Jan Dhan at Three: Need for linking financial inclusion to socioeconomic development

Abstract

Given that Indians belong to varied socioeconomic background, there should be flexibility in financial schemes designed for different segments of the unbanked population. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship financial scheme – has led to the opening of nearly 29.6 crore accounts in the last three years, 17.7 crore of which are in rural areas and 11.9 crore in urban areas. The number of RuPay cards has increased to 22.7 crore. The progress has been impressive.

Zero balance accounts have declined from 76.8% in September 2014 to 21.4% by August 23, 2017. The number of accounts opened by women are 14.5 crore. The amount of money in these accounts is Rs 65,900 crore, implying an average of Rs 2,234 in each account as compared to Rs 837 in January 2015. The largest number of accounts, 4.6 crore, have been opened in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 3.1 crore accounts in Bihar and 2.8 crore in West Bengal.

The public sector banks did the herculean task, with State Bank of India accounting for more than ten crore accounts, followed by Bank of Baroda with 2.1 crore accounts. This scheme is a grand success taking into account the fact that total accounts in the banking sector in March 2014 – before the launch of PMJDY – were just about 125 crore. Read more at: https://thewire.in/economy/jan-dhan-three-need-linking-financial-inclusion-socioeconomic-development