New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023 announced a one-time small saving scheme for women on Wednesday. Under the scheme called 'Mahila Samman Bachat Patra' women will be able to avail a deposit facility available for a two-year period up to March 2025.
The Finance Minister said that the beneficiaries of the scheme will get a deposit facility of up to Rs 2 lakh in the name of women and girls for a term of two years. The interest rate will be fixed at 7.5 per cent and the depositors will be provided with a partial withdrawal option.
The Mahila Samman Bachat Patra scheme has been launched to commemorate the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. During her Budget speech, the Finance Minister also announced that the upper ceiling for deposits under the Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme has been increased from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 13 lakh.
"For commemorating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, will be made available for a two-year period up to March 2025. This will offer deposit facility upto Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for a tenor of 2 years at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option," stated an official release.
The maximum limit for the Monthly Income Accounts Scheme has also been increased from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single accounts and Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for joint accounts. The Finance Minister also proposed to change the tax structure in this regime by reducing the number of tax slabs to 5 and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh.
As for personal Income Tax, she announced that "Tax for income of Rs 0-Rs 3 lakh is nil, for income above Rs 3 lakh and up to Rs 5 lakh will be taxed at 5 per cent, for income of above Rs 6 lakh and up to Rs 9 lakh will be taxed at 10 per cent and for income above Rs 12 lakh and up to Rs 15 lakh to be taxed at 20 per cent and above 15 lakh at Rs 30 per cent."
As for pensioners, she announced extending the benefit of the standard deduction to the new tax regime. Each salaried person with an income of Rs. 15.5 lakh or more will benefit by Rs. 52,500.
