What are some good savings options, apart from mutual funds, for securing child's future?

I am assuming your quest for exploring the additional options comes from a point of view of generating extra returns compared to mutual funds. Let us see what are the other options:

• Government schemes: Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana(SSY), Post office deposits. I alway ask all my clients to park some money in this. Generally, 20% of the overall amount that you want to save. The idea behind having this in the portfolio is you ensure that your child gets the basic necessities in case there is some problem in the other parts of your portfolio.
• Mutual Funds: The main question here is Equity Vs. Debt Mutual funds. The selection depends a lot on how early you start with savings. Equity, as an asset class has a typical characteristic. It outperforms debt in the long run. I generally advise clients to park a substantial amount in equity in the initial years. As time passes and the time for redemption comes closer, you should slowly move to fixed income products. Do get a detailed plan prepared with the help of a financial advisor.
• High risk Mutual Funds: In case, you are looking for enhancing your portfolio returns through mutual funds, this option may be explored further. These are mutual funds which invest in unconventional assets like unlisted securities or securities listed in foreign markets. Please note the risk involved here is significantly higher than the conventional mutual funds, however the rewards are also much higher. This is not something that I advise everyone. A detailed analysis and plan needs to be prepared before this option is selected. Typically, I do not advise anyone to put more than 20 % in this bucket.

So, here's a sample allocation:

20%: Fixed Income/ Government Schemes

60%: Conventional Mutual Funds

20%: High risk Mutual Funds

Let me know if you need any help with selecting the right funds. All the best!