SSY Investment - How to invest in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Online

You have probably already heard plenty of depositors talk about the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account interest rate and its tax benefits, a mall savings deposit scheme with big interest rate (8.1 per cent), easy application process and multiple tax benefits. But how do you invest in this scheme and apply for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana? 

Here’s a low down on how you can invest in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhaocampaign launched in January 2015, that aims to secure the future of the girl child by encouraging small investments in the scheme to create a corpus that will fund her expenses like higher education and marriage.

Indian post offices and 25 banks are authorized to allow opening of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Accounts in India. The process of opening a Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account is fairly simple and straight forward. All you need is the following documents. With as little as INR 250, you can open this deposit account. Another compelling reason to invest here is that deposit up to INR 1.5 lakh is eligible for deduction under Section 80C of Income Tax Act.

You can read more about how to open the account here.

Documents you need to open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account are:

• Account opening form
• Beneficiary’s birth certificate: You can get it from the hospital where the child was born, a domicile notified by government agencies or from the principal of the school where the child is enrolled.
• Valid address proof of the guardian or parents of the beneficiary like passport, ration card, electricity bill among other valid id documents.
• Identity proof of the guardian or parents of the beneficiary

Step by step guide to open a Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account

• Fill out the account opening form
• Keep the documents ready along with photographs
• Pay the deposit amount (any amount between INR 250 and INR 1.5 lakh will do)
• You can give a standing instruction at the branch or you can set up automatic credit to SSY account through net banking.

Here are some of the other salient features of the scheme that you must know about

Tax benefits of opening SSY account?

• Deposits up to INR 1.5 lakh is eligible for a deduction under Section 80C of Income Tax Act.
• The interest earned and the proceeds from maturity of the deposit is tax free. The interest is compounded annually.

Who is eligible to open the account?

Parents or a legal guardian of a girl child aged less than 10 years can open the account on behalf of the beneficiary.

How many accounts can you open?

Each account for up to two girl children can be opened. Three in case of twins being born the second time.

How much can you deposit?

You can deposit a minimum of INR 250 up to INR 1.5 lakh in a financial year. In July 2018, the minimum deposit amount was reduced from the earlier limit of INR 1,000.

Tenure of the deposit

21 years from the date you open the Account. You must make a deposit in every financial year of any sum between INR 250 and INR 1.5 lakh. You have to make this deposit until 15 years from the date of Account opening.

What is the rate of interest on SSY deposits?

The rate of interest offered on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Accounts are revised every quarter. Accounts opened between October 1 2018 and 31 December 2018 will fetch 8.1 per cent.

How to open a Sukanya Samriddhi account online?

Presently neither authorized bank branches nor post offices allow for opening the account online. But once the account is opened after submission of all the documents, you can set the standing instructions online.

Can premature withdrawals be made?

Do note that premature closure of Account is allowed under very specific circumstances.

- If the beneficiary after the age of 18 is to get married. Intent of marriage (should be notified a month before marriage of up to 3 months after the marriage)

-After attaining the age of 18, the beneficiary secures admission in an academic institution. The beneficiary will need to produce valid proof of admission.

-Deemed closure if the beneficiary changes citizenship or country of residence.

 -After 5 years of maintenance of the deposit account if the bank or post office finds that maintenance of the account is causing financial burden on the girl child for medical reasons or death of a guardian, premature withdrawal will be allowed

- SSA can be closed prematurely, for any other reason, but the deposit will earn the rate of interest applicable on post office savings bank accounts.

Opening the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account will give your loved one a bright future. To open this HDFC Bank Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account, contact your closest HDFC Bank Branch now.