India, Feb. 2 -- Union Budget 2023 will encourage women to save more, courtesy of a brand new deposit scheme that the Finance Minister has worked out for them, complete with a fairly attractive rate of interest and add-ons like partial withdrawals, subject to conditions.

Mahila Samman Bachat Patra will appear as a one-time scheme, to be made available for a 2-year period up to March 2025. An individual depositor can invest up to Rs 2 lakhs and earn an interest of 7.5%. It remains to be seen whether the government grants a tax-free status to the interest receipts, a move that will cheer many women in the months ahead. The issue of taxability has not been specifically addressed in the budget.

Women investors, a minority group with no spec...