The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana PMJDY completes 11 years today. It is one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the world, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th August 2014 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. While launching the programme on 28th August 2014, the Prime Minister had described the occasion as a festival to celebrate the liberation of the poor from a vicious cycle.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion, which has an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion and provide banking services to all households in the country. The scheme ensures access to a range of financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, access to need-based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension.
In a social media post, while sharing the glimpses of the PM Jan Dhan Yojna, Prime Minister Modi highlighted how the scheme has transformed lives across India from financial exclusion to empowerment. He underlined that when the last mile is financially connected, the entire nation moves forward together, which has been achieved by the PM Jan Dhan Yojana. Mr Modi also said that the scheme has enhanced dignity and given people the power to script their own destiny.
On the occasion, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, in a message, said, PM Jan Dhan Yojna has been one of the major channels for delivering benefits under various schemes using Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), providing credit facilities, social security, and enhancing savings and investments. She highlighted that in the last 11 years, more than 56 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened, garnering a total deposit balance of 2.68 lakh crore rupees, while more than 38 crore free-of-cost RuPay cards have been issued, facilitating digital transactions.
The Finance Minister also noted that under the PM Jan Dhan Yojna, 67 per cent of the accounts are opened in rural or semi-urban areas, and 56 per cent of the accounts are opened by women, indicating how underprivileged individuals living in far-flung areas of the country have been brought into the formal financial sector.
