect to boys, but the gender gap still looms large in education. NFHS 2019-2021 indicates that India has made significant strides in the last five years. For every 1,000 men, India has 1,020 women.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign with the main aim of securing the future of a girl child. 

The SSY scheme not only allows you to make small deposits every year for the education and marriage expenses of your daughter but also pays a good rate of interest along with tax benefits. 

We are going to decode the Eligibility, Tax Benefits & Rules of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY).

Earn interest at the rate of 7.6 per cent per annum

The deposit made in the account on or after the 1st day of April 2020 and the balances at the account's credit shall earn interest at the rate of 7.6 per cent per annum.

What are the eligibility criteria and rules to deposit money in SSY Account?

  • The account can be opened by a parent or a legal guardian (Citizens of India) any time after the birth of the girl child until she turns 10.
  • Every account holder shall have a single account under this Scheme.
  • The maximum period up to which deposits can be made is 15 years from the date of opening of the account.
  • An account under this Scheme may be opened for a maximum of two girl children in one family.
  • The deposit can be made by legal guardians or parents of the girl child until she is 18 years old.
  • Minimum and maximum amount of deposits
  • The account may be opened with a minimum initial deposit of Rs 250 and in multiples of fifty rupees. The total amount deposited in an account shall not exceed Rs 1.5 lakhs in a financial year.

Documents required

  • SSY account opening form
  • Beneficiary's birth certificate
  • Address proof and ID proof of the beneficiary's guardian or parents

How to open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account

  • Parents or guardians can open SSY accounts with Post offices and in authorised banks. 
  • By filling out the SSY account opening form and address and ID proof of parents or guardians with the initial amount and submitting it at the nearest authorised bank or post office. 
  • You also need to make the initial deposit of Rs 250 to open the SSY account. As of now, there is no option of opening an account online.

Tax deduction and withdrawal

SSY scheme comes under section 80C of the IT Act, 1961. In the latest Finance Bill, the Scheme has been extended Triple exempt (EEE) benefits i.e. there will be no tax on the amount invested, the amount earned as interest, and the amount withdrawn.

Under some circumstances, early liquidation of a Sukanya Samriddhi account is permitted. The account can be closed early if the account holder unfortunately dies, and the depositor can withdraw the deposited amount.