“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,” she said.
PMJDY has completed a decade of implementation. “Universal and affordable access to formal banking services is essential for achieving financial inclusion and empowerment,” Sitharaman said in her message on the 10th anniversary of PMJDY.
“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, she said.
According to the minister, these bank accounts have garnered a deposit balance of 2.3 lakh crore, and resulted in the issuance of more than 360 million free-of-cost RuPay cards, which also provide for a 2 lakh accident insurance cover.Notably, there are no account opening fees or maintenance charges and no requirement to maintain a minimum balance, she said.The Jan Dhan Yojana, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address in 2014, was launched on August 28 the same year.
The finance minister said 67% of the accounts have been opened in rural or semi-urban areas, and 55% of the accounts belong to women.
“The consent-based pipeline created through the linking of Jan Dhan-Mobile-Aadhaar has been one of the most important pillars of the financial inclusion ecosystem,” she said.
“It has enabled swift, seamless and transparent transfer of government welfare schemes to eligible beneficiaries and promoted digital payments.”
The 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.