Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has given dignity to crore of people. Echoing the same sentiment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says this scheme integrates poor into economic mainstream.

Launched on August 28, 2014, the financial inclusion scheme has completed 10 years of its existence. As on August 14, over 53 crore basic bank accounts have been opened and these have balance of over ₹2.31 lakh crore.

“Today, we mark a momentous occasion— #10YearsOfJanDhan. Congratulations to all the beneficiaries and compliments to all those who worked to make this scheme a success. Jan Dhan Yojana has been paramount in boosting financial inclusion and giving dignity to crores of people, especially women, youth, and the marginalized communities,” Modi said in a social media post on X.

In a message, Sitharaman said that in a message, said that niversal and affordable access to formal banking services is essential for achieving financial inclusion and empowerment. 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,” the Minister said.

Out of over 53 crore accounts, around 29.5 crore or 53.13 crore Jan-Dhan account holders are women. At the same time, around 35 crore or more than two third accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas.

Average deposit per account is ₹4,352 as on 14.08.2024. The average deposit per account has increased 4 times since August 15. The rise in average deposits is another indication of increased usage of accounts and inculcation of saving habit among account holders. 36.14 crore RuPay cards have been issued to PMJDY accountholders.

According to Sitharaman, the consent-based pipeline created through the linking of Jan Dhan-Mobile-Adhaar has been one of the most important pillars of the financial inclusion ecosystem.

“It has enabled swift, seamless and transparent transfer of Government welfare schemes to eligible beneficiaries and promoted digital payments,” she said.

Minister of State in the Finance Ministry, Pankaj Chaudhary said that 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.

“With the continuous efforts in this direction through various saturation drives carried out across the country, we have achieved near saturation in bank accounts and there has been continuous increase in insurance and pension coverage across the country,” he said.

PMJDY provides one basic bank account for every unbanked adult. For this account there is no need to maintain any balance and also no charges are levied on this account.

In the account, a free of cost RuPay Debit card with in-built accident insurance cover of ₹2 lakh is also provided to promote digital transactions. PMJDY account holders are also eligible for getting an overdraft of up to ₹10,000 to cover exigencies.

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