FINANCIAL BENEFITS FOR WOMEN

Women have access to various financial benefits and schemes, both from the government and private sector, aimed at providing them with discounts and incentives to manage their finances better. These benefits can range from insurance discounts and lower premiums to specialized savings accounts and preferential loan rates.

Insurance Discounts and Lower Premiums

• Several insurers offer women-specific plans for life and health insurance, such as critical illness or term plans, with discounted premium rates. For example, HDFC Life Smart Woman Plan, Tata AIG’s Wellsurance Woman Policy, and Bajaj Allianz’s Women-specific Critical Illness plan. Additionally, some health plans offer discounts for girl children, like New India Asha Kiran health plan and Reliance Health Gain Policy.

Savings Bank Accounts

• Banks offer specially designed savings accounts for women with additional features, benefits, and rewards. For instance, Axis Bank’s Women’s Savings Account offers low opening deposits, free cheque books, low monthly balances, and personal accident insurance covers. Similarly, ICICI Bank’s Advantage Woman Savings Account includes offers on skill-building courses and various discounts.

Sukanya Samridhi Yojana

• This government-backed small savings scheme is designed for saving for a girl child below 10 years of age, with rates declared by the government every quarter.

Save on Stamp Duty

• Various states offer concessional stamp duty to women registering a property in their name, encouraging women to own property. This concession can result in significant savings on property registration.

Lower Loan Rates

• Women borrowers taking loans from Banks or NBFCs often get preferential interest rates, typically 0.05-0.5 basis points lower than the normal rate. This reduction can lead to lower EMIs or a shorter loan tenure.

THE FINAL WORD

In addition to these benefits, initiatives like SEBI’s mandate for companies to have at least one independent woman director on their boards and specific schemes for women entrepreneurs further contribute to women’s financial empowerment. By taking advantage of these opportunities, women can strengthen their financial position and achieve their long-term financial goals.

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