The Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to make available on their Web sites claim forms for the ₹30,000 life cover promised under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
Also, LIC has been asked to settle claims within 15 days of the receipt of the form. The settlement process should not exceed 30 days in any case, the Finance Ministry has said. Incidentally, banks have already met the target of opening 10 crore accounts, the deadline for which was January 26.
This was conveyed to banks at a video conference meeting held between Anurag Jain, Joint Secretary in the Finance Ministry, and Executive Directors of public sector and private banks.
The Ministry’s directive to make available claim forms on Web sites is significant, as both LIC and banks are yet to connect the dots on providing life cover promised under the scheme.
Even as the nitty-gritty for the life cover are being worked out, the Ministry’s directive on this front is a welcome step, say economy watchers.
The video conference was held to review the progress of the PMJDY, which is the Narendra Modi-led Government’s flagship financial-inclusion programme.