PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)
Context: After a decade, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has reached 53.13 crore accounts, with 55.6% held by women and 66.6% in rural and semi-urban areas.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
- About: PMJDY is National Mission for Financial Inclusion named as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner.
- Announced on: 15th August 2014
- Implementation of the Scheme:
o Phase I: 15 August 2014 - 14 August 2015.
o Phase II: 15 August 2015 - 14 August 2018.
o Phase III: beyond 14 August 2018.
- Objectives:
o Ensure access of financial products & services at an affordable cost
o Use of technology to lower cost & widen reach
- Features of the Scheme:
o PMJDY provides one basic bank account for every unbanked adult. For this account, there is no need to maintain any balance and also no charges are levied on this account.
o In the account, a free-of-cost RuPay Debit card with in-built accident insurance cover of Rs. 2 lakh is also provided to promote digital transactions.
o PMJDY account holders are also eligible for getting an overdraft of up to Rs. 10,000 to cover exigencies.
