New Delhi: The finance ministry data has revealed that deposits in bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have crossed the Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark.
As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 44.23 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts was at Rs 1,50,939.36 crore at December end, 2021.
Benefits like scholarships, subsidies, pensions, and COVID relief funds are credited to the bank accounts, including Jan Dhan Accounts, through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
The PMJDY was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on August 15, 2014, and was simultaneously launched on August 28, 2014, to foster financial inclusion.
This national mission was launched to ensure people have access to financial services, namely, banking, remittance, credit, insurance, pension in an affordable manner.
Know which banks have how many accounts
As per the finance ministry data, of the total 44.23 crore accounts, 34.9 crore were with the public sector banks, 8.05 crore with regional rural banks, and the rest 1.28 crore with private sector banks. Also, 31.28 crore PMJDY beneficiaries were issued RuPay debit cards. It may be noted that the number of RuPay cards and their usage has increased over time. As per the data, 29.54 crore Jan Dhan accounts were held in rural and semi-urban bank branches. Nearly 24.61 crore account holders were women as of December 29, 2021. During the first year of the scheme 17.90 crore PMJDY accounts were opened.
Balance required to maintain Jan Dhan accounts
As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, there is no requirement of maintaining minimum balance in Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) accounts, including Jan Dhan accounts. Depending upon transactions carried out by a Jan Dhan account holder, the balance in any Jan Dhan accounts can vary on a day-to-day basis, and may even become zero on a particular day.
As of December 8, 2021, the total number of zero balance accounts was 3.65 crore, which constituted about 8.3 per cent of the total Jan Dhan accounts, the government had informed Parliament last month.
With PTI Inputs
