There is a lot that is being introduced in
recent times, towards women empowerment and to nurture girl child. One such
scheme introduced by the government, which is a part of the Beti Bachao Beti
Padhao Campaign of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the scheme called Sukanya
Samriddhi Yojana (SSY). Translating to Girl Child Prosperity Scheme, it is
a joint venture run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of
Human Resource Development, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
With the scheme, here’s what the
campaign aims to achieve:
Ensuring protection of the girl child
Stop gender discrimination and abolish sex
determination practices
Empower girls to ensure higher
participation in the education stream and other areas
The scheme aims to provide a bright future
for the girl child, for which the parents can start saving and investing from
the time they’re born. Following criteria must be met for the Sukanya
Samriddhi Scheme:
Any girl child, who is a resident Indian,
from account opening date till account maturity or closure, is eligible for
SSY.
If the girl child has not attained 10 years
of age, then parents or legal guardians can open the account on her behalf,
deposit amount, and operate the account.
Once the girl child reaches 18 years, the
account has to be mandatorily operated by her.
You can only have one Sukanya Samriddhi
Account per girl child
A Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened
in any post office or authorised branches of any commercial banks.
And if you are planning to open such an account
for your girl child and using as a mode, then there are the documents you need
to keep handy:
Identity and residential proof of the
guardian
Birth certificate of the girl child
A medical certificate, or any other evidence
of birth in case of multiple girl children
Other documents as a request by a commercial
bank or post office
Moreover, the SSY scheme has tax-saving
benefits for the parents who are opening this account as well. The investments
you make under this account are eligible for deductions under the Section 80C,
with a maximum cap of INR 1.5 lakh. Furthermore, the annually compounded
interest that you earn over the investment in this account is also tax
exempted. And last but not least, the proceeds that are received upon maturity
or when the withdrawal is made from SSY, are also exempted from income tax.
There are ample ways of saving tax for
salaried individuals. You can apply for the National Pension Scheme or go for
Public Provident Fund to save tax up to a certain amount on your earned income.
Both these options very viable income tax saving instruments, and you can
always save a little over the top, even after you are done investing in ELSS or
other tax instruments.
