New Delhi. It has become mandatory to maintain minimum balance to keep Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) accounts active. The government has also implemented new rules regarding this. The account holder will have to maintain minimum balance in these accounts till March 31, 2024. If he does not do this then his account may become inactive.
To reopen an inactive account, the account holder will have to pay a penalty. Let us know what is the minimum amount of money that should be there in both these accounts?
PPF
The PPF account holder will have to deposit a minimum balance of Rs 500 in a year. This means that a minimum investment of Rs 500 will have to be made in a financial year. If there is not enough balance in the account then the account may be closed.
At the same time, more than Rs 1.5 lakh cannot be invested in a year. This year, the last date to maintain minimum balance in PPF account is 31 March 2024.
If an amount of Rs 500 is not deposited in the account by March 31, the account will be frozen. In such a case, penalty will have to be paid for opening the account again. The account holder will have to pay a penalty of Rs 50 per year.
Understand it this way, if the account is inactive for 2 years, then for re-activation, a fine of Rs 100 will have to be paid along with the investment amount.
Due to lack of minimum balance, the account holder will not get many other benefits along with the account being inactive. This means that the PPF account holder will not get any loan on an inactive account and he cannot withdraw money from the account.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
The minimum balance in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is Rs 250. This means that to keep the account active one has to invest Rs 250 in a financial year. If you do not invest in this scheme then the account will be closed.
To activate the account again, the account holder will have to pay a penalty of Rs 50 per year. Let us tell you that in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, the government gives interest at the rate of 8.2 percent.
Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened after the girl is born and before she turns 10 years of age. A maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be deposited in this account in a year. You can open Sukanya Samriddhi account in your nearest bank or post office.
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