You pay in for fifteen years and the account matures at twenty-one, which means six years where it grows and you contribute nothing. That gap is where a large share of the outcome comes from.
Rate 8.2% for July to September 2026. Checked 20 August 2026.
₹1,50,000 a year for 15 years at 8.2% matures at ₹71,82,119 after 21 years. You pay in ₹22.50 L; the rest, ₹49.32 L, is interest.
Contributions stop after year 15, and the account then compounds untouched for 6 years, adding ₹27.06 L without you paying in another rupee.
The scheme allows ₹250 to ₹1,50,000 a year
The default rate is 8.2% for July to September 2026, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs. Rates are reviewed quarterly, so check the current one before relying on a long projection, and change the field above if yours differs.
| Year | Opening | Paid in | Interest | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹0 | ₹1.50 L | ₹12,300 | ₹1.62 L |
| 2 | ₹1.62 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹25,609 | ₹3.38 L |
| 3 | ₹3.38 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹40,009 | ₹5.28 L |
| 4 | ₹5.28 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹55,589 | ₹7.34 L |
| 5 | ₹7.34 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹72,448 | ₹9.56 L |
| 6 | ₹9.56 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹90,688 | ₹11.97 L |
| 7 | ₹11.97 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹1.10 L | ₹14.57 L |
| 8 | ₹14.57 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹1.32 L | ₹17.39 L |
| 9 | ₹17.39 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹1.55 L | ₹20.44 L |
| 10 | ₹20.44 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹1.80 L | ₹23.74 L |
| 11 | ₹23.74 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹2.07 L | ₹27.31 L |
| 12 | ₹27.31 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹2.36 L | ₹31.17 L |
| 13 | ₹31.17 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹2.68 L | ₹35.35 L |
| 14 | ₹35.35 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹3.02 L | ₹39.87 L |
| 15 | ₹39.87 L | ₹1.50 L | ₹3.39 L | ₹44.76 L |
| 16 | ₹44.76 L | 0 | ₹3.67 L | ₹48.43 L |
| 17 | ₹48.43 L | 0 | ₹3.97 L | ₹52.40 L |
| 18 | ₹52.40 L | 0 | ₹4.30 L | ₹56.70 L |
| 19 | ₹56.70 L | 0 | ₹4.65 L | ₹61.35 L |
| 20 | ₹61.35 L | 0 | ₹5.03 L | ₹66.38 L |
| 21 | ₹66.38 L | 0 | ₹5.44 L | ₹71.82 L |
Interest compounds annually on the closing balance, in the same way as PPF. The contribution is treated as paid at the start of each year, which is what happens if the money goes in during April.
The two terms are different and both are fixed by the scheme. Contributions run for fifteen years from opening; the account matures twenty-one years from opening. The final six years take no new money and are shaded on the chart, because that is the part readers do not expect.
The rate shown is the current quarter’s, and at 8.2% it is the highest of any small savings scheme alongside the Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme. It is reset quarterly and is not fixed for the twenty-one years.
Twenty-one years is a very long time to project one rate across.The rate has been as high as 9.2% and is currently 8.2%. Treat the maturity figure as an illustration of the scheme’s shape rather than a number to plan a fee payment against to the rupee.
The maturity date is set by the account’s opening date, not by the girl’s age at the time you need the money. If the fee falls due at eighteen and the account matures at twenty-one, the partial withdrawal rules matter more than the maturity value does.
It does not model the 50% partial withdrawal permitted after age eighteen, which reduces the balance that compounds through the final years.
And it says nothing about whether the rate will keep pace with education costs, which is the actual question. Education inflation has run ahead of 8.2% in many years.
₹71.82 lakh at maturity, at the current 8.2%. You pay in ₹22.5 lakh across fifteen years and the other ₹49.32 lakh is interest.
The striking part is the split. At the end of year fifteen, when your last contribution has been made, the balance is about ₹44.76 lakh. The remaining ₹27.06 lakh arrives in the six years after you stop paying in, with no further money from you at all.
Because the scheme is designed around a girl’s life rather than around a savings term. Contributions are expected during the years a parent is most able to make them, and the account then compounds through the years the money is most likely to be needed for education or marriage. It is an unusual and rather good design, and it is the reason the scheme outperforms its own headline rate in terms of what it actually delivers on money paid in.
A parent or legal guardian, for a girl child below the age of ten, and only one account per girl. A family may generally open accounts for two daughters, with an exception for twins or triplets born first. Opening as early as possible matters more here than in most schemes, because the maturity date is fixed relative to the account rather than to the child, so an account opened at eight matures when she is twenty-nine.
Up to 50% of the balance at the end of the preceding financial year can be withdrawn once the girl turns eighteen or passes the tenth standard, for higher education, and proof of admission is required. The account can also be closed on her marriage after eighteen. Withdrawing halves the balance that compounds through the remaining years, which on the default figures is an expensive thing to do in year nineteen and a reasonable one in year twenty-one.
Exempt at all three stages, like PPF. The contribution qualifies for deduction under Section 123 of the Income-tax Act 2025, formerly Section 80C, the interest is not taxed as it accrues, and the maturity amount is tax free. The deduction is available under the old regime only; the tax-free interest and maturity apply whichever regime you are in.
It pays more today, 8.2% against 7.1%, and it locks the money for longer and for a narrower purpose. PPF is yours and can be used for anything; Sukanya Samriddhi is hers and is tied to education, marriage or maturity. If the money is definitely for her and the dates line up, the higher rate wins. If you want flexibility about who the money ends up helping, it does not. The rate advantage is also not guaranteed to persist: both are reset quarterly and the gap has narrowed before.
This is the practical failure mode and it is worth planning around at the outset. A degree beginning at eighteen and an account maturing at twenty-one do not line up, and the 50% withdrawal rule is the only bridge the scheme offers. Families who need the money at eighteen often run this alongside a separate education fund rather than relying on it. The education calculator sizes what the fee will actually be.
On a realistic view of Indian private education inflation, probably not on its own. If fees rise at 10% and the account earns 8.2%, the purchasing power of the fund falls slightly each year even though the balance rises. That is not an argument against the scheme, whose tax-free status and government backing are genuinely valuable. It is an argument against treating it as the whole education plan.
8.2% for July to September 2026, set by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs. It is among the highest rates on any small savings scheme and is reviewed quarterly.
Between ₹250 and ₹1,50,000 a year. Missing the ₹250 minimum makes the account irregular, revivable on payment of a ₹50 penalty per defaulted year plus the arrears.
Twenty-one years from the date it was opened, not from the girl's birth or her twenty-first birthday. Deposits are only required for the first fifteen years, and the balance keeps earning through the remaining six.
Yes, generally one account per girl for up to two girls in a family, with an exception where twins or triplets are born first or a second birth produces twins. The ₹1.5 lakh limit applies per account, though the Section 123 deduction remains capped at ₹1.5 lakh in total across everything you claim.
The account can be closed on marriage, provided she is at least eighteen, with a declaration to that effect. Closure is permitted no earlier than one month before and no later than three months after the marriage.
No. The scheme is exempt at contribution, accrual and maturity, so the full ₹71.82 lakh on the default figures reaches the account holder without tax.
Talk to the desk
The dates and the rate both matter, and neither may line up with when the fee actually falls due. Bring your daughter's age and the kind of education you have in mind, and we will look at whether the account gets there on its own.
