Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, 2023: Who can invest, interest payment, charges, how to open, premature closure
Mahila Samman Saving Certificate a new small savings scheme was introduced in Budget 2023, specially designed for women investors to encourage investments. The government has made the scheme come into effect via a gazette notification issued on March 31, 2023. An account opened under this scheme will be a single holder type account and the account can be opened in the Post Office or any authorised bank.Also read: Post Office Schemes latest Interest Rates in India for 2023
Here is a look at important details of the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, 2023 as per the government gazette notification.
Who can open Mahila Samman Savings account
Mahila Samman Savings account can be opened by a woman for herself, or by the guardian on behalf of a minor girl. Women investors have to fill Form - I, on or before the 31st March, 2025.Limit on Mahila Samman Savings Certificate
The minimum amount to be invested is Rs 1000 and any sum in multiples of one hundred rupees may be deposited in an account and no subsequent deposit shall be allowed in that account. Under the scheme, the maximum investment limit allowed is Rs 2 lakh.
Interest rate
The deposits made under this scheme will fetch interest at the rate of 7.5 per cent per annum. The interest will be compounded quarterly and credited to the account.
According to the Ministry of Finance notification dated March 31, 2023, “The interest payable to the account holder in respect of any account opened or deposit made which is not in consonance with the provisions of this Scheme shall be payable at the rate applicable to the Post Office Savings Account.”
Payment on maturity
The deposit matures after two years from the deposit date, and the account holder may receive the balance by submitting an application in Form-2 to the accounts office at that time. Any fraction of a rupee that is not exactly one rupee will be rounded up to the closest rupee when determining the maturity value. For this calculation, any sum that is fifty paisa or greater counts as one rupee, while any amount that is less than fifty paisa is not considered.
Withdrawal from account
After the first year from the date of account opening but before the account's maturity, the account holder can withdraw a maximum of 40% of the balance by submitting a Form-3 application.
Premature closure of account
The account shall not be closed before maturity except in the following cases, namely
on the death of the account holderWhen the post office or the bank in question determines that the operation of the account is putting the account holder through undue hardship due to extreme compassionate circumstances, such as medical support for the account holder's life-threatening illnesses or the death of the guardian, it may, after thorough documentation, by order and for reasons that will be documented in writing, permit the account to be prematurely closed.Where an account is prematurely closed, interest on principal amount shall be payable at the rate applicable to the Scheme for which the account has been held.Premature closure of an account will be allowed at any time following after six months from the date of account opening for any reason other than those listed, in which case the balance that was previously in the account would only be eligible for interest at a rate that was 2% lower than the rate specified in this Scheme.ChargesType of transactionCharges payable (in rupees)Receipt – Physical Mode40Receipt – e-mode9Payments6.5 paise per Rs.100 turnover
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This story originally appeared on: India Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances
