Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMDJY), is one of the largest financial inclusion initiatives in the world. The scheme was announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 15th August 2014 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. While launching the programme on 28th August, the Prime Minister had described the occasion as a festival to celebrate the liberation of the poor from a vicious cycle.
Shri Narendra Modi had referred to the ancient Sanskrit verse “Sukhasya Moolam Dharma, Dharmasya Moolam Artha, Artasya Moolam Rajyam”
It puts the onus on the state to involve people in economic activity.
Slogan of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is “Mera Khaata, Bhahya Vidhata”. The scheme was launched after failure of previous government schemes, including Swaabhimaan.Swaabhimaan was a 2011 campaign of the Government of India which aimed to bring banking services to rural areas.
PM Modi has also emphasized upon the importance of Jan Dhan Accounts for the marginalized sections of the society by stating that they have opened the way for loans for the poor without collateral and provided Direct Benefit Transfer to the accounts of the targeted beneficiaries. These accounts were the key mobility for providing homes, toilets, gas subsidy and benefit schemes for farmers could be ensured seamlessly.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is open to Indian citizens (minors of age 10 and older can also an account with a guardian to manage it) and it aims to expand affordable access to financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, credit, insurance and pensions.
It is run by Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, under this scheme 15 million bank accounts were opened on the inauguration day. The Guinness Book of World Record recognized this achievement, stating, “The most bank accounts opened in one week as a part of the financial inclusion campaign is 18,096,130 and was achieved by Government of India from August 23 to 29, 2014.
The total balance in the basic bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMDJY) has crossed the Rs 1.75 lakh crore. More than 46.25 crore beneficiaries banked under PMJDY Account, since its inception , amounting to Rs. 1,73,954 crore.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman has said
“Financial inclusion is a major step towards inclusive growth which ensures overall economic development of marginalized sections of society. PMJDY has become the foundation stone for the government’s people centric economic initiatives.”
She has also stated that there has been a marked shift in the approach of government Financial Inclusion program and the focus has shifted from “every household” to “every adult” with added emphasis on usage of accounts by enhancing direct benefit transfer flows through these accounts by enhancing direct benefit transfer flows through these accounts, promoting digital payments through these accounts by enhancing direct benefit transfer flows through these accounts, promoting digital payments through the use of Rupay cards. PMJDY is one of the essential components of the JAM trinity – Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar identification and mobile accessibility – a tool to provide subsidies to identified beneficiaries without any leakage.
MoS Finance, Dr. Bharat Karad, “PMJDY account holders grew 3-fold from 14.72 crore in Mar’15 to 46.25 crore as on 10-08-2022.
56% Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 67% Jan Dhan accounts in rural and semi-urban areas. 31.94 crore RuPay cards issued to PMJDY accountholders About 5.4 crore PMJDY account holders received direct benefit transfer (DBT) from the Government under various schemes in June, 2022.
More about the Scheme
Women beneficiaries own a larger chunk in the scheme at 26.16 crore account of which the bulk (31.42 cror accounts) are in rural and semi-urban areas. “Public sector banks (PSBs) have made significant contribution. Of the total ₹1.75 lakh crore balance, PSB’s account for ₹1.35 lakh crore, followed by Regional Rural Banks with ₹34,573 crore,’‘ a senior official of State Bank of India said.
Among states, Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 84,341,592 (84 million) PMJDY accounts as on October 12. The total number of Jan-Dhan accounts in Bihar is 53,142,192 (53 million) , West Bengal (46,381,168), Madhya Pradesh (38,674,997), Rajasthan (32,441,143) and Maharashtra (32,085,689).
Year-on-Year Growth of PMJDY
April 2022: ₹1,67,812 cr
April 2021: ₹1,46,084 cr
April 2020: ₹1,19,680 cr
April 2019: ₹97,665 cr
April 2018: ₹79,012 cr
Jan Dhan Joyana eligibility
- To open a Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) with zero balance under PMJDY, below conditions need to be fulfilled:
- You must be a citizen of India
- You should be aged 10 years or over
- You should not have a bank account
Public Sector Bank offering Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA):
- State Bank of India (SBI)
- Bank of Baroda (BoB)
- Andhra Bank
- Bank of Maharashtra
- Bank of India (BoI)
- Canara Bank
- Corporation Bank
- Corporation Bank
- IDBI Bank
- Indian Bank
- Punjab National Bank (PNB)
- Central Bank of India
- Punjab & Sind Bank
- Syndicate Bank
- Allahabad Bank
- Union Bank of India
Private sector banks where you can open Jan Dhan Yojana account:
- ICICI Bank
- Axis Bank
- HDFC Bank
- Federal Bank
- IndusInd Bank
- ING Vysya Bank
- Karnataka Bank
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- Yes Bank
- Dhanalaxmi Bank
Documents required for the Jan Dhan Yojana Account:
The process for KYC for the Jan Dhan Yojana account is convenient. Account can be opened by providing any of the below documents:
- Passport
- Driving License
- PAN card
- Aadhaar Card
- Voter’s Identity Card
- Job Card issued by MNREGA signed by an officer of the state Government
- ID card with a photograph issued Central/State Government Departments , Statutory/Regulatory Authorities, Public Sector Undertakings , scheduled commercial banks and public financial institutions
- A letter with a duly attested photograph of the person issued by a Gazetted officer
Even in the absence of any valid documents , ‘Small Account’ can be opened with a bank by submitting a self-attested photo and signing or giving a thumbprint in the presence of a bank official
