Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Interest Rate History 2015 to Present

This is a table of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) interest rates from 2015 to the present. The current SSY Interest Rate (Oct to Dec 2020) is 7.60%.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Interest Rate History 2015 to Present

Also See: PPF Interest Rate History 1968 to Present

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) was launched in 2015 as a part of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign. The scheme is specifically focused towards the girl child and is designed as a small savings scheme that can be used as an investment vehicle towards future expenses of the girl child like education and marriage. In 2019, the government notified a new Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, 2019 to replace Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, 2016. An SSY account can be opened in any post office branch and branches of most commercial banks.  The age limit for account opening is up to 10 years from the date of birth of the girl child who must be a resident of India. Up to 2 SSY accounts can be opened by the parents, one each of up to 2 girl children (exception allowed for twins, triplets etc.). The girl child becomes the account holder when she reaches 18 years of age.

A minimum amount of Rs 250 is required to be deposited in the scheme in each financial year to keep the account active. Even for default accounts, the corpus will continue to earn the notified interest rates. The maximum investment is Rs 1.5 lakh every financial year which can be claimed as a deduction under section 80C and deposits can be made only up to the end of the 15^th year from the account opening year. The interest income from the SSY and the maturity/withdrawal amount is also tax-free. Therefore, SSY is one of the few schemes that enjoys the EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) status.

The scheme matures on completion of 21 years from the date of account opening or when the girl gets married, whichever is earlier. Up to 50% of the balance at the end of the previous financial year in the SSY account can also be withdrawn for the girl child’s higher education once she passes 10^th standard or attains 18 years of age, whichever is earlier. The entire corpus can also be withdrawn for the marriage of the girl child before the 21-year period provided the girl has attained 18 years of age.

The SSY interest rates have been steadily going down since the launch of the scheme which is in line with interest rate trends in other fixed-income instruments. However, the scheme still continues to earn one of the highest interest rates when compared to other small savings schemes like PPF and fixed income instruments.