The government has laid out the target of increasing the banking penetration through PMJDY in the current financial year by targeting the addition of 30 million more underprivileged citizens in the current pool of over 531 million active Bank accounts. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced this plan on the occasion of the PMJDY’s 10th anniversary, and the focus has now shifted from every household having a bank account to every unbanked adult.
Initiated by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on the 28th of August in 2014, PMJDY was, from the onset, conceived with the goal of providing banking facilities to every citizen of India with at least one account per family. Another objective of the scheme was to enhance financial literacy and extension of the social security network, as said by Nirmala Sitharaman. It has grown with time, and the current goal is to extend its services to any individual who cannot access basic financial services, showing that it is still alive to the charge.
The outreach of PMJDY is impressive and has been hailed for its ability to empower the target beneficiaries by directly delivering the benefits to their accounts. By August 14, 2024, the program has 531 participants. A year later, it boasted of 30 million accounts, much higher than 147 20 million in March 2015. The total amount maintained in these accounts has risen from ₹15,670 crore in 2015 to over ₹2.31 lakh crore in August 2024. The average balance per account has increased from ₹1,065 to ₹4,352, though roughly 80% of the accounts are still active.
Another aspect is the impact of the scheme on the financial inclusion of women; women currently hold 55.6% of the accounts. Additionally, 99.95% of all inhabited villages have access to banking facilities, which means at least one bank branch, one or more ATMs, banking correspondents, or Indian Post Payment Banks within a 5 km radius.
A RuPay debit card is offered free of cost with an insurance cover of ₹2 lakh on accidental death an overdraft facility of ₹10,000 (if applicable).
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