“Continuation of PMJDY beyond 2018 saw a marked shift in approach to meet challenges and requirements of the emerging financial inclusion landscape in the country. There has been a shift in focus from ‘every household’ to ‘every adult’, with added emphasis on usage of accounts by enhancing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) flows through these accounts, promoting digital payments through the use of RuPay cards,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on the completion of eight years of the landmark scheme.
Data showed that PMJDY accounts have grown three-fold from 14.7 crore in March 2015 to 46.3 crore as on August 10. In August ’22, out of total 46.3 crore PMJDY accounts, 37.6 crore (81.2%) are operative and only 8.2% of PMJDY accounts are zero-balance accounts. Total deposit balances under PMJDY accounts stand at Rs 1,73,954 crore and deposits have increased about 7.6 times with increase in accounts 2.6 times (August 2022 / August 2015). Average deposit per account is Rs 3,761 and it has increased over 2.9 times over August 2015.
“Financial inclusion needs policy-led intervention based on an architecture linked to suitable financial products, information and communication technologies and data infrastructure. The country has adopted this strategy since the launch of PMJDY to optimise the intended benefits of the scheme for the people of the country,” said Sitharaman.
The total RuPay cards issued to PMJDY account holders were 31.9 crore and the number of cards and their usage has increased over time, data showed. About 5.4 crore PMJDY account holders receive direct benefit transfer (DBT) from the government under various schemes. To ensure that the eligible beneficiaries receive their DBT on time, the department takes active role in identification of avoidable reasons for DBT failures in consultation with DBT Mission, NPCI, banks and various other ministries.
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