India to soon be among top 3 economic powers: Rajnath

Painting a rosy picture of Indian economy, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that India would be among the top three economic powers of the world in coming days after the USA and China.

“The world is bound to bow to the economic prowess of India. At present India is among the top 10 countries of the world but the days are not very far when it will be among the top three economic powers of the world. We will soon become an economic super power,” Singh said while launching the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) here on Thursday.

He said the scheme would add a golden chapter in the annals of India as it will give economic power to a man who struggles to open a bank account. 

“This scheme will cut the middle men from the chain of government subsidies and the benefits would reach the beneficiary directly,” he added.The PMJDY was launched nation-wide in New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while in Uttar Pradesh, six senior ministers — Kalraj Mishra in Varanasi, Gen (Retd) VK Singh in Kanpur, Manoj Sinha in Allahabad, Sanjeev Baliayan in Agra, Santosh Gangwar in Bareilly and Rajnath Singh in lucknow — launched the scheme simultaneously. 

Under this scheme, people will be asked to open zero balance savings bank accounts.“The days are not far when all the people of this country will have their own bank accounts. Under this scheme, the account holder will get Rs 1 lakh accidental insurance and if he operates the account for six month, the account holder will also get an overdraft of Rs 5,000. He/she will also get Rupay Debit Card for transaction in ATM,” Singh said.

The scheme was announced by the Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15.Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan, who also spoke on this occasion, said the state Government was committed to implement the scheme in letter and spirit because it was backward in the parlance of banking.

“The Credit Deposit Ratio is very low as compared to southern states. Though in last year it has increased from 40 to almost 52, still it is less than the national average. In many districts like Mau, Jaunpur and Azamgarh, the CDR is as low as 27 per cent,” Ranjan said, adding that the state Government would do its best to implement the PMJDY.