Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: The Central Government has started the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign. Under this, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was started to secure the future of daughters.
Any Indian citizen can invest in this for their daughter below the age of 10 years. The government has recently increased the interest rates of some small savings schemes for the January-March 2023 quarter. Although the interest rates of PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana have not been increased for this quarter. So far 7.6 percent interest is being given on Sukanya Yojana. Tax exemption is also available in this scheme.
Under this scheme, the account of only two daughters of the same family can be opened. But if twin daughters are born in a family, then under this scheme three accounts can be opened for daughters instead of two.
Know what are the rules
You can deposit a minimum of Rs 250 and a maximum of Rs 1.50 lakh in this scheme. If nothing is deposited in a financial year, then a fine of Rs 50 will be imposed. The scheme will mature when the daughter turns 21. However, your investment in this scheme will be locked at least till the girl child turns 18. Even after 18 years, 50% of the total money can be withdrawn. Which she can use for graduation or further studies. After this, all the money can be withdrawn only when she is 21 years old.
Tax benefit
Apart from earning excellent returns in this government scheme, you can also save tax. In this, income tax benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh is available under section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961. Not only this, the returns and maturity amount are exempted from tax. This means that you get tax free returns. In such a situation, this scheme can prove to be very beneficial in terms of investment.
Mathematics of 5th date will be beneficial
As per the rules of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, interest is available only on the minimum balance available between 5th and last date of every month. This means that if you do not invest in it before 5th of the month or till 5th of the month then you will not get interest for that month. The interest on this is calculated on a monthly basis, but the entire interest is credited on the last day of the financial year i.e. 31st March. The compounding of interest in both these schemes is done on an annual basis. This is the reason why depositing money before the 5th of every month can be beneficial.
