PM Jan Dhan Yojana sees record ₹50,000 crore surge in balance

PMJDY records highest-ever surge of ₹50,000 crores in account balance

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme has achieved a significant milestone in the financial year ending March 31, 2023. The basic bank accounts under the scheme have registered a record surge of ₹50,000 crores, with the total balance reaching ₹1.99 lakh crore, an increase from ₹1.49-lakh crore in the previous financial year. Additionally, there has been an addition of 5 crore new accounts under the scheme, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 48.65 crores.

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Public sector banks lead as key drivers of the PMJDY scheme

According to a senior SBI official, the significant increase in the total balance on a year-on-year basis indicates the growing use of these accounts for various purposes by both the government and beneficiaries. The public sector banks are the key drivers of the scheme, holding ₹1.55-lakh crore with them as deposits, followed by Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) with ₹38,832 crores. Private sector banks hold the remaining deposits.

The growth of the Jan Dhan scheme over the last five years has been significant, with almost a quarter of the present total balance coming in the year 2022-23. This development is believed to be driven by a healthy rural economy, which gained traction in the last financial year, according to a senior analyst with a private rating agency.

Jan Dhan scheme’s inbuilt insurance cover offers ₹1 lakh accident cover

Under the Jan Dhan scheme, the RuPay card comes with an inbuilt accident insurance cover of ₹1 lakh, valid for up to 90 days after the cardholder carries out a successful transaction at a merchant establishment, ATM, or e-commerce platform. However, the pace of issuing RuPay cards appears to have slowed down, with only 33 crore cards issued so far out of about 49 crore account holders. Additionally, about 8 percent of PMJDY accounts have zero balances, while the average balance is over ₹2,400, according to RBI data.