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Emphasising the “transformational change” in financial inclusion brought about by the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in a seven-year period, the government said Saturday banks have now been asked to improve access of account holders in the scheme to micro-credit and micro investment products, like flexi-recurring schemes.
According to a future road map for the scheme, the Finance Ministry has said that banks should ensure that eligible account holders are provided the linked micro insurance policies to improve safety nets.
Over the seven-year period since Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PMJDY scheme, the number of accounts has risen to 43.04 crore in August 2021 from 17.9 crore in August 2015, while the deposits have shot up to Rs 1.46 lakh crore from Rs 22,901 crore during the same period.
Of this, 55.47 per cent (23.87 crore) Jan Dhan account holders are women and 66.69 per cent (28.70 crore) holders are in rural and semi-urban areas. Deposits per account have risen to Rs 3,398 in August 2021 from Rs 1,279 in August in 2015, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday, detailing progress of the scheme.
“The journey of PMJDY-led interventions undertaken over a short span of seven years has, in effect, produced both transformational as well as directional change, thereby making the emerging FI (financial inclusion) ecosystem capable of delivering financial services to the last person of the society — the poorest of the poor,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
The proportion of operational Jan Dhan accounts has risen to 85.6 per cent or 36.86 crore in August 2021, from 76 per cent or 23.15 crore in August 17, the Centre said.
A Jan Dhan account is treated as inoperative if there are no customer induced transactions in it for over two years. Out of the total, 8.2 per cent accounts are zero balance accounts.
“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,” the Prime Minister said in tweet on Saturday.
On the road ahead, the Finance Ministry said that eligible PMJDY account holders will be sought to be covered under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
