Sukanya samriddhi Account / Yojana account - at a glance

Sukanya samriddhi Account / Yojana account - at a glance

Sukanya Samriddhi Account / Yojana is a Small Savings Special deposit Scheme for girl child. This scheme is specially designed for girl’s higher education or marriage needs.

The Scheme launched for the welfare of the girl child, to save and educate the girl child.

Features of Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA):

·           Who can open the account? – Sukanya Samriddhi a/c (or Khata) can be opened on a girl child’s name by her natural (biological) parents or legal guardian.

·           What is the Age limit? – SSA can be opened in the name of a girl child from the birth of the girl child till she attains the age of  10 years.  ( As per SB Order No. 2/2015 : The Girl child who is born on or after  02.12.2003 can open account )

·           How many accounts can be opened? – A depositor may open and operate only one account in the name of same girl child under this scheme. The depositor (or) guardian can open only two SSA accounts. There is one exception to this rule. The natural or legal guardian can open two or three accounts if twin girls are born as second birth or triplets are born in the first birth itself.

·           How to open a SSA account? Accounts in name of the girl child can be opened in post offices or in any branch of a commercial bank that is authorized by the Central Government to open an account under this scheme rules.

·          What is the minimum deposit to open the account? – The account may be opened with an initial deposit of one thousand rupees. The minimum contribution in any financial year is Rs 1000. Thereafter the contributions can in multiples of one hundred rupees.

·          What is the maximum deposit amount? – a minimum of one thousand rupees shall be deposited in a financial year but the total money deposited in an account on a single occasion or on multiple occasions shall not exceed Rs 1.5 Lakh in a financial year.

·          Deposits in an account may be made till the child completes fourteen years, from the date of opening of the account.

·           Is there any penalty? – If minimum (Rs 1000 pa) amount is not deposited, the account will be treated as an irregular account. This can be regularized/renewed on payment of Rs 50 per year as penalty. Along with this, the minimum specified subscription for the year (s) of default should be paid.

·          What is the mode of deposit? – The deposits in Sukanya Samruddhi scheme can be made in the form of Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque. Where deposit is made by cheque or demand draft, the date of encashment of the cheque or demand draft shall be the date of credit to the account. The cheque or DD should be drawn in favour of the postmaster of the concerned post office or the Manager of the concerned bank. The depositor (parents or guardian) has to write the account holder’s name (child’s name) and the account number on the backside of the instrument.

·          What is the Rate of Interest on Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – The applicable rate of interest on SSA for the financial year 2014-2015 is 9.1%. This is one of the highest rates of interest offered by Government on small savings scheme

·          Is interest rate fixed or variable? – The rate of interest is not fixed and will be notified by the central government on a yearly basis.

·           The account can be transferred anywhere in India if the girl shifts to a place other than the city or locality where the account stands.

·            Is Premature withdrawal allowed? – 50 % (half of the fund) of the accumulated amount in SSA can be withdrawn for girl’s higher education and marriage after she attains 18 years of age. The account’s balance at the end of preceding financial year is used for the calculation.

·           Can the girl child operate the account? On attaining age of ten years, the account holder that is the girl child may herself operate the account, however, deposit in the account may be made by the guardian or parents.

·          Is premature closure allowed? In the event of death of the account holder, the account shall be closed immediately on production of death certificate. the balance at the credit of the account shall be paid along with interest till the month preceding the month of premature closure of the account , to the guardian of the account holder.

·         The scheme would mature on completion of 21 years of the girl child, from the date of opening of the account, with an option of keeping the account till marriage.

·           Can the girl child continue the account after her marriage? – The operation of the account shall not be permitted beyond the date of the girl’s marriage.

·            What are the required documents to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – Birth certificate of the girl child has to be produced. The depositor (parents or guardian) has to submit his/her identity and address proofs.

·          On opening an account, the depositor shall be given a pass book. It will have date of birth of the girl child, date of opening of account, account number, name and address of the account holder and the initial amount deposited. The depositor has to present the passbook to the post office or bank at the time of depositing/receiving the interest/on maturity.

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Tax Benefits on Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme

The amount that is deposited under Sukanya Samriddhi Account will be eligible for income tax exemption under Section 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961.

At present, only the contribution of up to Rs 1.5 lakh toward Sukanya Samridhi Yojana is eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C. But discussions are on to also exempt the interest income and withdrawal amount. We can expect a formal announcement on this in the coming Union Budget 2015-16.

(Issue of making interest income and withdrawal exempt from taxation can be done by Department of Revenue (DoR) through legislative amendments. The matter is under examination of DoR)

Sukanya Samriddhi Account vs Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Both Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) and Public Provident Fund (PPF) aims to seed the savings habit but both schemes have their own pros and cons.

Stressing on the girls role in making the India competitive and prosperous nation, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has today launched a new small savings account for the girl child “Sukanya Samriddhi Account” as an integral part of the “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” campaign.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account was initially introduced by Shri Arun Jaitely in his maiden budget speech but has been officially launched today by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He has handed over bank account details to five girls under the “Sukanya Samridhi Yojna” (girl child prosperity scheme).

Sukanya Samridhi Yojna is a special deposit scheme for girl child only but one another popular scheme to benefit child (irrespective of girl or boy) is Public Provident Fund (PPF).

Let’s see the difference between Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Sukanya Samriddhi Account vs Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Points of Difference	Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA)	Public Provident Fund (PPF)
For whom	Only for Girl Child.	For every Indian Citizen.
Age Limit	From the birth till she attains age of 10 years.	No age limit.
By whom	By the girl child who has attained the age of 10 years or by the natural or legal guardian.	By the Individual but by the natural or legal guardian for the minor child.
Where to open	Post office and nationalized banks but not   private banks.	Post office and nationalized banks, including private banks.
Number of Account	One account for each girl child, maximum up to 2 or 3 accounts if twin girls are born in the second birth or triplets are born in the first birth.	Each Individual can hold only one account in   his name.
Minimum Contribution	Rs.1,000	Rs.500
Maximum Contribution	Rs.1.5 lakhs in all accounts.	Rs.1.5 lakhs in all accounts.
Interest Rate	9.1% per annum for fiscal year 2014-15.	8.70% per annum for fiscal year 2014-15.
Tax Benefit on the Contribution	Contributed Amount will be deductible u/s 80C.	Contributed Amount will be deductible u/s 80C.
Tax Benefit on the interest earned	At present no tax benefit is announced for the interest earned. A mere sum of Rs.1,5o0 will be deductible u/s 10(32) .	Interest Earned is tax free under PPF.
Time Period of contribution	Minimum tenure of contribution is 14 years from the date of opening of account.	Minimum 15 years and then in blocks of 5 years.
Maturity	21 years from the date of opening of account.	15 years from the fiscal year of opening of account.
Penalty	Rs.50 per year if minimum contribution is not made.	Rs.50 per year if minimum contribution is not made.
Mode of Deposit	Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque	Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque
Premature Withdrawal	Allowed up to 50% for the girl’s higher education and marriage after she attains 18 years of age	No premature withdrawal is allowed except in case of death of the account holder.
Loan	No loan can be taken on the SSA balance.	Loan can be taken from the third year of opening of account to the sixth year.
Taxation on Maturity	No tax will be levied on the maturity amount.	No tax will be levied on the maturity amount.

Note:

1.      Interest rate under both the schemes will be notified each year by the Government.

2.      Interest will be compounded yearly under both schemes.

3.      Loan on the PPF balance is restricted to 25% of the balance at the end of 2^nd year.

4.      At present interest earned on SSA account is taxable in the hands of guardian but it may get tax rebate in the upcoming budget.

5.       Contributed amount get deduction u/s 80c up to Rs.1.5 lakhs including all other eligible investments.

Source : http://akulapraveen.blogspot.in/ & http://sapost.blogspot.in/

The Scheme launched for the welfare of the girl child, to save and educate the girl child.

Features of Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA):

·           Who can open the account? – Sukanya Samriddhi a/c (or Khata) can be opened on a girl child’s name by her natural (biological) parents or legal guardian.

·           What is the Age limit? – SSA can be opened in the name of a girl child from the birth of the girl child till she attains the age of  10 years.  ( As per SB Order No. 2/2015 : The Girl child who is born on or after  02.12.2003 can open account )

·           How many accounts can be opened? – A depositor may open and operate only one account in the name of same girl child under this scheme. The depositor (or) guardian can open only two SSA accounts. There is one exception to this rule. The natural or legal guardian can open two or three accounts if twin girls are born as second birth or triplets are born in the first birth itself.

·           How to open a SSA account? Accounts in name of the girl child can be opened in post offices or in any branch of a commercial bank that is authorized by the Central Government to open an account under this scheme rules.

·          What is the minimum deposit to open the account? – The account may be opened with an initial deposit of one thousand rupees. The minimum contribution in any financial year is Rs 1000. Thereafter the contributions can in multiples of one hundred rupees.

·          What is the maximum deposit amount? – a minimum of one thousand rupees shall be deposited in a financial year but the total money deposited in an account on a single occasion or on multiple occasions shall not exceed Rs 1.5 Lakh in a financial year.

·          Deposits in an account may be made till the child completes fourteen years, from the date of opening of the account.

·           Is there any penalty? – If minimum (Rs 1000 pa) amount is not deposited, the account will be treated as an irregular account. This can be regularized/renewed on payment of Rs 50 per year as penalty. Along with this, the minimum specified subscription for the year (s) of default should be paid.

·          What is the mode of deposit? – The deposits in Sukanya Samruddhi scheme can be made in the form of Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque. Where deposit is made by cheque or demand draft, the date of encashment of the cheque or demand draft shall be the date of credit to the account. The cheque or DD should be drawn in favour of the postmaster of the concerned post office or the Manager of the concerned bank. The depositor (parents or guardian) has to write the account holder’s name (child’s name) and the account number on the backside of the instrument.

·          What is the Rate of Interest on Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – The applicable rate of interest on SSA for the financial year 2014-2015 is 9.1%. This is one of the highest rates of interest offered by Government on small savings scheme

·          Is interest rate fixed or variable? – The rate of interest is not fixed and will be notified by the central government on a yearly basis.

·           The account can be transferred anywhere in India if the girl shifts to a place other than the city or locality where the account stands.

·            Is Premature withdrawal allowed? – 50 % (half of the fund) of the accumulated amount in SSA can be withdrawn for girl’s higher education and marriage after she attains 18 years of age. The account’s balance at the end of preceding financial year is used for the calculation.

·           Can the girl child operate the account? On attaining age of ten years, the account holder that is the girl child may herself operate the account, however, deposit in the account may be made by the guardian or parents.

·          Is premature closure allowed? In the event of death of the account holder, the account shall be closed immediately on production of death certificate. the balance at the credit of the account shall be paid along with interest till the month preceding the month of premature closure of the account , to the guardian of the account holder.

·         The scheme would mature on completion of 21 years of the girl child, from the date of opening of the account, with an option of keeping the account till marriage.

·           Can the girl child continue the account after her marriage? – The operation of the account shall not be permitted beyond the date of the girl’s marriage.

·            What are the required documents to open Sukanya Samriddhi Account? – Birth certificate of the girl child has to be produced. The depositor (parents or guardian) has to submit his/her identity and address proofs.

·          On opening an account, the depositor shall be given a pass book. It will have date of birth of the girl child, date of opening of account, account number, name and address of the account holder and the initial amount deposited. The depositor has to present the passbook to the post office or bank at the time of depositing/receiving the interest/on maturity.

Tax Benefits on Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme

The amount that is deposited under Sukanya Samriddhi Account will be eligible for income tax exemption under Section 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961.

At present, only the contribution of up to Rs 1.5 lakh toward Sukanya Samridhi Yojana is eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C. But discussions are on to also exempt the interest income and withdrawal amount. We can expect a formal announcement on this in the coming Union Budget 2015-16.

(Issue of making interest income and withdrawal exempt from taxation can be done by Department of Revenue (DoR) through legislative amendments. The matter is under examination of DoR)

Sukanya Samriddhi Account vs Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Both Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) and Public Provident Fund (PPF) aims to seed the savings habit but both schemes have their own pros and cons.

Stressing on the girls role in making the India competitive and prosperous nation, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has today launched a new small savings account for the girl child “Sukanya Samriddhi Account” as an integral part of the “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” campaign.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account was initially introduced by Shri Arun Jaitely in his maiden budget speech but has been officially launched today by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He has handed over bank account details to five girls under the “Sukanya Samridhi Yojna” (girl child prosperity scheme).

Sukanya Samridhi Yojna is a special deposit scheme for girl child only but one another popular scheme to benefit child (irrespective of girl or boy) is Public Provident Fund (PPF).

Let’s see the difference between Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Sukanya Samriddhi Account vs Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Points of Difference	Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA)	Public Provident Fund (PPF)
For whom	Only for Girl Child.	For every Indian Citizen.
Age Limit	From the birth till she attains age of 10 years.	No age limit.
By whom	By the girl child who has attained the age of 10 years or by the natural or legal guardian.	By the Individual but by the natural or legal guardian for the minor child.
Where to open	Post office and nationalized banks but not   private banks.	Post office and nationalized banks, including private banks.
Number of Account	One account for each girl child, maximum up to 2 or 3 accounts if twin girls are born in the second birth or triplets are born in the first birth.	Each Individual can hold only one account in   his name.
Minimum Contribution	Rs.1,000	Rs.500
Maximum Contribution	Rs.1.5 lakhs in all accounts.	Rs.1.5 lakhs in all accounts.
Interest Rate	9.1% per annum for fiscal year 2014-15.	8.70% per annum for fiscal year 2014-15.
Tax Benefit on the Contribution	Contributed Amount will be deductible u/s 80C.	Contributed Amount will be deductible u/s 80C.
Tax Benefit on the interest earned	At present no tax benefit is announced for the interest earned. A mere sum of Rs.1,5o0 will be deductible u/s 10(32) .	Interest Earned is tax free under PPF.
Time Period of contribution	Minimum tenure of contribution is 14 years from the date of opening of account.	Minimum 15 years and then in blocks of 5 years.
Maturity	21 years from the date of opening of account.	15 years from the fiscal year of opening of account.
Penalty	Rs.50 per year if minimum contribution is not made.	Rs.50 per year if minimum contribution is not made.
Mode of Deposit	Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque	Cash or Demand Draft or Cheque
Premature Withdrawal	Allowed up to 50% for the girl’s higher education and marriage after she attains 18 years of age	No premature withdrawal is allowed except in case of death of the account holder.
Loan	No loan can be taken on the SSA balance.	Loan can be taken from the third year of opening of account to the sixth year.
Taxation on Maturity	No tax will be levied on the maturity amount.	No tax will be levied on the maturity amount.

Note:

1.      Interest rate under both the schemes will be notified each year by the Government.

2.      Interest will be compounded yearly under both schemes.

3.      Loan on the PPF balance is restricted to 25% of the balance at the end of 2^nd year.

4.      At present interest earned on SSA account is taxable in the hands of guardian but it may get tax rebate in the upcoming budget.

5.       Contributed amount get deduction u/s 80c up to Rs.1.5 lakhs including all other eligible investments.

//copy// Source : http://akulapraveen.blogspot.in/ & http://sapost.blogspot.in/

Souvenir sheet on World Cup 2015 issued by New Zealand Post is available for sale on e-post office and at philately bureaus.

Souvenir sheet on World Cup 2015 issued by New Zealand Post is available for sale on e-post office and at philately bureaus.

Souvenir sheet on World Cup 2015 issued by New Zealand Post is available for sale on e-post office and at philately bureaus. The souvenir sheet has 14 cricket ball sized stamps with the national flags and colours of 14 participating nations. Souvenir sheet has been customised as per Indian requirements and includes image of World Cup trophy with inscription ICC Cricket World Cup Champion 1983 &2011 INDIA.

 

Biometric attendance: Defence Ministry officials among top defaulters

Biometric attendance: Defence Ministry officials among top defaulters

NEW DELHI: The Defence Ministry has topped the list of government organisations whose employees have defaulted in marking their attendance through Aadhaar-enabled biometric system.

Most of the employees of 27 departments and organisations affiliated to the Defence Ministry and nine each from Finance, and Information and Broadcasting Ministries have not been marking their attendance through the electronic system introduced by the NDA government. 

In light of this, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has, in an order, asked department heads to direct their employees to mark attendance on biometric systems. 

A data on employees of 169 central government offices marking and not-marking their attendances has also been issued with the DoPT order. 

The data, which has been prepared by the Department of Information and Technology, showed that none out of the 540 employees of DRDO was marking attendance. 

The attendance number is zero for Engineer-in-Chief having 746 employees, Additional Directorate General Personnel Services with 150 strength and History Division with a staff strength of 20. All these departments function under the Ministry of Defence. 

Of the total of 736 registered employees in DoPT, only 576 were marking their attendances, it said. A total of 2133, 761, 750 employees of Railways, Department of Revenue and Niti Ayog (though the list mentioned office name as Planning Commission) respectively were marking their attendance electronically. 

None out of 419 employees registered with the Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner under Home Ministry and OS Directorate (Army) with 70 registered personnel had marked their attendance through the system, as per the data. 

There are 2830, 1080, and 971 registered employees respectively in these departments.

Also, none of the 195 registered employees of National Investigation Agency (NIA) were filing their attendance through the system, it said. 

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology, the official record keeper for attendance of all the central government employees, recorded 78 per cent presence of employees on biometric system with 748 out of 958 using this technology. 

Similarly, there were many employees in various departments who were defaulting in marking attendance through the biometric system, according to the data.

The Centre had late last year decided to use an Aadhaar enabled biometric attendance system in all its offices, including attached or subordinate, across the country. 

"All employees are, therefore, required to register themselves in the system and mark their attendance. Instructions already exist for dealing with cases of late attendance or unauthorised absence, which may be followed.

"It is requested that necessary directions may be issued to all employees to mark their attendance in BAS portal on regular basis," a recent order issued by the DoPT said. 

The biometric attendance system is only an enabling platform. There is no change in the instructions relating to office hours, late attendance etc which will continue to apply, according to another DoPT order. 

As per existing instructions, half-a-day's casual leave should be debited for each day of late attendance, but late attendance up to an hour, on not more than two occasions in a month, and for justifiable reasons may be condoned by the competent authority. 

"Disciplinary action may also be taken against government servants who are habitually late. Early leaving is also to be treated in the same manner as late coming," the instructions said. 

There are about 31 lakh central government employees working across the country

Source :http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

RETIRED EMPLOYEES CAN NOW AVAIL BENEFITS OF

MISSED PROMOTIONS

NEW DELHI: Retired government employees who missed out on their promotions due to late meetings of the committees deciding on such departmental elevations will now be able to avail its post-retirement benefits. 

"Instructions have been issued to all ministries and departments to give benefit of promotion to those employees who missed it due to late meeting of departmental promotion committee (DPC)," an official in the department of personnel and training (DoPT) said. 

It would not be in order if eligible employees, who were within the zone of consideration for the relevant year but are not actually in service when the DPC is being held, are not considered while preparing year-wise zone of consideration or panel, as per the DoPT order. 

Consequently, their juniors are considered (in their place) for promotions, who would not have been in the zone of consideration if the DPC had been held in time, it said. 

"Appointment committee of Cabinet has observed that DPCs often do not consider such eligible officers who are retiring before the occurrence of the vacancy in the panel year," the order said, adding that this "undesirable trend negate the very purpose" of government's existing instructions for inclusion of such employees. 

There have been reports that some of the eligible retired employees are not being given the benefit of promotion which they missed due to late DPCs. In fact the DPCs were being held very late, the official said. 

The DoPT has asked all central government ministries and departments under it to ensure "strict compliance" of its instructions to include retiring employees for promotions in case the DPCs are delayed. 

Such retired officials would, however, have no right for actual promotion, the DoPT official said.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Quote of the Day February 1

India Post to launch own e-commerce portal like Amazon or eBay

India Post to launch own e-commerce portal like Amazon or eBay

Directly stepping into the cyber world, India post is going to launch its own e-commerce portal in the shape of those like Amazon or eBay soon. The aggressive step of India Post, world's largest postal service, is a part of its massive IT based modernization initiative worth Rs 5,000 crore.

"At planning and designing phase now, the final rollover of the dedicated postal e-commerce portal may take another 6 months. But we are excited about this new avatar in our service basket," Mr. John Samuel, member of Postal Services Board told ET.

As he describes, the portal will be like popular e-commerce entities like Amazon or eBay. A conduit between buyers and sellers. But, it is not going to be entirely open for any item to be traded by anyone. Rather a moderated and scrutinized list will be followed. Local specialties like Tea from Darjeeling, Mango from Malda in West Bengal or Saffron from Kashmir will have emphasize in that.

India Post is Tying up with different controlling authorities like Spices Board, Tea Board, or cashew Board to ensure 'quality trading of quality items only'- as Mr. Samuel puts it.

In addition to the physical products, services of different public sector are also being planned to be included into the tradable items of the portal.

"Wide and fast growing coverage of Internet through computer and mobile phones are bringing more and more people from even remote corners to the doorsteps of e-commerce. There lies our new opportunity. Moreover delivery of the items is a major issue for all e-commerce authorities. Here also India post excel's with its 1.5 lakh establishments and time tested connectivity network," he said.

In one hand we have Rs 4909 crore worth IT related infrastructure modernization plan and on the other hand, we are spending another Rs 2000 crore to have new vehicles to ensure faster delivery.

Indeed it is a new step to a new world that can give new life to financially crunched Indiapost. But, "We need to bring change in our own attitude at certain corners to churn out the best out of this initiative," accepted Mr. Samuel.

Source:-The Economic Times

Result of Direct Recruitment Examination of PA/SA / SBCO / PACCO-RO for the year 2013-14 - Jammu & Kashmir Circle

Result of Direct Recruitment Examination of PA/SA / SBCO / PACCO-RO for the year 2013-14 - Jammu & Kashmir Circle

Click to View the Result