Public sector banks top Jan Dhan score at halftime

With 70,000 camps all over the country on the first day of its launch on August 28, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was successful in opening 1.84 crore accounts.

The scheme, announced on August 15 by Prime Minister Narendra Modihas a scheduled completion date of January 26.

By September 25, the number had crossed 5 crore accounts. (Of them, 2.95 crore accounts were reported from rural areas.) The next 1 crore accounts were added by September 15, and 7 crore accounts were opened by November 5.

So at halftime now, the scores differ for different banks on different parameters.

Public sector banks (PSBs) are racing ahead in the opening of accounts under the scheme.

Of the 7.91 crore total accounts opened till November 22, the PSBs accounted for 6.36 crore. This was followed by regional rural banks sponsored by PSBs) at 1.34 crore accounts. Private sector banks have so far opened 21.33 lakh accounts.

Among public sector banks, State Bank of India (SBI) led the table with 1.44 crore accounts. Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank (PNB) opened 42.57 lakh, 41.92 lakh and 40.8 lakh accounts, respectively. The latest entry in the banking space, the Bharatiya Mahila Bank opened 45,000 accounts.

Bankers in rural areas are leading the race by opening 4.7 crore accounts till November 22 as against their counterparts in urban areas with 3.21 crore accounts.

As of November 22, the accounts had a balance of ₹6,224 crore. While PNB had about ₹775 crore, SBI had about ₹135 crore and Corporation Bank managed ₹216 crore.

However, nearly 75 per cent of the accounts opened under the scheme have a zero balance. Of the 7.91 crore accounts, 5.94 crore had zero balance.

Seeding or linking of Aadhaar numbers with the bank accounts will play an important role in making PMJDY operational, as the Government intends to route payment of subsidies under various government schemes through Aadhaar-enabled accounts in the future.

Seeding was the highest in Telangana with 71.75 per cent as on November 19.

The Aadhaar seeding was below 60 per cent in Goa and Puducherry, and below 50 per cent in Kerala. These States are reported to have achieved 100 per cent coverage in opening of accounts.

One of the main components of the scheme is the RuPay debit cards to all the account holders, including an accident cover of ₹1 lakh. Nearly 60 per cent of those enrolled have been given RuPay cards.

PSBs issued cards to 71 per cent of accounts whereas RRBs could issue cards to 14 per cent of account holders. Private sector banks issued RuPay cards to 51 per cent account holders.

When asked about the poor participation by private sector banks in various schemes launched by the government, an employee of a bank in a rural area said PSBs and RRBs are like buses of state road transport corporations.

They have to operate buses even if there is no business in a particular route. However, private sector banks are like luxury buses owned by private operators that operate only on profitable routes.

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