Bank of India Launches Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Scheme: Interest Rate, Features, and More

Bank of India Launches Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Scheme: Tuesday, Bank of India launched the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, 2023 scheme. Rajneesh Karnatak, Bank of India’s CEO and Managing Director, stated that this is the first bank to implement this scheme across all of its branches, allowing women to establish savings accounts under the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, 2023.

Bank of India Launches Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Scheme: Interest Rate, Features, and More

Individual girls and women can establish a Mahila Samman Savings Certificate under the programme. A female minor’s account can also be opened on her behalf by a guardian.

This scheme offers an advantageous annual interest rate of 7.5%, which will be compounded quarterly and credited to the depositor’s account.

All proceeds from the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate will be taxable in accordance with current income tax laws.

A May notification from the finance ministry stated that tax deducted at source (TDS) would not apply to interest earned on Mahila Samman Savings Certificates, but that interest income would be added to the total income for tax purposes.

Moreover, it is essential to note that on June 27, the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance authorised all public sector banks and eligible private sector banks to implement and operationalize the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate 2023 via an e-gazette notification.

The scheme could only be made available for subscription at post offices and eligible scheduled banks following this notification.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced this flagship programme on February 1, 2023, during her Budget speech for FY 2023-2024. The programme has been implemented by the Department of Post since 1 April 2023.

Key elements of the plan

• This provides all girls and women an attractive and secure investment option.
• The account can be opened until March 31, 2025, for a duration of two years.
• The interest rate on deposits made under this programme is 7.5% per year, compounded quarterly. Therefore, the effective interest rate will be 7.7 percent.
• A minimum of 1,000 and any amount in multiples of 100 may be deposited, up to a maximum of 2 lakh.
• The duration of this scheme’s investments is two years from the date of account opening.
• The account holder is permitted to withdraw up to forty percent of the scheme account’s eligible balance.