Boosting Jan Dhan account activity: Strategy for enhanced financial inclusion

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₹2.03 lakh crore as of 2023. The financial year 2023 saw the opening of 35.9 million new PMJDY accounts, a rise from 28.6 million in FY22 and slightly less than 38.7 million in FY21. Despite this remarkable surge, a large number of accounts remain inactive or face duplication, signaling the need for more robust financial literacy and engagement strategies.

Between 2014 and 2017, India saw a remarkable 26 percentage point increase in account ownership, largely due to PMJDY, compared to a global increase of 6.57 percentage points only during the same period. The Global Findex data from 2021 provides an insightful snapshot into India's evolving financial inclusion landscape, marked by significant digital adoption and changing saving and borrowing behaviors. According to Findex, India experienced a slight percentage decline in account ownership from 80% to 77% from 2017 to 2021, highlighting the need for another round of intensified financial inclusion efforts.

This period has also observed a concerning decrease in savings at financial institutions, which declined from 20% in 2017 to 13% in 2021 across all demographics. Comprehensive financial inclusion embodies the multifaceted access to financial services that cater to the varied needs of the population. India has the second largest number of the world's population lacking access to formal banking services, totaling 130 million, just next to China.

The mere existence of a bank account again does not guarantee financial inclusivity. A 2017 World Bank report highlighted that about 48% of bank accounts in India were inactive, underscoring the gap between account ownership and meaningful financial participation. The presence of dormant accounts and reluctance to engage fully