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The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) continues to elicit an enthusiastic response even after crossing the milestone of over 50 crore beneficiaries.
The total balance in the basic bank accounts of the Centre’s flagship financial inclusion grew by about ₹30,000 crore in the first half of the current financial year to reach ₹2.05 lakh crore as of October 4, 2023, as against ₹1.75 lakh crore in the comparable period of FY23, as per the latest government data.
The total number of beneficiaries increased by over 3.5 crore in the last one year, from 47 crore to 50.63 crore.
- Also Read: PMJDY accounts set to touch 50 crore mark
Growth trajectory
“The growth trend has almost been similar in the last three years in terms of new enrolments for the scheme. This is driven by increasing realisation of benefits of having a bank account and relentless efforts by the public sector banks,’‘ a senior official of the State Bank of India told businessline.
Public sector banks operate 40 crore of the total number of accounts with a balance of ₹1.60-lakh crore, while the rest is pooled in by regional rural banks, co-operative banks, and private sector banks.
According to a senior economist with a private sector bank, the trajectory of growth is interesting, especially immediately after Covid-19. “As against a steady increase of about 2.5 crore to 3 crore beneficiaries, there was a record increase during 2021-22,’‘ he said.
If H1 of these years is taken as a parameter, over a crore new accounts have been added between September 2021 and September 2022 as the government implemented some benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana through PMJDY accounts, especially for women.
According to bankers, interest in Jan Dhan enrolments is being driven by the linking of all government schemes and DBTs to bank accounts under PMJDY and also by the ease of opening and maintaining the accounts with no cost. The large fleet of 8.50 lakh Bank Mitras is also adding to its popularity.
However, there is a huge lag in the issue of RuPay ATM debit cards to the beneficiaries. Out of a total of 50.63 crore account holders, the cards have been issued only to 35 crore.
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