Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-II- Government Schemes
In News:The Scheme completes seven years of successful implementation
Background
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner.
Objectives:
Ensure access of financial products & services at an affordable cost
Use of technology to lower cost & widen reach
Basic tenets of the scheme
Banking the unbanked – Opening of basic savings bank deposit (BSBD) account with minimal paperwork, relaxed KYC, e-KYC, account opening in camp mode, zero balance & zero charges
Securing the unsecured – Issuance of Indigenous Debit cards for cash withdrawals & payments at merchant locations, with free accident insurance coverage of Rs. 2 lakh
Funding the unfunded – Other financial products like micro-insurance, overdraft for consumption, micro-pension & micro-credit
The scheme was launched based upon the following 6 pillars:
Universal access to banking services – Branch and BC
Basic savings bank accounts with overdraft facility of Rs. 10,000/- to every eligible adult
Financial Literacy Program– Promoting savings, use of ATMs, getting ready for credit, availing insurance and pensions, using basic mobile phones for banking
Creation of Credit Guarantee Fund – To provide banks some guarantee against defaults
Insurance – Accident cover up to Rs. 1,00,000 and life cover of Rs. 30,000 on account opened between 15 Aug 2014 to 31 January 2015
Pension scheme for Unorganized sector
Important approach adopted in PMJDY based on past experience:
Accounts opened are online accounts in core banking system of banks, in place of earlier method of offline accounts opening with technology lock-in with the vendor
Inter-operability through RuPay debit card or Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS)
Fixed-point Business Correspondents
Simplified KYC / e-KYC in place of cumbersome KYC formalities
Extension of PMJDY with New features – The Government decided to extend the comprehensive PMJDY program beyond 28.8.2018 with some modifications
Focus shift from ‘Every Household’ to Every Unbanked Adult’
RuPay Card Insurance – Free accidental insurance cover on RuPay cards increased from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh for PMJDY accounts opened after 28.8.2018.
Enhancement in overdraft facilities – OD limit doubled from Rs 5,000/- to Rs 10,000/-; OD upto Rs 2,000/- (without conditions).
Increase in upper age limit for OD from 60 to 65 years
Impact of PMJDY
More than 43.04 crore beneficiaries banked under PMJDY since inception, amounting to Rs. 146,231 crore
PMJDY Accounts have grown three-fold from 14.72 Crore in Mar’15 to 43.04 Crore as on 18-08-2021
55% Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 67% Jan Dhan accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas
Out of total 43.04 crore PMJDY accounts, 36.86 crore (86%) are operative
Total RuPay cards issued to PMJDY accountholders: 31.23 Crore
Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, a total of Rs. 30,945 crore have been credited in accounts of women PMJDY account holders during Covid lockdown
About 5.1 crore PMJDY accountholders receive direct benefit transfer (DBT) from the Government under various schemes.
