NEW DELHI: Post offices across the country have opened close to 11 lakh Sukanya Samriddhi accounts in the last two days as part of a special drive to provide social security under the government’s small savings scheme targeted at the girl child.
The accounts were opened by India Post on Thursday and Friday, after a week-long awareness campaign, and is almost a third of the Sukanya Samriddhi accounts it opens annually. Over the last eight years as many as 2.7 crore accounts have been opened.
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“Many congratulations to @IndiaPostOffice for this great achievement! This effort will secure the future of the country’s daughters and make them more empowered,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
Communications and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also tweeted, “Dedicated to future of the daughters of our country, a sweet gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India Post opens more than 10 lakh Sukanya Samriddhi accounts.”
The response has been more favourable than what India Post was targeting. As part of the special awareness drive, it was aiming to open 7.5 lakh Sukanya Samriddhi accounts. The push comes at a time when the government has just unveiled a new small savings instrument for women, offering 7.5% for two year deposits, something that is only available in some banks for senior citizens.
The Sukanya Samriddhi Account scheme is a longer-term product that is meant to meet education and marriage expenses of a girl child. This scheme encourages parents to build a fund for future education and marriage expenses of their girl child. The account can be opened in the name of a girl child till she attains the age of 10 years and the account can be opened in post offices and notified branches of commercial banks. Deposits of up to Rs 1.5 lakh are allowed during a financial year, although the initial deposit can be as low as Rs 250, which is also the minimum prescribed during a fiscal year.
They mature after 21 years or at the time of marriage of the girl child under whose name the account is opened.
