Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMUDY)
Recently the National Mission for Financial Inclusion of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMUDY) completed eight years.
PMJDY was launched in the year 2014 under the Ministry of Finance. It is a central sector scheme.
Under this scheme, the facility of opening a Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) account has been given to such people who do not have any bank account.
This account can be opened at any bank branch or Business Correspondent (Bank Mitra) outlet.
Following basic financial services are provided under this scheme:
- Banking/Savings and Deposit Account,
- Remittances,
- Affordable loans, insurance and pensions.
Major achievements of the scheme-
- Financial Inclusion: Banking facilities have been provided to over 25 crore beneficiaries since the inception of the scheme. 67% of Jan Dhan accounts have been opened in rural and semi-urban areas.
- Women Empowerment: 56% of Jan Dhan account holders are women.
- Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Around 4 crore Jan Dhan account holders received Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) from the government under different schemes in June 2022.
Major changes introduced from the year 2018-
- The focus of the scheme has been on ‘every unbanked adult’ instead of every household.
- The free accident insurance cover on RuPay cards has been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for PWDY accounts opened after August 28,
- The coverage of overdraft facilities has been increased from 60 years to 65
Source- The Hindu
