Mahila Samman Saving Certificate" width="784" height="395" />Mahila Samman Saving Certificate" width="784" height="395" />
The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is a small-savings scheme specifically meant for women investors. The primary goal of the scheme is to increase women’s participation in investments and to promote their financial inclusion. Let’s see this scheme in detail.
The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is a one-time savings scheme for women announced by the government in Budget 2023. The scheme aims to empower women by increasing their participation in investments.
It is a government-guaranteed scheme where women can earn a fixed interest of 7.5%. This scheme is available for investment for two years only, starting from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025. After this period, you cannot invest in this scheme.
| Key Features of the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate | |
| Eligibility | Any women, including minor |
| Interest rate | 7.50% |
| Minimum investment | Rs 1,000 |
| Maximum investment | Rs 2 lakh (combined in all accounts) |
| Maturity period | 2 years |
Currently, the scheme offers a 7.5% interest compounded quarterly but payable at maturity.
Guaranteed return: It is a government-supported scheme that offers you a guaranteed rate of return. So, you do not have to worry about market fluctuations; your returns are safe.
Deposit limits: You can start investing in this scheme with a minimum amount of Rs. 1,000 or any other amount in multiples of Rs. 100. But you cannot make additional deposits after that.
The total amount you can deposit in this scheme is capped at Rs. 2 lakh in one or multiple accounts. Under this scheme, you can open multiple accounts, but the maximum total investment should be Rs 2 lakh only. And each account opened should have a three-month gap between the opening date of the existing account and the new account.
Maturity: The scheme comes with a lock-in period of two years. It means you will get your maturity amount after two years from the account-opening date.
Nomination:
Mahila Samman Savings Certificate also comes with the nomination facility. You can add upto 4 nominees per account and also define their individual share in the corpus.
A minor can also be added as a nominee; however, you will have to provide details of the guardian.
After your unexpected death, your added nominees receive your account’s final corpus in the proportion you have filled in the form.
Multiple accounts:
Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme also allows you to open multiple accounts in your name. But there are some conditions to it:
Partial withdrawal: The scheme also offers a partial withdrawal facility to withdraw your balance before maturity. The withdrawal is available one year after the account’s opening, but only 40% of the eligible balance can be withdrawn.
Premature closure: The scheme comes with a maturity period of two years, but there are some exceptions in which you can close the account before maturity. These are:
Documents Required:
If you want to invest in Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, you must fulfil some documentation requirements. Here are some necessary documents that are required while opening an account:
The scheme is exclusively available to women. Hence, any woman above 18 years of age can invest in this scheme by herself. Also, in the case of minors, the guardian can open the account on behalf of the girl.
Generally, most small-savings schemes provide tax benefits. But no information has been provided by the government related to its taxability. Unless more details emerge, normal taxation as per the slab rate can be assumed for this scheme.
The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Scheme is provided by India Post. Here is how you can invest in this scheme:
(1) Visit your nearest post office.
(2) Fill out the account opening form (Form I). This form is available at the post office counter and can be downloaded from the India Post website. You must submit Form I on or before March 31, 2025.
(3) If you are a new account holder in Indian Post, you must also submit the KYC form.
(4) You must provide KYC documents such as your Aadhaar card, PAN, address proof, etc.
(5) Deposit investment amount by cash or cheque.
Finally, after submitting the filled-up form and making the payment, the post office will issue a scheme certificate.
Let’s compare the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate with some other small-savings schemes:
| Basis | Mahila Samman Savings Certificate | Public Provident Fund (PPF) | Sukanya Samridhi Yojana (SSY) |
| Eligibility | Women, including minor | Any Indian citizen | Girl child up to 10 years age |
| Interest rate | 7.50% | 7.1% | 8% |
| Deposit limit | Minimum Rs 1,000 and maximum Rs 2 lakh | Minimum Rs 500 and maximum Rs 1.5 lakh | Minimum Rs 250 and maximum Rs 1.5 lakh |
| Maturity | 2 years | 15 years | After 21 years from the date of account opening or on marriage at 18 years of age |
| Partial withdrawal | Up to 40% of balance after one year | Up to 50% of balance after seven years | Up to 50% of balance at 18 years of age. Only for marriage or education. |
| Tax benefits | Not yet specified | Eligible for deduction under Section 80C | Eligible for deduction under Section 80C |
Till now, the government has not given any information about its taxability. Hence, it can be assumed that the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is not tax-free. It means one cannot claim any tax deduction for investing in it. The interest earned will also be taxable.
The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is specifically meant for women investors. It gives a guaranteed return of 7.50%, higher than other savings schemes for two years.
The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is exclusively provided by the Indian Post. Hence, you cannot invest in this scheme through banks.
What is the maximum investment amount for the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate?The maximum investment amount is capped at Rs. 2 lakh in one or more accounts.
Mahila Samman Savings Certificate gives you a guaranteed rate of return of 7.5% compounded quarterly.
The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate comes with a lock-in period of 2 years.
The scheme has a two-year lock-in period, which means you will receive the maturity amount after two years from the account-opening date. But you can make a request for partial withdrawals also after one year.
You can withdraw up to 40% of the available balance from the date of account opening. You must submit a withdrawal form and necessary documents at your nearby post office to make a withdrawal request.
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Written By Sridhar SahuSridhar Kumar Sahu is a Content Writer for ET Money. He has over six years of experience in covering personal finance topics and markets. He holds a Master’s degree in English Journalism from IIMC, New Delhi and B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from BPUT, Odisha.
