Mahila Samman Saving Certificate: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new small savings scheme for female investors in the Union Budget 2023-24. The programme will be known as the Mahila Samman Saving Certificate (MSSC).
In her Budget 2023 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a small savings scheme for women. During the budget speech, the FM stated that the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate would have a two-year term and a 7.5% interest rate.
For commemorating #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav, a one time new small savings scheme ‘Mahila Samman Bachat Patra’ will be made available up till March 2025
This will offer deposit facility up to ₹2 Lakhs at a fixed interest rate of 7.5% with partial withdrawal option #AmritKaalBudget pic.twitter.com/jxyqgBEXjv
— PIB India (@PIB_India) February 1, 2023
Deposits in this scheme, can be made in the name of a woman or a girl child. You can make a two-year deposit of up to Rs 2 lakh at a fixed rate of 7.5 percent. There are no tax advantages in this scheme, but partial withdrawal is permitted.
This is a one-time scheme announced in Budget 2023 that will be available for two years, until March 2025.
Also Read: Union Budget 2023: What gets cheaper, what gets costlier,Full list
For a girl child, we already have the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY). An account can be opened for a girl as young as 10 years old to invest in this scheme, which has a 21-year tenure (account is closed after the marriage of the girl). Deposits, however, can only be made until the 15th year.
The scheme has a liquidity problem. The entire SSY corpus is frozen until the girl reaches the age of 18. Even so, only up to 50% of the investment amount can be withdrawn for educational purposes.
For the short term, the Mahila Samman Saving Certificate is a viable alternative to fixed deposits (FDs) held in the name of a woman. “The returns are higher than bank FDs, and partial withdrawal reduces liquidity concerns,” said Adhil Shetty, CEO of Bankbazaar.com.
