Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29 urged women to enrol for Mahila Samman Saving Certificate (MSSC).
Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister said, "I also urge more women to enrol for MSSC. It offers many advantages for our Nari Shakti."
Earlier, Union Minister Smriti Irani opened a Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) at a post office in the national capital, paving the way for empowering women through this investment instrument, according to a government press release.
The MSSC scheme was announced in the 2023-24 Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and is a step towards financial inclusion and empowerment of women.
The Union Minister for Women and Child Development on Wednesday came to the post office and completed the account opening formalities. Her Mahila Samman Savings Certificate account was opened and computer generated passbook was handed over to her at the counter itself, a government press release said.
"The noble gesture of the Minister will surely inspire millions to come forward and open their MSSC and Sukanya Samriddhi account in the nearest post office," the release added.
The two-year tenure scheme will offer an interest rate of 7.5% compounded quarterly with flexible investment and partial withdrawal options with a maximum ceiling of ₹2 lakh.
The scheme is valid for a two-year period up to March 2025.
The scheme has been made available in all 1.59 lakh post offices from April 01 this year, when the Finance Ministry formally issued the notification.
Separately, the government earlier this month raised the rate of interest on various Small Savings Schemes for the first quarter of the financial year 2023-24 starting April 1 by up to 70 basis points (100 basis points is equal to 1 percentage point).
The government typically reviews the interest rates on small savings schemes every quarter based on a set formula.
