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The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), launched about a decade ago in early discussions of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, has proved to be a great tool for saving for the girl child in India. It has been launched in 2015 and over the years it has become one of the most preferred small saving schemes since it has high returns of investment, have significant tax exemptions and provides secured monetary benefits for families in the long run.
Now, after a decade let me say that Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is not only a saving scheme launched by government for the betterment of girl child but it has become a way to awake parents and make them aware and responsible to save for their daughters’ future. Now it would be pertinent to take a closer look at why exactly this particular scheme has come out trumps and why it remains as popular as ever with millions of Indians.
The Birth of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: The idea for this book came from my desire to have a vision for financial security.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was started in January 2015 as a small savings scheme in Indian Government ‘s flagship Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. The aim was twofold:
WHY PARENTS MUST FOR ONE TO HAVE FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE FOR THE SECURITY OF THEIR DAUGHTERS.
They should encourage the spending on education and marriage of the girl child with an aim of fighting gender imbalance.
The government realized that poverty eradication is central to the achievement of gender equality and symmetrically, SSY was formulated as the financial tool that could assist the process.
Why Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme different From Other saving schemes?
Unlike other small savings schemes mentioned above, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is especially designed for the girl child. The last decade has produced the scheme as reliable and beneficial investment opportunity yielding better returns than other investment avenues.
1. High Interest Rates
The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana has been paying one of the best interest rates amongst all the schemes floated by the Government. The rates have oscillated between 7.6% to 9.2% per annum, which has made the product very suitable for long term saving.
For instance, the interest rate for SSY as of 2024 is 8.0% much greater than fixed deposits, PPF, or a recurring deposit.
2. The Triple Tax Benefits or the EEE Status
One of the most significant advantages of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is its Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) tax status, which includes:
Exemption on deposits: An amount deposited under SSY qualifies for tax exemption under Section 80C of IT ACT within the limit of ₹ 1,50,000 per annum.
Tax-free interest: It is important to note that all the interest earned on the deposits is tax free.
Tax-free maturity amount: Regarding the maturity proceeds, both the principal and interest are absolutely free from taxes.
This makes it easy for SSY to be one of the most tax-friendly investment venture that any investor could dream of.
3. Long-Term Security
The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana has been planned to serve as an investment tool wherein the maturity period of the account is 21 years from the date of account opening or until the girl gets married at or after the age of 18 years. Parents can invest up to Rs 1,50,000 each year for 15 years while the balance years fetch the corpus with compounded interests.
This way by the time the girl grows up to be a woman there would be substantial amount put aside for her to be used for either her college education or marriage.
4. Low Minimum Investment
The scheme run by SSY is very liberal where parent can open an account with as minimum amount as ₹250 annually. Because of this, its cost has remained affordable, which is has been one of the reasons for its popularity.
5. Government Backing = Trust
The scheme of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is backed by government, hence it is safe and secured investment avenue. It is, therefore, important to make clear that unlike other investment opportunities, SSY does not possess market risks; this means that even those who are afraid of risks should invest in SSY.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: A Decade of Impact
The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana has effectively set amazing records in the last ten years of its genesis impacting numerous families and enabling numerous girls.
1. Popularity and Adoption
Since its inception SSY, more than 35 million accounts have been opened in India up to 2024 with the accumulative amount of over two lakh crore rupees have been deposited. The main reasons behind it is that the scheme offers number of good features, is dependable and conforms to the dreams of Indian families.
2. This paper seeks to explore knowledge on the topic on girl child education highlighting ways of how girl child education can be promoted.
Education for the girl child has been given a special boost by SSY. Most parents are employing the maturity proceeds to cater for their daughters’ college education, so as to avoid the experience a hindrance to education due to financial difficulties.
3. Discouraging Child Marriage
Due to conditions as the account is allowed to mature only when the girl is 18 years old, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana indirectly prevents child marriage. This is in line with the government’s overall six aims in the social development and transformation of girls in India.
4. Women’s Financial Inclusion
In terms of access to finances it hasn’t been a bad factor as the scheme has some positive impact on the financial discipline of women and opened doors for them in the Indian economic sphere . So today, families are much more conscious about the fact, that they need to care about their daughters’ futures, and this shift in thinking is the step towards the gender parity.
A Comparison With Other Investment Options
Here’s how Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana fares against other popular investment avenues:
Feature
SSY
PPF
Fixed Deposit
Mutual Funds
Interest Rate
8.0% (2024)
~7.1%
~6-7%
Market-dependent
Tax Benefits
Full (EEE)
Full (EEE)
For instance, only for the taxpayers whose TDS exceeds ₹40,000 for interest payments, the tax credit should be available.
Partial (ELSS only)
Risk
Low
Low
Low
Medium to High
Purpose
Girl child-specific
General savings
General savings
Wealth creation
Lock-In Period
21 years (flexible)
15 years
As per term
No fixed term
Inarguably, SSY is a security that is safe from tax, and yields high return on investment, which is suitable for girl child investment.
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