Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the government brought the issue of financial inclusion to the front and helped 30 crore families open bank accounts through the Jan Dhan scheme.
“About 42 per cent of households were unbanked before the Jan Dhan Yojana,” he noted at a Conclave on Financial Inclusion, which was organised by the United Nations.
The Minister noted that the number of zero-balance accounts has reduced from 77 per cent to 20 per cent.
“Even these would become operational as the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme expands,” he said.
Espousing the benefits of demonetisation, he said it has helped increase the tax base and has led to greater formalisation of the economy while reducing the quantum of cash in the economy.