An SSY account can be opened by a parent or legal guardian in the name of a girl child who is an Indian resident, at any point from birth up to age 10, at a designated bank branch or post office. A family can generally open accounts for a maximum of two girl children, with an exception commonly made for twins or triplets in the second birth. You'll need the child's birth certificate, your own identity and address proof, and a passport-sized photograph — the process itself is a short form plus the minimum opening deposit, and several banks now let you open it through net banking if you're already a customer there. If your situation is unusual — adoption, a guardianship change — confirm directly with the bank or post office rather than assuming the standard rules apply.

SSY runs in two phases, and that's the whole trick to understanding the maturity figure:

1. Deposits go in each year for the first 15 years, with interest credited annually on the running balance.
2. From year 16 through year 21, no further deposits are required — but the accumulated balance keeps earning interest.
3. The balance at the end of year 21 is the maturity value.

That second phase — 6 years of pure compounding with no further cash from you — is why a meaningful share of the final number comes from interest earned after you've stopped paying in. It also means the single biggest lever you control is how early you open the account: open it at birth and the 21-year tenure ends just as your daughter reaches adulthood; open it closer to the age-10 cutoff and maturity lands considerably later.

1. Years 1 through 15: ₹₹60,500 deposited each year, with interest credited on the growing balance.
2. By the end of year 15, total deposits reach ₹₹9,07,500, plus whatever interest has accumulated on top by then.
3. Years 16 through 21: no deposits, balance keeps compounding at the prevailing rate.
4. At maturity, the balance reaches about ₹₹63,58,471, of which roughly ₹₹54,50,971 is interest.

• Minimum deposit per financial year: commonly cited as ₹250, to keep the account active.
• Maximum deposit per financial year: commonly cited as ₹1.5 lakh; anything above that doesn't earn interest or count toward the tax benefit.
• Deposits are required for 15 years only; the account itself runs for 21 years total.
• Partial withdrawal is typically allowed once the girl turns 18 (or has passed 10th standard, subject to current rules), capped at a percentage of the balance at the end of the preceding financial year — meant to help with higher education costs, and often available years before full maturity.
• Premature closure is generally allowed only in specific circumstances, such as the account holder's death or a change in the guardian's residency status.

Every figure above is set by government notification and can change — confirm the currently applicable minimum, maximum, and withdrawal rules with your bank or post office before acting on them. If you're weighing education against marriage as the account's eventual purpose, it's worth noting these pull in different directions: the 18-year partial-withdrawal window suits college funding, while letting the account run to full maturity favours maximum compounding — decide which one this account is mainly for, and use a separate vehicle for the other goal if both matter to you.

SSY has historically shared PPF's EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) status: deposits have typically qualified for a deduction under the relevant section of the Income Tax Act (subject to an overall combined cap shared with other similar instruments), the interest credited each year has typically been tax-exempt, and the maturity proceeds have typically been fully tax-free. That combination makes it one of the more tax-efficient options built specifically for a girl child's savings — though tax rules do change, and which regime you've chosen for a given year can affect what you can claim, so check current treatment with a tax professional before relying on it.

Plenty of families run both: SSY as the dedicated, typically higher-rate account tied to a daughter's milestones, PPF in a parent's own name as the more flexible, general-purpose long-term account.

• Opening the account later than necessary — every year you wait is a year of post-deposit compounding you don't get back.
• Assuming deposits are needed for the full 21-year tenure, when they're only required for the first 15.
• Missing the minimum yearly deposit during the deposit window and letting the account go into default.
• Opening more accounts than the family-level limit allows, across daughters, without checking the current rule.
• Treating the interest rate as fixed for the whole tenure — it's revised quarterly by the government and will move.
• Depositing late in the financial year out of habit, when depositing early typically works out better for the interest calculation.

This projection shows the shape of SSY's two-phase compounding — deposits for 15 years, growth for 21 — not a guaranteed figure, since the real rate moves every quarter and will differ from the 13.7% used here. Opening the account early, keeping deposits consistent through the required window, and checking the current rate periodically will move the actual outcome more than any single projection made today. And because the money is ultimately meant for a specific moment in your daughter's life, it's worth having the conversation with her about what it's for well before the account matures — the calculator only answers the "how much."

This calculator models annual deposits for the first 15 years, compounded once a year on the running balance, continuing to compound with no further deposits through year 21, using the rate you entered or the current default. Real SSY interest is credited monthly against the lowest qualifying balance rather than annually, so your actual passbook figures will differ slightly from this simplified projection. This is general educational information, not investment or tax advice — verify current SSY rules, deposit limits, and the notified interest rate with your bank, post office, or the Ministry of Finance before making a financial decision.