Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme

What does the Sukanya Samriddhi yojana scheme represent?

The government of India introduced a campaign known as ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’. This campaign was formulated based on the idea of children’s welfare. This campaign essentially comprised of ideologies that were concerned with improved provisions for the welfare of female children in India. It also aimed at spreading awareness in society regarding the importance of efficient measures taken towards the welfare of girls in India.

Now, based on these values, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme was launched. It is primarily a small deposit or savings scheme that allows grandparents or other guardians to initiate a savings plan for their girl child. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme can be accessed through an accredited commercial bank of India or India Post branch.

What is the sukanya samriddhi yojana age limit?

Grandparents or other guardians can proceed to open an account with the Sukanya Samriddhi yojana scheme for their child at any age between the time after the birth of the child and until the time she turns 10 years old. Previously, the minimum account that you were allowed to deposit was Rs.1000. However, now it has been changed to an amount of Rs.250.

This Sukanya Samriddhi yojana account shall remain operational for 21 years from the date of its opening or till the girl gets married after the age of 18.

How can I open a sukanya samriddhi yojana account?

At present, there are no available provisions for any guardians to avail of the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana online. Therefore, if you wish to open a savings account under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme, you need to physically visit your nearest authorized bank branch or post office.

Now at the bank or post office that you visit, you will be required to fill up a Sukanya Samriddhi account form. This is Form SSA-1. You can also previously download this Sukanya yojana form.

You will be required to fill this form and provide all the necessary details with accurate information. You will also need to attach a few required documents when you submit the Sukanya Samriddhi account form. These documents will include:

Birth certificate of the concerned child.
Permanent address proof of the guardian. (Ration card/Passport/driving license/utility bill)
Proof of identity of the guardian. (PAN/Aadhaar card/Passport)

Along with these documents and your duly filled up form, you will need to make an initial payment which should be a minimum of Rs.250. Once you complete this process of submission, your details will be verified and on successful verification, your account will be created. Once your account is opened, you will also be issued a passbook.

Features of the sukanya samriddhi yojana scheme:

The various notable features of this government-funded savings scheme are as follows.

A girl child can also choose to open her own account once she completes 18 years of age. At the age of 18, she becomes eligible for opening her own sukanya samriddhi account on the provision of all the necessary details to a bank branch or post office.
You are allowed to prematurely withdraw from a sukanya samriddhi savings account only under certain conditions. These conditions include the death of the girl child, death of the guardian, or for the medical treatment of the girl child against some critical life-endangering illness.
The sukanya samriddhi yojana scheme will allow you to claim tax deductions up to an amount of Rs.1.5 lakh annually. These tax benefits are awarded under section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme does not restrict you with rigid investment options. You can invest a minimum amount of Rs.250 and a maximum amount of Rs1.5 lakh every year.
This scheme ensures guaranteed returns owing to its support from the government of India.
The sukanya samriddhi yojana interest rate 2020 21 rests at 7.6%.
This interest rate offered by the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme is higher than the rates offered by other savings schemes.
You are also provided with the facility of calculating your returns by using a Sukanya Samriddhi yojana calculator which is easily available online.
This scheme can be easily transferred from one part of the country to another.
Some restrictions under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme:

Along with the various benefits offered by the Sukanya Samriddhi yojana scheme, there also exist a few limitations or rules that one needs to follow to open a Sukanya Samriddhi account under this scheme. To avail of the benefits of the Sukanya Samriddhi yojana, you must adhere to the regulations set up under this scheme. These regulations are as follows:

A Sukanya Samriddhi account can only be opened by a natural guardian or a legal guardian of the girl child.
A Sukanya Samriddhi account can only be opened after the birth of the girl child and until she reaches the age of 10 years.
A depositor or investor can only operate one account in the name of one girl child. There cannot be more than one account for one girl child.
You can deposit your contributions to a Sukanya Samriddhi Account in the mode of cash, cheque, or demand draft.
Deposits made through online portals should adhere to the norms of the online banking facilities regulated by the concerned bank.
If you are a Sukanya Samriddhi account holder and are unable to deposit the minimum contribution of Rs.250 for a particular financial year, your account will be termed as a ‘Default account’.
If your Sukanya Samriddhi account has become a default account, you may be charged a penalty fee of Rs.50 for every financial year that you fail to contribute for.
What do you mean by partial withdrawal of the Sukanya Samriddhi account?

If you wish to withdraw a partial amount from your Sukanya Samriddhi account savings, you are allowed to do so only after the girl child reaches 18 years of age. To fulfill the monetary needs of the girl child such as higher education or marriage, you are allowed to withdraw 50% of the amount in your Sukanya Samriddhi account at the end of the preceding financial year.

To withdraw from your Sukanya Samriddhi account, you will be required to provide a written application along with documented proof of confirmed admission into an educational institute.

How can I check my Sukanya Samriddhi account balance?

If you have an existing account under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme, and you wish to check the balance of your existing account, you can easily do so through online portals. However, you do need to make sure that your Sukanya Samriddhi account is linked with your online banking account. You also need to make sure that your particular bank allows facilities of online banking which lets you check your Sukanya Samriddhi account balance.

Now, if you have opened your Sukanya Samriddhi account at an Indian post office, then you will not be able to check your account balance via online portals. This provision has not been made available by post office authorities. Hence, to check your account balance, you will have to visit your nearest post office.

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