The newly-launched Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Scheme(MSSC) has garnered deposits worth Rs 8,630 crore so far. A total of 14,83,980 accounts have been opened, reflecting a pick up in the scheme.
Under the scheme, which was announced in the Budget for 2023-24, accounts can be opened by women of any age group, including girls, with a minimum deposit of Rs 1,000 and a maximum deposit of Rs 200,000 for a period of two years.
The interest rate offered under the scheme is 7.5% per annum, which is compounded quarterly.
The Centre has authorized department of posts, all public sector banks and four private sector banks to operate the scheme. However, most of the banks are yet to offer the scheme through online banking.
Union finance ministry data showed that Maharashtra topped states in terms of accounts opened under the scheme with 296,771 women depositing Rs 1,560 crore. Tamil Nadu came second with 255,125 accounts opened with deposits worth Rs 977 crore, while Karnataka was in the third place with 105,134 accounts, reporting deposits of Rs 639 crore so far in FY24.
The collections under the revamped Senior Citizen Savings Scheme also jumped 176% on year to Rs 55,000 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year, indicating a buoyancy in small saving scheme receipts that are used to fund the Centre’s fiscal deficit. The Centre has increased its reliance on the NSSF (full form?) to finance its fiscal deficit. The government has budgeted its offtake from the NSSF to rise from Rs 3.96 trillion in FY23 to Rs 4.71 trillion in FY24.
To fund the fiscal deficit of Rs 17.87 trillion in FY24, the government has planned a net borrowing of Rs 12.31 trillion from the market. Since the Centre is virtually the sole user of the NSSF deposits to finance the fiscal deficit, any extra receipt could lead to lower market borrowing by the Centre in FY24.