The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate was a small-savings scheme for women and girls, offering a fixed return over a short, two-year term. It paid about 7.5% a year, capped deposits at ₹2 lakh per woman, and ran as a one-time scheme whose deposit window closed on 31 March 2025. New accounts can no longer be opened, so this is an explainer of how it worked, not a live option.
Treat it the way you would a scheme that has been withdrawn: useful to understand if you already hold one, or to know what it offered, but no longer something you can put fresh money into.
Mahila Samman at a glance
What was the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate?
Announced in the 2023 Budget, the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate was a two-year deposit scheme offered through post offices and some banks, aimed at women and girls. A woman could open one in her own name, and a guardian could open one for a girl child. It was designed as a short-term, fixed-return option, not a long lock-in like PPF or SSY.
The defining feature now is its status. It was always a limited-period scheme, available only for deposits made up to 31 March 2025. That window has closed, so no fresh accounts or deposits are possible. Everything below describes how it worked for those who opened one in time.
How did the interest and limits work?
The certificate paid a fixed rate of about 7.5% a year, compounded quarterly, for the full two years. Unlike most small-savings schemes, whose rates the government revises every quarter, the Mahila Samman rate was set for the scheme and stayed fixed for accounts opened during the window.
The deposit rules were simple:
- Maximum ₹2 lakh per woman, across all her Mahila Samman accounts.
- A minimum deposit of ₹1,000, in multiples of ₹100.
- A gap of at least three months was required between opening a second account and the first.
At maturity, the holder received the principal plus the accumulated interest.
The scheme was offered at post offices and at eligible banks, and a nominee could be named at opening. Because the term was only two years, it behaved more like a short fixed deposit than a long lock-in, which is part of why the government paired a modest cap with a fixed end date rather than leaving it open indefinitely.
Was there any tax benefit?
No. Deposits did not qualify for Section 80C, so there was no deduction on the amount invested. The interest was taxable in the depositor's hands, added to income and taxed at the applicable slab. The scheme's appeal was the fixed rate over a short term, not a tax break, which set it apart from options like NSC or SSY that do carry an 80C benefit.
Could you access the money before maturity?
There was some flexibility, unusual for a two-year certificate. A partial withdrawal of up to 40% of the account balance was allowed after one year from opening, which gave holders limited access without closing the account.
Full premature closure was available any time after six months, for any reason, at a reduced rate about two percentage points below the scheme rate (around 5.5%). Closure on the holder's death or documented extreme hardship was permitted even before six months, at the full rate. For an account run to its full term, none of that came into play, the holder simply received principal plus interest at the two-year mark.
What does the closure mean if you hold one?
If you opened a certificate before the deadline, nothing changes for you. The account continues to its two-year maturity on the original terms, earning the fixed rate, and pays out principal plus interest at the end. Only the ability to open new accounts or add fresh deposits ended.
If you were considering the scheme now, it is simply not available, and any guidance suggesting otherwise is out of date. Women looking for comparable short-to-medium options would look instead at the schemes still open, such as post office time deposits, recurring deposits or, for a girl child under ten, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.
Related NYVO guides
- Post Office Savings Schemes: The Full List – the schemes that are still open, with a comparison of tenure, rates and 80C.
- Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY): A Full Guide – a live, longer-term scheme for a girl child, with an 80C benefit the Mahila Samman certificate did not have.
- National Savings Certificate (NSC): A Guide – another fixed-term post office certificate, still available and eligible for Section 80C.
The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is best understood in the past tense: a short, fixed-rate scheme for women that served its purpose and closed to new deposits on 31 March 2025. If you hold one, let it run to maturity; if you do not, it is no longer on the table.
