Hyderabad: The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 28, 2014, completed a decade of successful implementation on Wednesday.
PMJDY being the largest financial inclusion initiative in the world, the Ministry of Finance continuously endeavours to provide support to the marginalised and economically backward sections through its financial inclusion interventions.
On this occasion, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, in a message, said, “Universal and affordable access to formal banking services is essential for achieving financial inclusion and empowerment. It integrates the poor into the economic mainstream and plays a crucial role in the development of marginalised communities.”
“By providing universal, affordable, and formal financial services including bank accounts, small savings schemes, insurance, and credit to the previously unbanked, PM Jan Dhan Yojana has transformed the banking and financial landscape of the country over the last decade,” the Union Finance Minister said.
“The success of the initiative is reflected in 53 crore people having been brought into the formal banking system through the opening of Jan Dhan accounts. These bank accounts have garnered a deposit balance of Rs.2.3 lakh crore, and resulted in the issuance of over 36 crore free-of-cost RuPay cards, which also provide for a Rs.2 lakh accident insurance cover. Notably, there are no account opening fees or maintenance charges and no requirement to maintain a minimum balance,” Sitharaman said.
“It is heartening to note that 67 per cent of the accounts have been opened in rural or semi-urban areas, and 55 per cent of accounts have been opened by women,” the Union Finance Minister said.
“The consent-based pipeline created through the linking of Jan Dhan-Mobile-Adhaar has been one of the most important pillars of the financial inclusion ecosystem. It has enabled swift, seamless and transparent transfer of Government welfare schemes to eligible beneficiaries and promoted digital payments,” Sitharaman said.
In his message on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, said, “PMJDY is not only a scheme, but a transformation movement that has enabled financial independence of many of the unbanked population and has instilled a sense of financial security.”
“The Prime Minister, in his 2021 Independence Day speech, announced that every household should have a bank account and every adult should have insurance and pension coverage. With the continuous efforts in this direction through various saturation drives carried out across the country, we have achieved near saturation in bank accounts and there has been continuous increase in insurance and pension coverage across the country,” Chaudhary said.
As on August 14, 2024, the number of total PMJDY accounts are 53.13 crore, 55.6 per cent (29.56 crore) Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 66.6 per cent (35.37 crore) Jan Dhan accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas.