PM marks six years of Jan Dhan scheme, calls it a ‘game-changer’

THE FINANCE MINISTRY SAID THAT OVER 403MN BANK ACCOUNTS WITH TOTAL DEPOSITS OF MORE THAN ~1.3-L CR HAVE BEEN OPENED AS PART OF THE SCHEME

NEWDELHI:PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday marked the sixth anniversary of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), calling it a “gamechanger”, which he said has served as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives.

The scheme, which has become the basis of direct transfer of cash subsidy to the poor, was announced by the PM in his Independence Day speech in 2014. It was launched on August 28 of the same year.

“Today, six years ago, the PMJDY was launched with an ambitious aim of banking the unbanked. This initiative has been a game-changer, serving as the foundation for several poverty alleviation initiatives, benefitting crores of people,” Modi tweeted. According to an official statement, as on August 19, out of the total PMJDY account holders, 63.6% were in rural areas and 55.2% accounts belonged to women. “Thanks to the PMJDY, the future of several families has become secure. A high proportion of beneficiaries are from rural areas and are women,” the PM said in another tweet.

The finance ministry in a statement said that over 403 million bank accounts with total deposits of more than ~ 1.30 lakh crore have been opened as part of the scheme. The ministry said that financial inclusion, one of the key aims of the initiative, was a national priority of the government as it enables inclusive growth.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the scheme has been a cornerstone of the Modi government’s “people-centric” schemes.

“The PMJDY has been the foundation stone for the Modi government’s people-centric economic initiatives. Whether it is direct benefit transfers (DBTS), coronavirus disease (Covid-19) financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under the MGNREGA, life and health insurance cover, the first step was to provide every adult with a bank account, which PMJDY has nearly completed,” finance she said.

Divakar Vijayasarathy, founder and managing partner at consulting firm DVS Advisors LLP, said by opening nearly 170 million bank accounts in the very first year under PMJDY, the government had demonstrated its resolve, but it has to take the work forward. “However, the job is only half done... Other schemes such as Bharatnet [rural broadband network] have to be parallelly and vigorously implemented to achieve the optimum benefit. this regard,” he said.