The accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) are gaining ground among regional rural banks (RRBs), thanks to the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes.
RRBs are sponsored by public sector banks. Private sector lender Jammu and Kashmir Bank, too, has sponsored one RRB in Jammu and Kashmir. The country has 56 RRBs sponsored by 22 banks.
The total number of PMJDY accounts increased from 4.31 crore as on November 9 to 4.37 crore by November 23. The growth in the number of accounts was more in rural branches than the urban ones. Post-demonetisation, 4.64 lakh PMJDY accounts were opened in rural branches and 1.12 lakh accounts in urban branches. Bank of Maharashtra’s RRB added 2.3 lakh new PMJDY accounts.
As a result of this, the zero-balance accounts, which were at 13.79 per cent as on November 9, jumped to 50.77 per cent by November 23.
The balance in PMJDY accounts increased from ₹7,630.75 crore as on November 9 to ₹1,3507 crore by November 23, registering a growth of 77 per cent.
The balance in the PMJDY accounts of UCO Bank’s RRBs, which stood at ₹0.21 crore as on November 9, increased to ₹320.26 crore by November 23.
The number of accounts also saw an increase of 45,640 during the period. UCO Bank sponsors two RRBs — one in Bihar and another in West Bengal. Union Bank of India’s RRB registered a growth of 616 per cent in balance.
RRBs of Canara Bank and Dena Bank witnessed more than 250 per cent growth in balance in Jan-Dhan accounts in 14 days. (Canara Bank sponsors one RRB each in Karnataka and Kerala, and Dena Bank sponsors an RRB in Gujarat)
State Bank of Mysore’s RRB in Karnataka saw its balance grow 1198.47 per cent during the period. The zero-balance accounts came down from 23.42 per cent of bank’s Jan Dhan accounts as on November 9 to 16.01 as on November 23.
The zero-balance accounts of the RRBs sponsored by Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Canara Bank and Central Bank of India were below 9 per cent. Punjab and Sindh Bank’s RRB had the lowest zero-balance accounts.