Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana completes ten years with Rs 2.31 lakh crore deposits and over 53 crore accounts

The deposits under PMJDY accounts are Rs 2,31,236 crore. The deposits have increased by almost 15 times with a 3.6 times increase in accounts as of August 14, 2024.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the average deposit amount per account was Rs 4,352 as of August 14, 2024. The deposit amount per account has increased 4 times as compared to August 15.

PMJDY was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on 15 August 2014.

The Prime Minister had described the occasion as a celebration of freeing the poor from the vicious circle.

With the issuance of over 36.06 crore RuPay debit cards under PMJDY, installation of 89.67 lakh point-of-sale (PoS/mPoS) machines and introduction of mobile-based payment systems like UPI, the total number of digital transactions has grown from 2,338 crore in FY18-19 to 16,443 crore in FY23-24.

The total number of UPI financial transactions will grow from 535 crores in FY 2018-19 to 13,113 crores in FY 2023-24. Similarly, the total number of RuPay card transactions at PoS and e-commerce will grow from 67 crores in FY 2017-18 to 96.78 crores in FY 2023-24.

PMJDY is a national mission for financial inclusion aimed at ensuring access to financial services such as banking, savings and deposit accounts, remittance, credit, insurance and pension in an affordable manner.

In her message on the occasion, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Universal and affordable access to formal banking services is essential to achieve financial inclusion and empowerment. It integrates the poor into the economic mainstream and plays a vital role in the development of marginalised communities.”

The Union Finance Minister said, “By providing universal, affordable and formal financial services including bank accounts, small savings schemes, insurance and credit to people previously deprived of banking services, PM Jan Dhan Yojana has transformed the banking and financial landscape of the country in the last decade.”

Sitharaman said, “The success of this initiative is reflected in bringing 53 crore people into the formal banking system by opening Jan Dhan accounts. These bank accounts have seen deposits of Rs 2.3 lakh crore and have resulted in issuance of over 36 crore free RuPay cards, which also provide accident insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh. It is worth mentioning that there is no charge for opening or maintaining an account and there is no requirement to maintain a minimum balance.”

The Union Finance Minister said, “It is heartening to note that 67 per cent of the accounts have been opened in rural or semi-urban areas and 55 per cent of the accounts have been opened by women.”

Sitharaman said, “The consent-based pipeline created through linking of Jan Dhan-Mobile-Aadhaar has been one of the most important pillars of the financial inclusion ecosystem. It has enabled quick, seamless and transparent transfer of government welfare schemes to eligible beneficiaries and promoted digital payments.”

PMJDY provides a basic bank account for every non-banking adult. For this account, there is no balance requirement to be maintained and no charges are levied on this account.

To promote digital transactions, the account will also come with a free RuPay debit card with an in-built accident insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh.

PMJDY account holders are also eligible to get an overdraft of up to Rs 10,000 to deal with emergencies.

The Finance Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the PMJDY initiative has brought both transformational and directional changes. It has strengthened the ecosystem of banks and financial institutions to deliver financial services to the last person in the society.

PMJDY has enabled savings, as well as provided access to credit to people with no formal financial history. Account holders can now show savings patterns, which makes them eligible for loans from banks and financial institutions. The closest proxy is sanctioning under Mudra loans, which grew at a compounded annual rate of 9.8 per cent over the five years from FY19 to FY24. This access to credit is transformational as it empowers individuals to increase their income.