New small savings scheme for women draws over a million depositors
Synopsis
Collections under the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme stood at about Rs 6,000 crore from 1.026 million depositors, the official said, sharing provisional data. The one-time scheme was first announced in the February budget to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence.
The government’s new small savings scheme for women, launched on April 1, has already drawn more than a million depositors, indicating strong participation by those in even rural areas, a senior finance ministry official said.
Collections under the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme stood at about Rs 6,000 crore from 1.026 million depositors, the official said, sharing provisional data. The one-time scheme was first announced in the February budget to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence.
The deposits are going to rise at a faster pace in the coming months, as all state-run banks and select private banks have now been asked to roll out the scheme, the official said. Until now, the scheme was implemented by post offices alone.
Banks adopt Mahila Samman scheme
According to a finance ministry notification dated June 27, “all public-sector banks and ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and IDBI Bank shall be authorised to operate the Scheme… with effect from the date of publication of this notification in the official gazette”.
The one-time scheme has a deposit cap of Rs 2 lakh and offers a fixed interest rate of 7.5%, with a partial withdrawal option. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the scheme would be made available for a two-year period through March 2025.
The success of the scheme comes on top of the strong performance by one for senior citizens, with the deposit limit having been doubled to Rs 30 lakh in the latest budget. As reported by ET earlier this month, the mop-up under this scheme touched Rs 23,000 crore in the first two months of this fiscal year, against Rs 6,000 crore a year before.
It fetched an attractive interest of 8.2% in the June quarter, against 8% in the previous three months. The interest is payable every quarter.
The robust response to the schemes is set to boost collections under the National Small Saving Fund (NSSF) and ease pressure on the government to borrow from the market to fund its fiscal deficit.
The government has budgeted Rs 4.71 lakh crore from the NSSF in FY24, against the FY23 revised estimate of Rs 4.39 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit, in absolute terms, is budgeted at Rs 17.88 lakh crore for FY24.
#womenindia #womenindiatv #womensupportingwomen #womeninbusiness #femaleentrepreneurs #growthmindset #buildalifeyoulove #girlboss #girlpower #womanownedbusiness #GirlBossesUnite #FemaleFounders #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneur #BrandYourBusiness
