Government-backed investment schemes are still popular among Indian investors despite the proliferation of a variety of investment instruments over the past few decades. Currently, there are nine government-backed savings schemes with a combined corpus of over Rs 2,80,274 crore, as on January 2020.  This is up from Rs 108 crore in 1948-49. Out of these nine schemes, two have been designed keeping women’s financial  empowerment in mind. The government launched the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) in 2014, which enables parents to save for their girl children’s education and other expenses. The second scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, was announced in the latest Union Budget 2023 to ensure women’s welfare. Let’s look at what these schemes offer to investors. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Parents or legal guardians can open an account in the name of the girl child under this scheme in post offices and authorised banks before she attains the age of 10 years. Every account holder shall have a single account under this scheme. One family can have a...