The Finance Ministry on Friday said the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has enabled over 98 per cent of the households in the country to have a bank account.
Addressing the media on the sidelines of banking conclave, Gyan Sangam, being held here Hasmukh Adhia, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, said, “This (figure of over 98 per cent) is based on the survey conducted by banks in different areas of the country, which were divided into service area and the wards in villages.”
According to Census 2011, there are about 25 crore households in the country. Of this, Adhia said, the banks have not been able to reach about three crore households in many of the gated townships in the country.
“They do not want to share their bank information and probably they do not also require our help,” he added.
Of the remaining 21.9 crore households, he said, banks have been able to cover over 98 per cent.
For those who are still left out, Adhia said “we are campaigning through advertisements so that they can also reach us for a bank account. The advertisement says that even if people do not have any Know Your Customer documents, they can opt to open a basic savings bank account.”
The advertisement encourages people in the know to recommend people who they know are financially excluded.
Universal financial inclusion is one of the themes of discussions at the two-day banking conclave which started on Friday.