New Delhi, August 28, 2023: In a remarkable achievement, India’s colossal financial inclusion initiative, the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), has successfully crossed the threshold of 500 million accounts. Launched nine years ago, the program has amassed over ₹2 lakh crore in deposits, with an impressive 55.5% of these accounts held by women, as stated by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Sitharaman emphasized that the nine years of PMJDY-led interventions and digital transformation have orchestrated a groundbreaking shift in financial inclusion within India. She lauded the fact that more than half a billion individuals have been embraced by the formal banking system through the establishment of Jan Dhan accounts.
“With the united efforts of stakeholders, banks, insurance companies, and government authorities, the PMJDY stands out as a pivotal initiative, reshaping the financial inclusion landscape in the nation as envisioned by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,” remarked Sitharaman.
PMJDY stands as one of the three pillars of the JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, and mobile) architecture, internationally acclaimed for its foolproof subsidy delivery mechanism. Utilizing JAM, the government directly transfers subsidies and social benefits to the bank accounts of economically disadvantaged individuals.
Among the PMJDY accounts, a notable 55.5% are owned by women, and 67% were opened in rural and semi-urban areas. Approximately 340 million RuPay cards have been distributed to these accounts free of charge, encompassing a ₹2 lakh accident insurance cover, as highlighted by Sitharaman.
The launch of this scheme was initially proposed by Prime Minister Modi during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2014, with the vision of liberating the impoverished from a cycle of financial hardships.
Sitharaman pointed out that financial inclusion not only channels the savings of the underprivileged into the formal financial system but also empowers them to remit funds to their families in rural areas, liberating them from the clutches of usurious moneylenders.
Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad underscored PMJDY’s success in reducing financial untouchability by incorporating marginalized sections into formal banking. The initiative has facilitated access to banking facilities, credit, insurance, pension coverage, and financial awareness for vulnerable sections of society, yielding widespread economic benefits.
“The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) architecture has enabled seamless government benefit transfers to common people’s accounts. PMJDY accounts have become the nucleus of people-centric endeavors like direct benefit transfer and have significantly contributed to the inclusive growth of society, especially the underprivileged,” Karad emphasized.
The program offers essential banking services to the unbanked population, featuring hassle-free account opening with no minimum balance requirements.
PMJDY has been instrumental in disbursing welfare packages, including COVID-19 relief, PM-Kisan, augmented wages under MGNREGA, and insurance coverage, all without any misappropriation. Within 10 days of the nationwide COVID lockdown, nearly 200 million women with PMJDY accounts received financial assistance of ₹500 per month for three months through direct benefit transfer.
