Investments and savings schemes specific to female children

The old Indian mind-set considers female children to be a burden on the family that bears them, and in an effort to get the backward thinking masses to accept the modern reality of women being equal to men, the government and some private financial institutions have taken steps to incentivise investments made by and for girl children is called Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme.

Backward through process have led to terrible crimes against humanity, female foeticide not being the least of them. As we know, in India, female children are not educated beyond a certain point, which leads to them not being eligible to draw as much salary as a man – or even be eligible for a job in some cases. In an effort to make at least the financial “burden” of having a girl child in the house bearable, the government has launched the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, and many insurers have launched female and child-specific insurance plans.

1. Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme.

Higher education and marriage expenses are widely considered as financial burdens for the family of the girl child, and the government has introduced the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme specifically to address this issue. Through the scheme, investments can be made in the name of the girl child who is below the age of 10. The time frames and mode of working are designed keeping in mind the requirements of the girl child in terms of funds needed for marriage and higher education. As this is a debt-based investment instrument, it currently has an announced interest rate of 9.1%, which is subject to change depending on market factors. The money in the fund can only be withdrawn once the girl attains the age of 21 years. Sukanya Samriddhi Account allows for a good amount of time for the funds to be locked in, and for them to earn interest.

2. Insurance policies for children.

There are a huge number of child insurance policies from a number of insurance providers that take care of the financial needs of the children if one or both of the parents meet an untimely demise. The plans offer lump sum pay-outs or staggered monthly pay-outs for a certain number of years before terminating, and help the child meet living expenses. Insurers like SBI Insurance, Exide Life Insurance, LIC, Max Life Insurance, etc. have a range of plans available that could be useful to look into.

3. Insurance policies for women.

Insurers like HDFC Life, LIC, Bajaj Allianz, Apollo Munich Health Insurance, etc. offer a range of insurance plans that are specifically designed for women. The plans pay out benefits on the diagnosis of illnesses that are specific to women. The inclusion list for covered illnesses is extensive and covers almost all the most common ailments that affect women, and the benefit pay-outs are also multi-layered and impressive by any standard.