What the scheme is
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a small savings scheme for a girl child under ten, opened by a parent or guardian at a post office or an authorised bank. It is backed by the Government of India and carries a rate set quarterly — typically the highest of any small savings scheme.
Three dates define it:
- Deposits run for 15 years from the date the account is opened
- The account matures 21 years after opening
- Between year 15 and year 21 no deposits are required, and the balance continues to earn interest
That six-year tail is where a large part of the final amount is generated, because the balance is at its largest and nothing more needs to be paid in.
Eligibility and limits
- The girl must be under 10 on the date the account is opened
- One account per girl, and at most two accounts per family — extended to three where a second birth produces twins or triplets
- Minimum ₹250 a year, maximum ₹1.5 lakh a year across all SSY accounts
- The account is operated by the guardian until the girl turns 18, after which she operates it herself
Miss a year's minimum and the account becomes inactive; it can be revived by paying ₹250 for each missed year plus a ₹50 penalty per year.
The tax position
SSY is EEE, like the PPF:
- Deposits qualify under section 80C, within the shared ₹1.5 lakh annual limit
- Interest credited each year is not taxed
- The maturity amount is not taxed
An EEE return at the rates SSY has carried is difficult to match anywhere else without taking risk. At a 30% slab, 8.2% tax-free is equivalent to roughly 11.8% from a taxable instrument.
How the maturity value builds
Interest compounds annually. Each deposit earns for the years remaining until maturity, so the first deposit compounds for twenty-one years and the fifteenth for seven.
M = Σ P × (1 + r)^(22 − k)
At ₹50,000 a year, the fifteen deposits total ₹7.5 lakh and mature at roughly ₹23 lakh at the current rate — the interest is around twice the principal, and none of it is taxed.
Opening the account early matters twice over. An account opened when the girl is two matures when she is twenty-three; opened at nine, it matures when she is thirty. Since maturity is pinned to the account's age rather than hers, an early start means the money arrives when education is actually being paid for.
Withdrawal before maturity
At 18, or after she has passed class 10, up to 50% of the balance at the end of the preceding financial year may be withdrawn for higher education, against documented admission.
The account closes early on marriage after 18, with an application filed between one month before and three months after the wedding.
Premature closure otherwise is allowed only on the death of the account holder or in specified hardship cases, with the approval of the authority.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the yearly investment — between ₹250 and ₹1.5 lakh.
- Enter the girl's age. An account can only be opened before she turns ten.
- Set the start year the account is opened in.
- The rate is shown at its current figure and is not editable; the government revises it quarterly.
The calculator shows total invested, interest earned, the maturity year and the maturity value.