Daughters are epitome of glory and pride in the world. Let it be any country, it is the proven fact now and considering it United Nation have also declared 11th October as International Girl Child Day from 2012 and since then it is being celebrated internationally everywhere including India. Our Indian daughters for example Kalpana Chawla, Sakshi Malik, P.V Sindhu and many others are the few examples who have made our country proud. Well to gift our existing and coming generation of girl children, one bold initiative has been taken and introduced by our Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on 27th January 2015 by launching a scheme namely Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is an encouraging scheme and platform to accumulate funds for the higher education and marriage expenses of a girl child when she attains that age. It is an initiative which has been taken and gained lot of appreciation nationally to gift every girl child a beautiful and financially secured future, which is also their basic right.
The Umbrella of Utmost happiness
This umbrella of utmost happiness covers every girl child who is between 0 to 10 years of age. The account can be opened for maximum of 2 girl child. Provision for third account is applicable only if the younger girl children are twins. The biological parents or legal guardian of the girl child can open this account immediately after the birth, in the nearest post office or any authorized commercial banks. This account can be opened with a minimum initial investment of one thousand rupees and once the account is opened, monthly or yearly contribution can be made in any amount (multiple of hundred). You can deposit as many times as you want in this account but, the maximum contribution should not exceed one lakh fifty thousand rupees in a year. The deposits can be made through cheque, cash, demand draft and online.
The years of perseverance, commitment and the ultimate shower of benefits
The legal guardian can contribute monthly or yearly till the completion of 15 years from the date of opening of the account (inclusively) and the overall tenure of this account is 21 years. Let’s say that account is opened at the age of 5 years of minor, then the year up to which the deposits should be made will be 20 years and the account gets mature when the child attain 26 years of age. After the completion of 15 years no further contribution is required. It is also noted that once the minor attains 10 years of age, she can also deposit the amount on her own along with her legal guardian. However after the completion of 15 years of contribution, no further contribution is needed but the interest will be accumulated yearly till the final maturity is attained. The interest rate for the account is 8.6% p.a. compounded yearly for the financial year 2016-17. However, the interest rates are likely to vary as per the guidelines of the government.
Let’s simplify it with a suitable example:
Suppose Mr X opens an account on 1st April 2016 when his girl is born. He opened the account with Rs.1500 and maintained this flow of contribution monthly for 15 years. Then the amount which will be accumulated at this stage i.e. up to 31st March 2031 will be Rs.535731/-. After this no further contribution is needed and the final maturity amount received at the end of 31 March 2037 will be Rs.878872/-.
As the purpose for the scheme is to secure every girl child’s future, the maturity proceeds will be payable only to the accountholder as the nomination facility is absent.
Long tenure scheme but partial withdrawal is available
This scheme requires commitment and patience for beautiful future of your child and thus is a long process. The Government of India has made the provision for partial withdrawal which enables the accountholder to partially withdraw 50% of the accumulated amount at the end of preceding financial year to meet the higher education expenses or for marriage. The rest amount will be available at the maturity. Life is uncertain and god forbid if some eventuality occurs with the accountholder than the account will be terminated and the accumulated amount can be withdrawn by the legal guardian of the deceased, but only after meeting all the legal formalities. The account ceased to be operated on completion of 21 years or Marriage of accountholder, whichever is earlier.
Taxation an aesthetic feature of the scheme
We all want to reduce our tax burden and if we get an investment opportunity where tax is free, well then it works as catalyst in motivating us to choose that investment. Annual Contribution not exceeding Rs 150000 gets deduction under sec 80 C of Income tax act and all the interest earned during the tenure as well as the maturity proceeds are exempted from tax.
Sow the blissful seeds to make your girl independent and happy
You can give your child this ultimate gift and yourself a sense of satisfaction in order to provide safety to your girl child’s future by following this little and hassle free procedure. To open this account you should always contact your financial planner or in general you just need to carry the following documents to your nearest post office or bank. The documents are
- Her Birth Certificate
- ID Proof of the legal guardian.
- Address Proof of legal guardian.
After fulfilling these formalities an account can be opened in name of your girl child. Presence of your child is not mandatory at the time of opening of account. You can easily transfer your account from one post office to another post office for free. If you wish to transfer your account from post office to bank or vice versa then, Rs.100 will be charged as transfer fee for the process.
Having a daughter is a gift and what will be better than this scheme to celebrate and appreciate this gift. This initiative will help every Indian to provide a better and financially independent future to their little angel. Time has changed and it has come so that when any girl is born whether in city, town, or village, we all must proudly say ‘Mubarak ho beti hui hai’
