PMJDY accounts exceed 500 million, deposits at a whopping ₹2.03 trillion

livemint.com:

Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the government's financial inclusion programme, crossed 500 million in August, said Vivek Joshi, secretary-financial services, Ministry of Finance. The scheme, launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enable financial inclusion, completes nine years on 28 August 2023. As of 16 August, Joshi said, the total number of PMJDY accounts stood at 500 million, up from 147.2 million at the end of March 2015.

At the end of March 2023, the total number of PMJDY accounts stood at 486.5 million. Meanwhile, total deposits in these accounts combined stood at a ₹ 2.03 trillion on 16 August, up from ₹15,670 crore at the end of March 2015. At the end of March 2023, deposits under PMJDY stood at ₹1.98 trillion, he added.

Average deposits in Jan Dhan accounts increased to ₹4,063 as of 16 August, up from ₹1,065 at the end of March 2015. Similarly, the number of Rupay debit cards issued for PMJDY accounts increased to 339.8 million as of 16 August, from 131.5 million at the end of March 2015. The PMJDY scheme is responsible for providing basic banking facilities to the underprivileged, catalysing the government’s mission for financial inclusion.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance, of the total Jan Dhan accounts, 56% belong to women and 67% accounts have been opened in rural/semi-urban areas. "The PMJDY scheme has been successful in changing the financial landscape of the country and has brought near saturation in bank accounts for adults," the finance ministry had said in a statement, earlier this month. "The success of PMJDY lies in the comprehensive nature of the scheme with an attempt to connect the last mile with the formal banking system through technology, collaboration and innovation," it had