Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana rules, interest rate, age, form and other account details

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a savings scheme designed keeping in mind the interest of parents of girl children. This scheme makes a special contribution towards financial security planning and financial independence for every girl child living in India only. Now, parents can conveniently save big and small amounts for their daughter’s future.

In a great country like India where Mother India and other deities are worshipped, it is hard to think that a girl child is considered a burden. And to reduce this burden, many parents have lost their female fetuses. Female feticide continues to be one of the main causes of gender inequality.

Mainly to tackle the problem of declining child sex ratio, the Government of India launched a social campaign called ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ on 22nd January 2015 with the message ‘Save the girl child, Educate the girl child’. It is a national initiative jointly run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Sukanya Samriddhi Interest Rate 2024

The interest rate of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is fixed by the government and reviewed every quarter. The interest rate of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana 2024 is 8.2%.

• Interest rate: 8% per annum (FY 2024-25)
• Maturity period: 21 years
• Minimum deposit amount: 250 rupees
• Maturity Amount: Depending on the amount of investment
• Maximum deposit amount: 1.5 lakhs in a financial year
• Qualifications: A parent of a girl child below 10 years of age can do SSY in the girl’s name.
• Income Tax Exemption: Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh is eligible for deduction in a year.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Benefits

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana provides the following benefits to the investors-

Higher interest rate- SSY offers a higher rate of interest compared to other tax saving schemes created by the government like Public Provident Fund (PPF) or National Savings Certificate (NSC).

Convenient investment- Keeping in mind the people of different financial status, the SSY scheme has been provided with convenient investment facility. Here one can deposit a minimum of Tk 250 and a maximum of Tk 1.5 lakh in a year.

Assured Returns- SSY is a government-backed scheme, so it provides assured returns.

Income Tax Exemption- As per Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, a maximum exemption of Tk 1.5 lakh is given in a year.

Transfer facility- In case of transfer of Sukanya Samriddhi Accountants, their account can also be transferred from one part of the country to another.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Calculator

The validity of any scheme depends on the returns of the scheme, and in that respect Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a very profitable investment. A sample calculation of the scheme is given below.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Age and Eligibility

• SSY account can be opened only by parents or legal guardians of the girl child.
• Age of girl should be less than 10 years at the time of account opening.
• Only one account can be opened in the name of a child.
• A family can open only 2 SSY Scheme accounts.
• More than two accounts can be opened in a family only in case of twin or triplet girl births.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana rules

The minimum annual deposit in the Sukanya Samriddhi Account is Rs 250 and the maximum deposit is Rs 1.5 lakh in a financial year. You have to invest a minimum amount every year for 15 years from the date of account opening and then the account will continue to earn interest till maturity.

Aadhaar and PAN are now mandatory for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accounts

As per the latest notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, it is now mandatory to provide your Aadhaar number and PAN while opening a new SSY account If your aadhaar card is not yet done then you need to provide proof of application for aadhaar or enrollment id and you need to provide aadhaar number within 6 months of account opening.

If you already have a Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account and have not submitted your Aadhaar number, you should submit it within 6 months from 1st April 2024.

Also, if you have not deposited your PAN at the time of account opening, you must deposit it within 2 months from the date of occurrence of any of the following events ie –

• If the total amount deposited in the account is more than Rs.50,000.
• If the total credit amount in the account exceeds Rs.1 lakh in any financial year.
• If the sum of all withdrawals and transfers from the account in a month exceeds Rs.10,000.
• If you fail to submit Aadhaar within 6 months and PAN within 2 months, your account will be deactivated till submission.

Maturity of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

The scheme will mature on completion of 21 years from the date of account opening. After maturity, full balance along with due interest will be paid to the account holder. If the SSY account is not closed after maturity, the balance amount will continue to earn interest. However, if the girl child gets married before the completion of 21 years, the account will be automatically closed.

How to open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

Investors can apply for the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme through post offices or public and private banks participating in the scheme.

Investors have to fill Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) application form by visiting post office or public/private bank and submit below mentioned documents-

1. Birth certificate of daughter
2. Photo ID of applicant’s parent or legal guardian
3. Address proof of applicant parent or legal guardian
4. Other KYC proofs like PAN, Voter or Aadhar ID

SSY Application Process

• You must first download the application form from the RBI website, India Post website, or the official website of participating public sector or private sector banks.
• Fill the form with basic details of girl child and parent or legal guardian.
• Enter daughter’s name as the primary account holder.
• Name one of the parents or legal guardian in case of joint holder.
• Deposit the initial deposit amount. Mention number and date in case of cheque/DD.
• Mention other details of birth certificate including date of birth of child.
• Identity of parent or legal guardian like driving license, Aadhaar etc. should be mentioned.
• Current and permanent address (as per ID document of parent or legal guardian).
• Details of other KYC proofs like PAN, Voter ID Card etc.

Online Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

As of now, there is no way to open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account online. But online you can download post office saving account opening application form.

• Download savings application form

You can make online payments if your SSY account is open. To make online payments, you first need to download the IPPB (India Post Payments Bank) app on your smartphone. You can use this app to deposit a fixed amount of money into your SSY account online.

The steps for submission are mentioned below-

• Navigate to DOP (Department of Post) products in the IPPB app and select the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account.
• Enter your SSY Account Number as well as your DOP Client ID.
• Select the amount you want to deposit and the length of installments.
• IPPB will notify you when the payment method has been set up successfully.
• Money should be transferred from your bank account to IPPB account.
• You will be notified every time the app transfers money.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Post Office

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) account can be opened at post office branches or at any of the participating banks like State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Andhra Bank, UCO Bank, Allahabad Bank etc. To open the account, complete the steps mentioned below-

• Visit the post office or bank where you want to open an account.
• Fill the application form with required information there and attach any supporting documents.
• Make the first deposit in cash, check or demand draft. Payment can be between 250 rupees to 1.5 lakh rupees
• Your application and payment will then be processed by the bank or post office.
• After processing, your SSY account will be activated and a passbook for this account will also be issued to you.

For details read: How to open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account in Post Office or SBI?

List of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Banks

The Reserve Bank of India has authorized the following banks to open SSY accounts-

• State Bank of India
• Punjab and Sind Bank
• Bank of Baroda
• Canara Bank
• Bank of India
• Bank of Maharashtra
• Central Bank of India
• Indian Overseas Bank
• Indian Bank
• UCO Bank
• Punjab National Bank
• Union Bank of India
• IDBI Bank
• Axis Bank
• ICICI Bank

If you have a savings account with any of these banks, you can easily open a Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account with minimal paperwork.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana form

You can download and print the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana form duly filled and submit it to any authorized bank and open the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Passbook

At the time of opening the SSY account the depositor is given a pass book containing the date of birth of the daughter, name and address of the account holder, account number, date of account opening, and amount deposited.

The pass book should also be presented at the post office or bank while depositing money in the account or receiving interest or closing the account on maturity.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana tax benefits

SSY investments are classified under EEE (Exempt Exempt Exempt) category i.e. its principal investment, interest earned and total return are tax free. As per Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, a maximum deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh per annum is allowed on the principal amount.

Other Features of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

• If an Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account holder is unable to deposit a minimum of Rs.250, his account will be treated as a ‘default account’. Till the date of maturity, this default account will earn the rate of interest applicable in the scheme. However, the default account can be revived before completion of 15 years of account opening with a minimum of Rs.250, in which case Rs.250 will be charged and Rs.50 for each year of default.
• The girl in whose name the account is registered can manage the account herself after the age of 18 years.
• A maximum of 50% of the available balance can be withdrawn from the account for higher education related expenses if the girl child is above 18 years of age or has passed 10th standard. However, this amount can be withdrawn only once a year in such lump sum or installments and you can withdraw it for a maximum of 5 years.

How to Transfer Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account

Another advantage of SSY account is that you can easily transfer it from one part of India to another. As per the current rules, you can easily transfer this tax-saving deposit account from one post office to another or from one designated bank branch to another as per your convenience.

To transfer your SSY account from a post office where your account is currently located to the post master you need to fill and submit the transfer request form.

Premature closure of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account

The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana allows premature closure after five years of account opening. However, the account can be closed only if certain conditions are met.

The account holder girl can close the account herself only at the age of 18 if it is for the purpose of marriage expenses.

Premature death of account holder- If the registered girl child dies unfortunately, the parent or legal guardian is eligible to claim the final amount of the account along with interest and in that case the total amount will be transferred to the nominee of the account immediately. Also, the parent or legal guardian should submit the relevant documents to verify the death of the account holder properly by the concerned authorities.

Unable to maintain account- Account closure can also be processed if the depositor is experiencing any kind of financial stress for the account. However, due permission from the authorities is required for account closure and return process.

Also, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account can be closed in case of an emergency such as death of the guardian by whom the account was managed or any life-threatening illness or emergency treatment.

Interest rates of previous years-

Questions (FAQ) about Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana