New Delhi [India], August 28 : The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) – the national mission for financial inclusion and banking the unbanked - completed nine years of implementation.
The initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden Independence Day address from Red Fort in 2014. Later he launched the programme on August 28, 2014.
PMJDY has brought the unbanked into the banking system, expanded the financial architecture of India and brought financial inclusion to almost every adult.
The zero-balance Jan Dhan bank account holder is being given a debit card and guaranteed insurance of Rs 1 lakh rupees to deal with any contingency. It also entails an accident insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakhs.
As of August 9, 23 number of the total PMJDY accounts were 50.09 crore; of those 55.6 per cent (27.82 crore) Jan Dhan account holders were women and 66.7 per cent (33.45 crore) Jan Dhan accounts were in rural and semi-urban areas.
Total deposit balances under PMJDY accounts stand at Rs 203,505 crore, with an average deposit per account at Rs 4,063.
PMJDY has been the foundation stone for people-centric economic initiatives. Whether it is direct benefit transfers, COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-Kisan, increased wages under MGNREGA, or life and health insurance cover, the first step of all these initiatives is to provide every adult with a bank account, which PMJDY has nearly completed.
The government said one in two accounts opened between March 2014 to March 2020 was a PMJDY account. Within 10 days of the nationwide lockdown, more than 20 crore women PMJDY accounts were credited with the financial assistance of Rs 500 per month for three months through direct benefit transfer.
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