To give a fillip to the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday said overdrafts of up to ₹5,000 extended by banks to customers who have opened accounts under the Yojana will be eligible for classification under priority sector advances.

Besides being classified as priority sector advances under the ‘others’ category, such advances to PMJDY accounts will also qualify as advances to weaker sections, provided the borrower’s household annual income does not exceed ₹60,000 for rural areas and ₹1.20 lakh for non-rural areas.

Priority sector refers to those sectors of the economy which may not get timely and adequate credit in the absence of this special dispensation. Typically, these are small value loans to farmers for agriculture and allied activities, micro and small enterprises, poor people for housing, students for education and other low income groups and weaker sections.

Banks are required to have a priority sector lending portfolio amounting to 40 per cent of their total advances.

Accounts opened

Since its inception in August-end 2014, banks have collectively opened 12.54 crore accounts under the PMJDY up to January 31, 2015. Of these accounts, about 67 per cent are zero balance accounts. The balance 33 per cent accounts have deposits aggregating about ₹10,500 crore.

The PMJDY, which was launched on August 28, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a National Mission for Financial Inclusion.

The Yojana seeks to ensure access to financial services in an affordable manner.