Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial inclusion programme will be worth Rs one lakh crore very soon. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which was launched in August 2015 by Modi has gained users since August 2018 when the government announced a string of measures to make the scheme more attractive.
Shiv Pratap Shukla, minister of state for finance said that the total deposits in Jan Dhan Accounts may cross the figure of Rs one lakh crore in a matter of months. He even told Financial Express Online that he wouldn’t be surprised if it crossed the milestone by March-end.
The Jan Dhan scheme is the largest financial inclusion programme undertaken anywhere in the world. Earlier the scheme was criticised for large number of zero balance accounts and low per capita deposits. However, last year Modi government made several changes in the scheme to make it more attractive, including increasing the limit of overdraft facility to Rs 10,000 per account. The in-built accidental insurance cover offered to RuPay debit card holders was also increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh besides continuing with the existing life cover of Rs 30,000 subject to fulfillment of eligibility criteria.
Total deposits in Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan accounts have gone up from Rs 88,566 crore to Rs 92,678 crore in little over a month. Latest official data even said that these accounts have registered an increase of over Rs 4,000 crore between January 23 to February 27.
Shukla added that credibility of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Accounts in the eyes of public has increased, which is why they have been depositing their savings in Prime Minister Jan Dhan account.
The total deposits in these Jan Dhan Bank Accounts is set to gain momentum in the election year as funds for several government schemes, including the schemes of state governments and the newly launched farm income support scheme – the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, are also likely to be routed through Aadhaar linked Jan Dhan Accounts.
