• The total number of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts has crossed 50 crore-mark, the finance ministry said.
• Of these accounts, 56 per cent belong to women and about 67 per cent of the accounts have been opened in rural and semi-urban areas.
• The total deposits in these accounts are above Rs 2.03 lakh crore while around 34 crore RuPay cards have been issued with these accounts free of cost.
• The average balance in PMJDY accounts is Rs 4,076 and more than 5.5 crore of these are receiving Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
• The PMJDY was announced by PM Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on August 15, 2014 and was launched on August 28.
• It was launched as National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country by providing universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic bank account to every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility.
Benefits under PMJDY:
• One basic savings bank account is opened for unbanked person.
• There is no requirement to maintain any minimum balance in PMJDY accounts.
• Interest is earned on the deposit in PMJDY accounts.
• RuPay Debit card is provided to the PMJDY account holder.
• Accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh (enhanced to Rs 2 lakh to PMJDY accounts opened after August 28, 2018) is available with RuPay card issued to the PMJDY account holders.
• An overdraft (OD) facility up to Rs 10,000 to eligible account holders.
• PMJDY accounts are eligible for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
How does PMJDY help in financial inclusion?
• Census 2011 estimated that out of 24.67 crore households in the country, only 14.48 crore (58.7 per cent) had access to banking services. In the first phase of the scheme, these households were targeted for inclusion through opening of a bank account within a year of launch of the scheme.
• Financial inclusion is a national priority of the government as it is an enabler for inclusive growth. It provides an avenue to the poor for bringing their savings into the formal financial system, an avenue to remit money to their families in villages besides taking them out of the clutches of the usurious money lenders.
• Jan Dhan Yojana is one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the world.
• Under this scheme, a person not having a savings account can open an account without the requirement of any minimum balance. It offers basic savings bank accounts with an overdraft facility of Rs 10,000 to every account holder.
• PMJDY aims to provide universal banking services for every unbanked household, based on the guiding principles of banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded and serving the unserved and underserved areas.
i) Banking the unbanked: Opening of basic savings bank deposit account with minimal paperwork, relaxed KYC, e-KYC, account opening in camp mode, zero balance and zero charge.
ii) Securing the unsecured: Issuance of indigenous debit cards for cash withdrawals and payments at merchant locations, with free accident insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh.
iii) Funding the unfunded: Other financial products like micro-insurance, overdraft for consumption, micro-pension & micro-credit.
• Whether it is direct benefit transfers, COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, life and health insurance cover, the first step was to provide every adult with a bank account, which PMJDY has nearly completed.
• A majority of the beneficiaries are women and most of the accounts are from rural India.
