New Delhi: On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced ambitious plans to expand the programmer’s reach. The government aims to add another 30 million underprivileged citizens to the pool of over 531 million active bank accounts under this world-leading financial inclusion initiative.
The PMJDY, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 28, 2014, initially targeted universal financial inclusion by providing at least one basic bank account per household. As the scheme enters its next decade, the focus has shifted from ensuring coverage for every household to reaching every unbanked adult in the country. Sitharaman highlighted that this shift reflects a broader effort to include more individuals in the financial system and achieve full saturation of the programme.
The PMJDY has achieved significant milestones since its inception. According to official data as of August 14, 2024, the number of PMJDY accounts has surged from 147.20 million in March 2015 to 531.30 million. The total deposits in these accounts have also increased substantially, rising from ₹15,670 crore in March 2015 to over ₹2.31 lakh crore as of August 2024. The average balance in these accounts has grown from ₹1,065 to ₹4,352 over the same period, with approximately 80% of the accounts now being operational.
Women account holders represent a significant portion of the scheme’s beneficiaries, with 295.60 million (55.6% of the total accounts) being women. The programme has successfully extended banking access to nearly 99.95% of inhabited villages, ensuring that banking facilities are available within a 5km radius through various touchpoints such as bank branches, ATMs, and banking correspondents.
Jan-Dhan accounts are basic no-frills accounts with no minimum balance requirement. They come with a free RuPay debit card, which includes an accident insurance cover of ₹2 lakh, and access to an overdraft facility of up to ₹10,000, subject to eligibility conditions. There are no charges for opening or maintaining these accounts, making them highly accessible to low-income individuals.
The PMJDY forms the foundation of the Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile (JAM) Trinity, a framework that facilitates direct transfer of benefits and subsidies to beneficiaries’ bank accounts, thus reducing the role of middlemen. This framework has significantly boosted the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme, making it more comprehensive and efficient.
The success of the PMJDY and the JAM Trinity has been recognized globally. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI), built on the India Stack, which includes comprehensive systems for digital identity, payment, and data management. The World Bank’s G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion document acknowledged the transformative impact of India’s DPIs, noting that India achieved in six years what would have taken decades elsewhere.
In the past decade, India has developed one of the world’s largest digital government-to-person (G2P) architectures. This infrastructure has enabled transfers amounting to approximately $361 billion directly to beneficiaries through 53 central government ministries and 312 key schemes.
The government’s plan to include an additional 30 million individuals in the PMJDY underscores its commitment to expanding financial inclusion and ensuring that every adult in the country has access to banking services. As the programme continues to evolve, its focus on reaching unbanked adults and leveraging digital infrastructure will likely further enhance financial accessibility and inclusion across India.