With 11.5 crore bank accounts opened in record time under the Prime Minister’s most ambitious Jan Dhan Yojana makes it to the Guinness World Records, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that “most of India today is included in the banking system.”
The revised financial inclusion model with the help of 1.27 lakhs of banking correspondents working across the country and special privileges like, accidental coverage of Rs1lakh and a life insurance of Rs30,000 to the household, enabled the scheme to flourish and accomplish the enhanced target of 10 crore bank accounts.
Jaitley said, “more than Rs9,000 crore has been deposited in the Jan Dhan accounts. We have 28 per cent operational accounts so far and our aim is to achieve full hundred per cent.”
The Rupay cards have been issued to more than 10 crore beneficiaries who will get a benefit of personal accidental insurance of Rs1.00 lac under the Yojana. In addition there is a life insurance cover of Rs30, 000 for eligible beneficiaries.
“The use of Rupay cards at other access points will help in reduction in cash transactions and making them digital which will move the economy towards a less cash society,” Finance Minister said. The proposal to provide overdraft facility in such accounts would also act as micro finance and prevent people from taking loans at exorbitant rates from money lenders.
Jaitley said that the Yojana is a game changer for the economy as it has provided the platform for Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) which, in turn, will help in plugging leakages in subsidies and thereby provide savings to the exchequer.
Under the PAHAl scheme which is the Direct Benefits Transfer in lPG subsidy, he said that an amount of Rs1,757 crore has been transferred to the beneficiary accounts through the banking network since 15th November, 2014. He further said that so far 19 schemes out of 35 DBT schemes have been rolled-out across the country, including MGNREGS in 300 districts.