Overview
Both Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) and PPF are government-backed, EEE-status savings schemes capped at Rs 1.5 lakh a year, but they're built for different purposes. SSY exists specifically to build a corpus for a girl child's higher education or marriage, restricted to families with a daughter under 10. PPF is a general-purpose, lifetime savings instrument open to anyone, with no gender or age restriction.
If you're a parent of a young daughter trying to decide where to direct your Section 80C savings, the comparison below covers interest rate, eligibility, lock-in, withdrawal rules, and the actual maturity numbers each scheme produces for an identical annual contribution.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Dimension | Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) | PPF |
|---|---|---|
| Interest rate | 8.2% per annum (govt-set, reviewed quarterly) | 7.1% per annum (govt-set, reviewed quarterly) |
| Eligibility | Girl child only, below 10 years at account opening | Any Indian resident, any age, any gender |
| Tax treatment | EEE: contribution, interest, and maturity all tax-free | EEE: contribution, interest, and maturity all tax-free |
| Lock-in | Until girl turns 21 (or marriage after 18) | 15 years, extendable in 5-year blocks |
| Max annual contribution | Rs 1.5 lakh per account | Rs 1.5 lakh per account |
| Account holder | Guardian, on behalf of the girl child | Self, spouse, or any child (no gender restriction) |
| Partial withdrawal | 50% at 18 (or after 10th standard), for education only | Up to 50% allowed from the 7th financial year, any purpose |
| Account tenure | Matures 21 years from opening; deposits required only first 15 years | Matures at 15 years; extendable indefinitely in 5-year blocks |
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: Deep Dive
Launched in 2015 under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was built to encourage long-term savings for a girl child's future, primarily her higher education and marriage expenses. Only a parent or legal guardian can open the account, and only for a girl child below 10 years of age at the time of opening. A family is generally limited to two SSY accounts, with an exception permitting a third if the second pregnancy results in twins or triplets.
At 8.2% per annum, SSY currently carries the highest interest rate among government small savings schemes, ahead of PPF, the National Savings Certificate, and post office time deposits. The structure runs in two phases: deposits are required for the first 15 years from account opening, after which no further contributions are needed, but the account keeps earning interest on the accumulated balance until it matures 21 years from opening. A 15-year contribution commitment ends up producing a 21-year compounding horizon, six extra years of interest accrual with no additional money going in.
Partial withdrawal opens up once the girl turns 18, or once she clears the 10th standard examination if that happens earlier, capped at 50% of the account balance as of the end of the preceding financial year and restricted to funding higher education. Full withdrawal happens only at 21-year maturity, or earlier upon marriage after the girl turns 18, with marriage documentation required in that case. Between the gender-specific eligibility, the age cap at opening, and the tightly defined withdrawal purposes, SSY behaves less like a flexible savings account and more like a dedicated fund built around one life goal.
PPF: Deep Dive
The Public Provident Fund carries no age, gender, or relationship restriction beyond being an Indian resident, or a guardian opening an account for a minor of either gender. That makes PPF usable for a much broader range of goals than SSY: retirement savings, a son's education, a daughter's education if she's already past the SSY age cutoff, or simply a tax-efficient long-term savings vehicle for yourself.
At 7.1% per annum, PPF's rate sits a full percentage point below SSY's 8.2%, and it has trended downward over the decades from double digits in the 1990s to its current level. What PPF offers in exchange is structural flexibility. The account matures at 15 years but can be extended in blocks of 5 years indefinitely, with or without further contributions, while keeping its EEE tax status throughout. Partial withdrawals open up from the 7th financial year onward, for any purpose, not restricted to education the way SSY is, capped at 50% of the balance four years prior or the previous year's closing balance, whichever is lower. A loan facility is also available between the 3rd and 6th financial years.
Because PPF can be opened for any family member, many households treat it as the default fixed-income, tax-free instrument across several goals at once, rather than tying it to one child's milestone the way SSY is designed to work.
When to Choose Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
You're the parent or guardian of a girl child currently under 10 and want the highest guaranteed interest rate among government small savings schemes for her future specifically. Your savings goal is explicitly her higher education or marriage, and you're comfortable with a long effective horizon of up to 21 years from account opening. You can also commit to deposits for 15 consecutive years without needing the funds for anything else along the way.
When to Choose PPF
You want a savings instrument usable for any family member, yourself, your spouse, a son, or a daughter past the SSY age cutoff. You'd rather extend the account in 5-year blocks indefinitely than commit to a fixed 21-year horizon. You might need partial liquidity sooner too. PPF allows withdrawal from year 7 for any purpose, while SSY's effective horizon and education-only restriction make early access harder to come by. And if you're building a general-purpose, tax-free fixed-income base alongside other goals rather than a single milestone-specific fund, PPF fits that role better.
Our Verdict
For a girl child under 10, SSY's higher rate makes it the better choice for that specific corpus. Depositing Rs 1.5 lakh per year for 15 years at SSY's 8.2% builds a balance of approximately Rs 44.76 lakh by the time deposits stop, and because the account doesn't mature until 21 years from opening, that balance keeps compounding without further contributions to reach approximately Rs 71.8 lakh at maturity. The same Rs 1.5 lakh per year for 15 years in PPF at 7.1% reaches approximately Rs 40.68 lakh at the 15-year mark, when PPF matures or can be extended further. Both the higher rate and the extra six years of compounding give SSY a substantial edge for this particular goal.
That said, the two schemes don't really compete with each other. They serve different roles, and many families run both: SSY dedicated to the daughter's education or marriage corpus, taking advantage of the higher rate and locking in a goal-specific fund, and PPF as the general family retirement and long-term savings vehicle that stays usable for every family member and offers easier access. Model your own contribution amounts and timelines with the Sukanya Samriddhi Calculator and the PPF Calculator before deciding how to split your Section 80C allocation between the two.