Determinants of Savings in Sukanya Samriddhi Account: Evidence from Tripura

Abstract

The financial inclusion models that have been implemented successfully in various parts of India have not gained momentum in North East India. The inherent characteristics of the states in this region and the prominence of several informal financial systems are some of the reasons for the failure of the formal financial inclusion models. This study made an attempt to examine the determinants of savings under the Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA), a formal financial inclusion scheme advocated by the Government of India for the betterment of girl children. The study area comprised the eight districts of Tripura, one of the states of North East India. The data for the case study was collected through scheduled interviews with 225 respondents, who had a girl child below the age of 10 years. The results, arrived at through a statistical analysis, showed that the pivotal catalysts determining the decisions whether to invest in the SSA scheme were: gender, age, level of income, family size and income, financial literacy, uncertainty of income and planning for child’s education, marriage and house. The relevance of the finding of the study in terms of policy-making has been highlighted.