New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS) The total number of PM Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) bank accounts for the poor across the country have crossed the 59 crore mark with deposits of Rs 3.17 lakh crore as the scheme completes 12 years since its launch on August 28, 2014, according to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry on Thursday.
Under PMJDY, 78 per cent of the accounts have been opened in rural or semi-urban areas, and approximately 56 per cent of accounts are owned by women, depicting the priority of the scheme, which was to bring the underprivileged living in far-flung areas of the country into the formal financial sector, the statement said.
The average deposit per account is Rs 5,356 as on August 19, 2026. The average deposit per account has increased 3.4 times in the last 12 years which is another indication of the increased usage of accounts and the inculcation of saving habits among account holders.
Besides, each account comes with a free RuPay debit card, offering an accident insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh, encouraging digital transactions and financial security. Account holders are also eligible for an overdraft facility of up to Rs 10,000, providing a safety net during emergencies.
The delivery of financial services to the poorest of the poor has been made possible without delay or the involvement of middlemen, the statement observes.
Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said, PMJDY ensures that every unbanked adult has access to a basic bank account — with no minimum balance requirement and no maintenance charges. It has empowered millions, particularly the marginalised sections, to access banking and financial services to improve their socio-economic conditions.
“Account ownership has enabled the common man to have insurance and pension coverage. Through relentless saturation drives across every state and district, we have moved towards near-universal coverage of bank accounts and steadily widened the reach of insurance and pension schemes to those who need them most,” he said.
The Jan-Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity, with PMJDY at its core, has proven to be a diversion-proof mechanism for the direct delivery of financial assistance. Through JAM, the government has successfully transferred welfare benefits directly into the bank accounts of the underprivileged, eliminating intermediaries and delays, the official statement added.
–IANS
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