Mahila Samman Savings Certificate open to PSBs and some pvt sector banks

In case remittances are delayed beyond the specified period, the bank shall pay a penalty equal to the rate of interest payable to the depositor plus 0.5% or 1%, depending on period of delay

The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme, announced in the 2023-24 budget, can now be operated by all public sector banks along with some private sector lenders such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank Ltd. and IDBI Bank, a government notification on Wednesday said. The small savings scheme, say government sources, has seen deposits of about Rs 6,000 crore in April-May 2023 period from 1.03 million accounts.

There has also been a four-fold jump in bank deposits in the senior citizen savings scheme, from Rs 6,000 crore in April-May 2022 to Rs 23,000 crore in April-May 2023.

“This shows small investors are coming to take part in this scheme. Both the schemes are doing very well,” a senior official said. The total budget estimate for small savings for FY24 is Rs 4.71 trillion.

 

The expansion of the Mahila Samman Savings Scheme from post office to public sector and some scheduled commercial banks is subject to certain conditions such as dedicated software in the bank for operation and accounting of National Savings Schemes with specific functionality for each scheme.

In case of delay in remittances beyond the specified period the bank shall pay a penalty equal to the rate of interest payable to the depositor plus 0.5 per cent in case of delays up to thirty days, and 1 per cent in case of delays beyond thirty days, the notification by the department of economic affairs said.

It also said, “In case of any pecuniary liability arising from the failure of the Bank to perform in accordance with the provisions of the said Scheme, the Bank shall be liable to bear the liability, in addition to being liable to be deauthorised to operate National Savings Schemes.”

The Mahila Samman Savings Scheme is a one-time scheme available for a tenure of 2 years. Women can apply for the scheme on or before March 31, 2025.

While there are no upper limits to the number of accounts, there is a cap on the maximum deposit limit. Additionally, there should be a gap of at least three months between opening of any two accounts.

The scheme allows a deposit of a minimum of Rs 1,000 and above in the multiples of Rs 100 up to a maximum limit of Rs 200,000, after which no additional deposits are allowed. The small savings scheme offers  a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with a partial withdrawal option.

The senior citizen savings scheme on the other hand, had seen the maximum investable amount enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in the Union Budget 2023-24.