Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a government-backed savings scheme, launched exclusively for the welfare of girl children across the country. With guaranteed interest income and tax exemptions, this scheme is a beneficial decision for the parent or legal guardian of a girl child; funds from the Sukanya can be utilized later to provide for the girl child higher education and/or marriage and safeguard her financial future. The account can be opened in the name of a girl child who is under the age of 18 years, by her parent/ legal guardian. One can get this account opened at any nearest Axis Bank branch.
Account Opening: Opening of an SSY account is only allowed for Indian resident parents or legal guardians; one can open up to two accounts for two girl children in a family. However, a third girl child can be considered in case of a triplet in the first birth or twin girls in the second birth after first girl child.
Tenure: An SSY account needs 21 years to mature or until the girl child gets married after the age of 18. The account can be kept active for a maximum period of 21 years from the date of account opening. Once this period is over, the Axis Sukanya Samriddhi account doesn’t earn any interest on it.
Age criteria – The account can be opened until the girl child attains the age of 10 years.
Deposit Criteria – A Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana in Axis Bank can be opened with an initial deposit starting from as low as Rs. 250 per year and the maximum deposit goes up to Rs.1.5 lakh in a year. Axis SSY deposits can be made either through cash and/or cheque. Deposits may be made in the account till the completion of a period of 15 years from the account opening date.
Eligibility Criteria: This scheme is only valid for residents of India. Female children with non-resident Indian status will not be allowed to open an SSY account. However, if after opening the account, the account holder acquires non-resident Indian status, her parents/legal guardian must give an intimation to the respective Axis Bank branch about this change within 1 month, based on which, the account will be closed.
Partial Withdrawal – Withdrawal of 50% of the funds is allowed from the Axis Sukanya Samriddhi account once the girl child has reached 18 years of age. This fund can be utilized for the purpose of higher education/marriage of the girl child.
Account Reactivation: A minimum deposit of Rs. 250 is required per year for at least 15 years to ensure the continuity of the account. The account gets deactivated if the minimum amount of Rs.250 is not deposited in a year. However, it can be revived by paying a penalty fee of Rs.50 for the years in default and the minimum annual deposit of Rs.250 per year for the years in default plus Rs.250 for the current year in which it is being activated.
Axis Bank provides a quick and hassle-free way of opening an SSY account. Individuals without an Axis Bank account can also open an SSY account by submitting the following documents:
Axis Bank Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account – Documents Required
An SSY account can be opened with a minimum deposit as low as Rs. 250 which ensures that it’s affordable by all the parents/legal guardians of girl children. The minimum deposit was changed to Rs 250 from Rs. 1,000 after 5th July 2018.
One of the major advantages of an SSY account is once the girl turns 18, 50% of the balance can be withdrawn to meet educational expenses. With proper proof of admission, these funds can be easily utilized for higher education.
Apart from the above-given benefits, for those who are concerned about the tax part, this scheme offers a triple tax advantage:
The rate of interest offered on SSY accounts is 7.6%
After making the deposit for 15 years, there is no need to make deposits until the deposit matures, which is 21 years from the date of account opening. You will still continue to earn interest on the deposit.