5.29 cr a/cs opened; 1.78 cr RuPay cards issued under PMJDY

Finance Ministry today said 5.29 crore bank accounts have been opened and 1.78 crore RuPay debit cards have been issued so far under the Jan Dhan Yojana.

"As on date, 5.29 crore accounts have been opened under PMJDY, of which 3.12 crore are in rural and 2.17 crore are in urban areas. RuPay Card have been issued in 1.78 crore accounts," an official statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched this ambitious scheme of financial inclusion on August 28.

The benefit of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) can be extended to existing account holders without opening a new account.

The statement said Mission Director and Additional Mission Director reviewed the progress in implementation of PMJDY with Executive Directors of PSU banks and some of the private banks such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank.

It said banks have been advised to increase their capacity to issue RuPay cards and clear the backlog quickly.

While most of the banks expect backlog to be cleared by October 15, in some banks it may take four weeks, it added.

Banks have initiated the survey work for identification of uncovered households which will be completed by October 10. This is excluding the states of Haryana and Maharashtra where survey work has been temporarily suspended in view of Assembly Elections, the statement said.

The main features of the PMJDY scheme include Rs 5,000 overdraft facility for Aadhar-linked accounts, RuPay Debit Card with in-built Rs 1 lakh accident insurance cover.

Besides, account holders under the scheme will get life insurance cover of Rs 30,000. This is an additional benefit that was announced by the Prime Minister during the launch of the scheme.

The government is also considering transfer of kerosene oil and LPG subsidies directly to bank accounts.

Presently, the government subsidies the products so that consumers can buy fuel below market price, however, under direct benefit transfer the consumer will be paid cash subsidy so that he can buy kerosene and LPG at market price.