New Delhi/Lucknow: Every parent dreams that their daughter should pursue higher education, become self-reliant and her marriage should take place without any financial stress. On the special occasion of Children's Day, if you want to give your beloved daughter a gift that will grow with time and be useful at the most important stages of her life, then there can be no better option than India Post's Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY). This small savings scheme, launched under the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign of the Central Government, is today one of the most popular and trusted investment schemes in the country. The biggest feature of this scheme is that an account can be opened with a small amount of just Rs 250 and huge returns can be achieved with government guarantee.
At present, when interest rates on general fixed deposits (FD) of banks are limited, the Post Office's Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is offering investors an attractive interest rate of 8.2 percent per annum. This interest rate is the highest compared to all other small savings schemes and is calculated on the basis of annual compounding. The total maturity period of this scheme is 21 years from the date of account opening, but parents have to deposit money in it only for the first 15 years. After this, interest at the rate of 8.2 percent continues to be accrued on the deposited amount even without making any new investment for the next 6 years, due to which your fund increases manifold.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana has been designed in such a way that everyone from low income families to middle class and high income families can invest as per their capacity. According to the rules, a minimum of Rs 250 and a maximum of Rs 1.50 lakh can be deposited in this account in a financial year. If a parent deposits Rs 250 every month (i.e. Rs 3,000 annually) regularly for 15 years in this scheme immediately after the birth of his daughter, his total investment will be only Rs 45,000, but at an interest rate of 8.2 per cent on maturity after 21 years, he will get an amount of more than Rs 1,38,500. At the same time, if you increase your savings a little and deposit Rs 1,000 every month (Rs 12,000 annually), then your total investment in 15 years will be Rs 1.80 lakh and on maturity your daughter will get approximately Rs 5.54 lakh. If a parent invests the maximum limit i.e. Rs 1.50 lakh annually (Rs 12,500 per month), then after 21 years a huge fund of about Rs 69.27 lakh is prepared for the daughter.
Another big attraction of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is its tax-free nature. This scheme comes under the 'Exempt-Exempt-Exempt' (EEE) category under the Income Tax Act. This simply means that you can claim tax exemption of up to Rs 1.50 lakh in a financial year under Section 80C of Income Tax on the amount you deposit in this account. Apart from this, there is no tax on the interest earned in this account every year and the entire maturity amount received on completion of 21 years is also completely tax-free.
Under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, an account can be opened in the name of any girl child below 10 years of age by her parents or legal guardian. This account can be opened for a maximum of two daughters in a family, although in special circumstances of the birth of twins or triplets, a third account is also allowed. This account can be easily opened by visiting any nearest post office or authorized bank branch of the country including Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj and rural post offices of Uttar Pradesh. For this, birth certificate of the daughter, Aadhar card of parents or guardian, PAN card, residence certificate and passport size photo are required. This Children's Day, by opening a Sukanya Samriddhi Account in your daughter's name, you will not only give her a memorable gift, but also lay a strong foundation for her golden and self-reliant future.