The Government of India has created many schemes to encourage the welfare of girl children and their parents. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme is one such scheme launched in 2015 by Narendra Modi as a part of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign. In this article, let us discuss this Scheme along with its regulations, eligibility and required documents. We will also go through the procedure of filling the application form and opening a Sukanya Samriddhi account step by step.
What is Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme?
This is a scheme under which a bank account can be opened for the benefit of a girl child who is below the age of 10 years. This scheme encourages the parents or the guardians of a girl child to plan for her future education or marriage. The amount deposited in this account matures when the girl is 21 or when the girl is married.
Sukanya Samriddhi Account also known as the Girl Child Prosperity Account can be opened in any post office or authorized bank. A minimum of Rs. 250 must be deposited every year. A maximum of Rs.12500 can be deposited in the account per year. As of 2021, this scheme provides 7.6% interest. The interest received under this scheme is exempted from tax. A benefit under this scheme is that the account can be transferred to anywhere in India. One thing to be remembered is that the account matures at 21 years from the date of opening the account and from then no interest will be paid.
Now let us look at the eligibility criteria for opening an account under this scheme.
Eligibility criteria:-
- Girl Child below 10 years
- Only one account per Girl Child
Ex. If a child has an account in post office another account cannot be created in SBI
- This scheme is only applicable to maximum 2 girl children per family.
Exception: There are 2 exceptions to this case where a third girl child can be eligible for this scheme. They are
- When there are twin girls in the second conceivement
- If there are triplets i.e 3 girls born in the first conceivement
- The application must be filled by a legal guardian of the child i.e the mother, father or a guardian appointed by the court.
Documents Required:-
- Birth Certificate of the girl child on whose name the account is being opened
- Aadhaar Card of the girl child
- Aadhaar Card or any other identity card of the Legal Guardian
- Xerox of the bank account pass book of the Legal Guardian
- Joint photo of the Legal Guardian and the girl child
Terms and conditions:-
- On the day of account opening a minimum of Rs.1000/- must be credited to the account
- In a financial year, minimum Rs.250 must be deposited
- In a financial year, a maximum of Rs.1,50,000 can only be deposited
- Deposit must be made for 15 years from the date of account opening.
- You can withdraw the amount once the account completes 21 years.
- No tax to be paid on the interest received from this scheme.
- Rs 50 must be paid as fine if regular deposit is not made
- A standing instruction can be given that every month a particular amount is to be transferred from your savings account to the Sukanya Samriddhi Account.
- You can withdraw 50% of the deposited cash when the girl child attains 18 years of age or for her further studies or for her marriage.
How to fill the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Application Form?
You can open an account under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme in any post office or authorised bank. The application form will be available there. You can have a look at the video or follow the step-by-step procedure to fill in the form mentioned here. The procedure is:-
Branch Name
Fill the branch name of the post office or the bank to which you are applying to open a Sukanya Samriddhi Account in. For example if you are submitting the form at munuguru branch fill the blank with that name.
Guardian’s Name
Fill in the blank (refer to image) with the name of the guardian of the child for whose benefit this scheme is being availed. That is the name of the mother, father or the guardian appointed by the court.
Name of the Girl Child
Fill in the blank with the name of the girl child for whose benefit the account is being opened.
Amount in Numbers and Words
Fill the blank, in numbers and then in words with the amount of money you will be depositing as your first deposit in the bank when you are opening the account. The minimum amount must be Rs.1000
Cash, Check or DD
You can pay the amount through cash, check or DD. If you are depositing the amount through Check or DD fill in the blank with the Number and date of the check or DD.
Name of the account holder
Fill in the blank with the name of the girl child for whose benefit the account is being opened.
Daughter of
Fill in the blank with the name of the mother or father of the child.
Date of Birth
Fill in the blank with the date of birth of the girl child as per her birth certificate issued by the government. Also write the date of birth in the form of words.
Details of the birth certificate
Fill in the blanks with the details of the certificate
- Certificate number
- Date of issue i.e the date on which the certificate was issued.
- Issuing authority i.e the name of the authority issuing the certificate
Name of parent or guardian
Fill the blank with the name of either the mother, father or the guardian who will be operating the account on behalf of the girl child.
ID details of the parent or the guardian
Mention in the blank the ID proof of the parent or the guardian whose name has been mentioned above. And also give further details of the ID proof. Which are:-
- Certificate number. That is the number of the ID proof.
- Date of Issue. The date on which the certificate was issued as mentioned on the ID proof
- Issuing authority. That is the name of the authority issuing the certificate.
If mentioning Aadhaar card Date of issue and Issuing authority are not required.
Address
Fill in the blank with the address that is present in the ID proof that is being submitted along with this account application. If your present and permanent addresses are different, mention them in the application accordingly.
Details of other KYC documents attached
Fill in the details of any other documents being attached to this application, other than the ones that have already been mentioned.
Declaration
Fill in the blank with the name of the girl child for whose benefit the account is being opened under this scheme to declare that:-
- She agrees to be bound by all the rules and regulations and even to the changes made to them in future.
- She does not hold an account under this scheme previously in any other post office or bank.
Signature of the parent or guardian
Fill this section with either a thumb impression or a signature of the parent or the guardian who will be operating the account on behalf of the girl child.
The last section is for the use of the post office or bank in which the application is being submitted and the account is being opened. Attach the xerox copies of the required documents along with the application form while submitting it to the post office or bank.
