Sukanya Samriddhi Calculator

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana — The Best Instrument for a Girl Child's Future

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a government-backed small savings scheme for the girl child, launched in 2015 under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign. It offers the highest interest rate among all small savings schemes — 8.2% per annum as of Q1 FY 2025-26 — combined with EEE tax status.

An SSY account can be opened for a girl child below age 10. One family can open accounts for a maximum of two girl children. In the case of twins or triplets as the second birth, a third account is permitted. Parents or legal guardians open and operate the account until the child turns 18.

The scheme is available at post offices and authorized banks (SBI, HDFC, ICICI, BoB, and others). The account must be opened with a minimum deposit of ₹250 and can receive up to ₹1.5 lakh per financial year.

Deposit Period, Maturity, and Withdrawal Rules

Deposits must be made for 15 years from the date of account opening. After 15 years, no deposits are accepted, but the balance continues to earn interest until maturity. The account matures when the girl child turns 21 years old.

Partial withdrawal — up to 50% of the balance at the end of the preceding financial year — is permitted after the girl child turns 18, and only for higher education or marriage. For marriage, the withdrawal can happen only on or after the date she turns 18.

Premature closure before maturity is allowed only in specific cases: the account holder's marriage (after age 18), the death of the account holder, extreme compassionate grounds (life-threatening illness of the account holder or parent/guardian), or change of residency to a foreign country.

What ₹1.5 Lakh Per Year Builds Over Time

Maximum contribution: ₹1.5 lakh per year for 15 years = ₹22.5 lakh total deposited. At 8.2% interest (compounded annually), the maturity corpus at age 21 (assuming account opened at birth) is approximately ₹69–71 lakh. The interest earned — over ₹46 lakh — is completely tax-free.

If the account is opened at birth and the girl is expected to be 21 in 21 years, the money invested in the first year earns interest for 21 years. The last deposit in year 15 earns interest for 6 years. The front-loading of deposits — paying the full ₹1.5 lakh early in each financial year — maximizes the compounding benefit.

SSY at 8.2% vs PPF at 7.1%: the 1.1% difference compounded over 21 years is meaningful. SSY is unambiguously the better instrument for girl child savings compared to PPF, given the higher rate and identical tax treatment. The only limitation: SSY is for the girl child's use, not general family savings.

SSY for the New Tax Regime — Does It Still Make Sense?

Under the new tax regime, Section 80C deductions don't apply — so the ₹1.5 lakh SSY contribution gives no tax deduction to parents who chose the new regime. However, the interest earned and the maturity amount remain tax-free regardless of which tax regime the parents use. The EEE status is for the account holder (the girl child), not the depositor.

For parents in the new tax regime, SSY still makes sense for the compounding and guaranteed high return — you lose the upfront deduction but the back-end tax freedom on gains and maturity is unchanged. The 8.2% guaranteed, government-backed, tax-free return remains hard to beat for risk-free investing.