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Deposits under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) declined to ₹63,885 crore as on March 8, 2017 from the demonetisation peak of ₹74,600 crore as on December 7, 2016. This comes in the wake of the Reserve Bank of India gradually lifting cash-withdrawal limits in the post-demonetisation period.
Deposits as on March 8, however, were still 40 per cent higher over the level of November 9, 2016 (at ₹45,640 crore), when the Reserve Bank of India, at the government’s behest, set in motion the process for scrapping the specified banknotes (₹500 and ₹1,000).
The specified banknotes, which constituted 86.9 per cent of the value of total currency in circulation in the country and were valued at ₹15.4 lakh crore, were scrapped over 50-odd days up to December 30, 2016.
As on March 8, 2017, the number of PMJDY accounts stood at 27.97 crore. According to a RBI report, post-demonetisation, 2.33 crore new accounts were opened under the PMJDY, bulk of which (80 per cent) were with public sector banks. Of the new Jan Dhan accounts opened, 53.6 per cent were in urban areas and 46.4 per cent in rural areas. “As there were reports regarding the use of these accounts to convert black money into white, the government issued a warning against the misuse of such accounts... The government also capped deposits into PMJDY accounts at ₹50,000 on November 15, 2016,” said the RBI’s report on macroeconomic impact of demonetisation.
Bankers attribute the decline in PMJDY deposits to the phased removal of cash withdrawal restrictions with effect from January 1, 2017. With effect from March 13, 2017, all limits on cash withdrawals from savings bank accounts have been removed.
As on March 8, 2017, the percentage of zero balance accounts stood at 23.94 per cent (28 per cent as on March 9, 2016). The number of RuPay cards issued and Aadhaar-seeded accounts stood at 21.85 crore (17.56 crore) and 17.57 crore (9.32 crore), respectively.
PMJDY was launched in 2014 to ensure access to various financial services, such as availability of basic savings bank accounts, access to need-based credit, remittance facility, insurance and pension to the excluded sections — weaker sections and low income groups. This deep penetration at affordable cost is possible only with effective use of technology.
Beneficiaries of PMJDY receive RuPay debit cards with in-built accident insurance cover of ₹1 lakh. The Yojana also envisages channelling all government benefits (from the Centre/ States/ local bodies) to the beneficiary accounts and pushing the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme of the Union Government.
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