Jan Dhan accounts swell to 43 crore with total deposits over Rs 1.46 lakh crore
Over 43 crore new bank accounts were opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) with total deposits of more than Rs 1.46 lakh crore, the official data showed as the Centre’s flagship financial inclusion scheme completed seven years of implementation on Saturday.
Out of a total 43.04 crore PMJDY accounts, 36.86 crore or 85.6 per cent are operative, and the average deposit per account is Rs 3,398.
Total RuPay cards issued to PMJDY account holders rose to 31.23 crore. For accounts opened after August 28, 2018, the free accidental insurance cover on RuPay cards increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.
“Increase in average deposit is another indication of increased usage of accounts and inculcation of saving habit among account holders,” the finance ministry said.
"Today we mark seven years of #PMJanDhan, an initiative that has forever transformed India's development trajectory. It has ensured financial inclusion and a life of dignity as well as empowerment for countless Indians. Jan Dhan Yojana has also helped further transparency," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
I would like to applaud the untiring efforts of all those who have worked to make #PMJanDhan a success. Their efforts have ensured the people of India lead a better quality of life.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2021
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the journey of PMJDY-led interventions undertaken over a short span of 7 years has in effect, produced both transformational as well as directional change, thereby making the emerging financial inclusion ecosystem capable of delivering financial services to the last person of the society – the poorest of the poor.
The PMJDY was announced by Modi in his Independence Day address on August 15, 2014 and was simultaneously launched on August 28 that year to foster financial inclusion.
Under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana announced on March 26, 2020, an amount of Rs 500 per month for three months (April 2020 to June 2020) was credited to the accounts of PMJDY women account holders, the finance ministry said.
A total of Rs 30,945 crore has been credited in accounts of women PMJDY account holders during Covid lockdown as an income support measure.
About 5 crore PMJDY accountholders receive direct benefit transfer (DBT) from the government under various schemes, the finance ministry said.
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