Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana completes 6 years today; here’s a look at its journey

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana or PMJDY – the national mission for financial inclusion completed six years of its implementation on Friday. On the 6th anniversary of PMJDY, Ministry of Finance mentioned the achievements of the scheme in a series of tweets.

More than 40.35 crore beneficiaries banked under PMJDY since its inception, amounting to Rs 1.31 lakh crore, the Ministry of Finance said.

“As on August 19, 2020, 63.6 percent rural PMJDY accounts and 55.2 percent women PMJDY accounts were opened,” it said.

A total of 29.75 crore RuPay cards were issued to PMJDY account holders under this scheme, it added.

“Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, a total of Rs 30,705 crore were credited in accounts of women PMJDY account holders during April-June, 2020. About 8 crore PMJDY account holders received Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) from the government under various schemes,” the Press Information Bureau (PIB) mentioned in a release.

On the occasion, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also reiterated the importance of PMJDY and emphasized how this scheme has been the foundation stone for the PM Modi government’s people-centric economic initiatives.

“Whether it is direct benefit transfers, COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, life and health insurance cover, the first step was to provide every adult with a bank account, which PMJDY has nearly completed,” she said.

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Anurag Thakur also expressed his thoughts for PMJDY.

“Under the leadership of PM Modi, PMJDY has brought the unbanked into the banking system, expanded the financial architecture of India and brought financial inclusion to over 40 crore account holders. A majority of the beneficiaries are women and most of the accounts are from rural India,” he said.

“In today’s COVID-19 times, we have witnessed the remarkable swiftness and seamlessness with which DBTs have empowered and provided financial security to the vulnerable sections of society. An important aspect is that DBTs via PM Jan Dhan accounts have ensured every rupee reaches its intended beneficiary and prevented systemic leakage,” he added.

PMJDY was announced by PM Modi in his Independence Day address on August 15, 2014. While launching the programme on August 28, 2020, the Prime Minister had described the occasion as a festival to celebrate the liberation of the poor from a vicious cycle.