Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that financial inclusion is a major step towards inclusive growth that ensures overall economic development of the underprivileged sections of the society.
The success of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) since August 28, 2014 is reflected in the opening of over 46 crore bank accounts with a deposit balance of ₹1.74 lakh crore, expanded to 67% in rural or semi-urban areas Is. Also 56% women Jan Dhan account holders, he said on the eighth anniversary of the flagship financial inclusion scheme.
“The continuation of PMJDY beyond 2018 marked a marked change in the approach to meet the challenges and requirements of the emerging FI (Financial Inclusion) landscape in the country.
“Focus on ‘every adult’ from every household, increased direct benefit transfer (DBT) flow through these accounts, added emphasis on usage of accounts by promoting digital payments through use of RuPay cards is, etc. An official statement quoted the minister as saying.
He said the underlying pillars of PMJDY – namely, unbanked banking, securing the unbanked and funding the un-funded – have made it possible to adopt a multi-stakeholder collaborative approach, as well as underserved and underserved. Technology is leveraged to serve the underserved areas.
The Jan Dhan Yojana, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address in 2014, was launched on August 28 of the same year.
JAM. Instant DBT enabled by
He also said that the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) pipeline has been created through linking of account holders’ consent-based bank accounts with Aadhaar and account holders’ mobile numbers, which is one of the important pillars of the financial inclusion ecosystem. . Instant DBT enabled to eligible beneficiaries under various government welfare schemes.
The architecture built under the FI ecosystem came in handy during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it facilitated direct income support to farmers under PM-KISAN and transfer of ex-gratia to women PMJDY account holders under the PM Garib Kalyan Package. Done in a simple and easy way. In a timely manner, Ms Sitharaman said.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said that PMJDY has been one of the most far-reaching initiatives towards financial inclusion not only in India but in the world.
Emphasizing on making financial inclusion one of the top priorities of the government, he said that it provides an opportunity to the poor to bring their savings into the formal financial system, an opportunity to send money to their families, as well as provide them To get out of the clutches. The moneylenders.
As per extant RBI guidelines, PMJDY account is considered inoperative if there are no customer induced transactions in the account for more than two years.
As per the latest figures 37.57 crore (81.2%) out of total 46.25 crore PMJDY accounts are operational. Only 8.2% of PMJDY accounts are zero balance accounts, while the average deposit per account is ₹3,761.
The total RuPay cards issued to PMJDY account holders were 31.94 crore. The number of RuPay cards and their usage has increased over time.
The Finance Ministry said in a statement that efforts are being made to ensure coverage of PMJDY account holders under micro insurance schemes.
There will be a demand to cover eligible PMJDY account holders under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY). Banks have already been informed about this.