Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Sukanya Samriddhi Account / Yojana - at a glance



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Sukanya Samriddhi Account / Yojana is a Small Savings Special deposit Scheme for girl child. This scheme is specially designed for girl’s higher education or marriage needs.

The Scheme launched for the welfare of the girl child, to save and educate the girl child.


·           Who can open the account? – Sukanya Samriddhi Account (or Khata) can be opened on a girl child’s name by her natural (biological) parents or legal guardian.

·           What is the Age limit? – SSA can be opened in the name of a girl child from the birth of the girl child till she attains the age of  10 years.  ( As per SB Order No. 2/2015 : The Girl child who is born on or after  02.12.2003 can open account )

·           How many accounts can be opened? – A depositor may open and operate only one account in the name of same girl child under this scheme. The depositor (or) guardian can open only two SSA accounts. There is one exception to this rule. The natural or legal guardian can open two or three accounts if twin girls are born as second birth or triplets are born in the first birth itself.

·           How to open a SSA account? Accounts in name of the girl child can be opened in post offices or in any branch of a commercial bank that is authorized by the Central Government to open an account under this scheme rules.

·          What is the minimum deposit to open the account? – The account may be opened with an initial deposit of one thousand rupees. The minimum contribution in any financial year is Rs 1000. Thereafter the contributions can in multiples of one hundred rupees.

·          What is the maximum deposit amount? – a minimum of one thousand rupees shall be deposited in a financial year but the total money deposited in an account on a single occasion or on multiple occasions shall not exceed Rs 1.5 Lakh in a financial year.

·          Deposits in an account may be made till the child completes fourteen years, from the date of opening of the account.

·           Is there any penalty? – If minimum (Rs 1000 pa) amount is not deposited, the account will be treated as an irregular account. This can be regularized/renewed on payment of Rs 50 per year as penalty. Along with this, the minimum specified subscription for the year (s) of default should be paid.

·          What is the mode of deposit? – The deposits in Sukanya Samruddhi scheme can be made in the form of Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque. Where deposit is made by cheque or demand draft, the date of encashment of the cheque or demand draft shall be the date of credit to the account. The cheque or DD should be drawn in favour of the postmaster of the concerned post office or the Manager of the concerned bank. The depositor (parents or guardian) has to write the account holder’s name (child’s name) and the account number on the backside of the instrument.

·          What is the Rate of Interest on Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – The applicable rate of interest on SSA for the financial year 2014-2015 is 9.1%. This is one of the highest rates of interest offered by Government on small savings scheme

·          Is interest rate fixed or variable? – The rate of interest is not fixed and will be notified by the central government on a yearly basis.
·           The account can be transferred anywhere in India if the girl shifts to a place other than the city or locality where the account stands.

·            Is Premature withdrawal allowed? – 50 % (half of the fund) of the accumulated amount in SSA can be withdrawn for girl’s higher education and marriage after she attains 18 years of age. The account’s balance at the end of preceding financial year is used for the calculation.

·           Can the girl child operate the account? On attaining age of ten years, the account holder that is the girl child may herself operate the account, however, deposit in the account may be made by the guardian or parents.

·          Is premature closure allowed? In the event of death of the account holder, the account shall be closed immediately on production of death certificate. the balance at the credit of the account shall be paid along with interest till the month preceding the month of premature closure of the account , to the guardian of the account holder.

·         The scheme would mature on completion of 21 years.

·           Can the girl child continue the account after her marriage? – The operation of the account shall not be permitted beyond the date of the girl’s marriage.

·            What are the required documents to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – Birth certificate of the girl child has to be produced. The depositor (parents or guardian) has to submit his/her identity and address proofs.

·          On opening an account, the depositor shall be given a pass book. It will have date of birth of the girl child, date of opening of account, account number, name and address of the account holder and the initial amount deposited. The depositor has to present the passbook to the post office or bank at the time of depositing/receiving the interest/on maturity.

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Tax Benefits on Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme


The amount that is deposited under Sukanya Samriddhi Account will be eligible for income tax exemption under Section 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961.

At present, only the contribution of up to Rs 1.5 lakh toward Sukanya Samridhi Yojana is eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C. But discussions are on to also exempt the interest income and withdrawal amount. We can expect a formal announcement on this in the coming Union Budget 2015-16.

(Issue of making interest income and withdrawal exempt from taxation can be done by Department of Revenue (DoR) through legislative amendments. The matter is under examination of DoR)

Sukanya Samriddhi Account ( SSA ) deposits eligible for deduction u/s 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961 : Click Here

Sukanya Samriddhi Account vs Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Both Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) and Public Provident Fund (PPF) aims to seed the savings habit but both schemes have their own pros and cons.

Stressing on the girls role in making the India competitive and prosperous nation, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has today launched a new small savings account for the girl child “Sukanya Samriddhi Account” as an integral part of the “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” campaign.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account was initially introduced by Shri Arun Jaitely in his maiden budget speech but has been officially launched today by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He has handed over bank account details to five girls under the “Sukanya Samridhi Yojna” (girl child prosperity scheme).

Sukanya Samridhi Yojna is a special deposit scheme for girl child only but one another popular scheme to benefit child (irrespective of girl or boy) is Public Provident Fund (PPF).

Let’s see the difference between Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Points of Difference
Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA)
Public Provident Fund (PPF)
For whom
Only for Girl Child.
For every Indian Citizen.

Age Limit
From the birth till she attains age of 10 years.
No age limit.



By whom
By the girl child who has attained the age of 10 years or by the natural or legal guardian.
By the Individual but by the natural or legal guardian for the minor child.

Where to open
Post office and nationalized banks but not   private banks.
Post office and nationalized banks, including private banks.


Number of Account
One account for each girl child, maximum up to 2 or 3 accounts if twin girls are born in the second birth or triplets are born in the first birth.
Each Individual can hold only one account in   his name.

Minimum Contribution
    Rs.1,000
Rs.500

Maximum Contribution
   Rs.1.5 lakhs in all accounts.
Rs.1.5 lakhs in all accounts.
Interest Rate
9.1% per annum for fiscal year 2014-15.
8.70% per annum for fiscal year 2014-15.

Tax Benefit on the Contribution
Contributed Amount will be deductible u/s 80C.
Contributed Amount will be deductible u/s 80C.

Tax Benefit on the interest earned
At present no tax benefit is announced for the interest earned. A mere sum of Rs.1,5o0 will be deductible u/s 10(32) .
Interest Earned is tax free under PPF.

Time Period of contribution
Minimum tenure of contribution is 14 years from the date of opening of account.
Minimum 15 years and then in blocks of 5 years.


Maturity
21 years from the date of opening of account.
15 years from the fiscal year of opening of account.


Penalty
Rs.50 per year if minimum contribution is not made.
Rs.50 per year if minimum contribution is not made.

Mode of Deposit
Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque
Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque


Premature Withdrawal
Allowed up to 50% for the girl’s higher education and marriage after she attains 18 years of age
No premature withdrawal is allowed except in case of death of the account holder.


Loan
No loan can be taken on the SSA balance.
Loan can be taken from the third year of opening of account to the sixth year.
Taxation on Maturity
No tax will be levied on the maturity amount.
No tax will be levied on the maturity amount.

Note:

1.      Interest rate under both the schemes will be notified each year by the Government.
2.      Interest will be compounded yearly under both schemes.
3.      Loan on the PPF balance is restricted to 25% of the balance at the end of 2nd year.
4.      At present interest earned on SSA account is taxable in the hands of guardian but it may get tax rebate in the upcoming budget.
5.    Contributed amount get deduction u/s 80c up to Rs.1.5 lakhs including all other eligible investments.


Sukanya Samriddhi Calculator
Year
Age of Girl Child
Opening Balance
Monthly Contribution
Yearly Contribution
Intrest Rate @9.1%
Closing Balance
2015
1
-
1000
12,000
592
12,592
2016
2
12,592
1000
12,000
1,737
26,329
2017
3
26,329
1000
12,000
2,987
41,316
2018
4
41,316
1000
12,000
4,351
57,668
2019
5
57,668
1000
12,000
5,839
75,507
2020
6
75,507
1000
12,000
7,463
94,969
2021
7
94,969
1000
12,000
9,234
116,203
2022
8
116,203
1000
12,000
11,166
139,369
2023
9
139,369
1000
12,000
13,274
164,643
2024
10
164,643
1000
12,000
15,574
192,217
2025
11
192,217
1000
12,000
18,083
222,300
2026
12
222,300
1000
12,000
20,821
255,121
2027
13
255,121
1000
12,000
23,808
290,929
2028
14
290,929
1000
12,000
27,066
329,995
2029
15
329,995
-
-
30,030
360,024
2030
16
360,024
-
-
32,762
392,787
2031
17
392,787
-
-
35,744
428,530
2032
18
428,530
-
-
38,996
467,526
2033
19
467,526
-
-
42,545
510,071
2034
20
510,071
-
-
46,416
556,488
2035
21
556,488
-
-
50,640
607,128








Maturity Value :
Amount of Deposit : 14 Years x 12 Months x Rs. 1000 = 1,68,000 + Interest= 4,39,128 = 6,07,128( Approximately

SB Order 02/2015 : Introduction of new scheme "Sukanya Samriddhi Account" under Small Savings Scheme from 22.01.2015. : View

Addendum to SB Order No. 2/2015 on Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA)

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