Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is the national mission for the financial inclusion of poor people which aims at giving them universal access to financial services like banking, deposit account, remittance, pensions etc. It was launched on August 28, 2014. Now, after 9 years, the Jan-Dhan accounts have crossed the 50 crore mark, with 56 per cent of the accounts belonging to women, Finance Ministry said on Friday.

According to the statement released by the Central government, 67 per cent of these accounts have been opened in rural and semi-urban areas. The deposits in these accounts are above Rs 2.03 lakh crore (trillion) and about 34 crore RuPay cards have been allotted to the owners of these accounts. The cards are given to the holders free of cost.

As per the Finance Ministry, the average balance in the PMJDY accounts is Rs 4,076 and more than 5.5 crore accounts under this scheme are receiving Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) benefits. In this scheme, the subsidy is directly transferred to the accounts of the citizens who are living below the poverty line.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) shared this update through their official Twitter handle with the attachment of the statement by the Finance Ministry of India.

Number of Jan Dhan Accounts Cross 50 Crore56% Accounts Belong To Women and 67% Accounts Opened In Rural / Semi-urban Areas Read here: https://t.co/bxLAOmQZGG@FinMinIndia — PIB India (@PIB_India) August 18, 2023

In the statement, the ministry said that the PMJDY scheme has been successfully changing the financial landscape of the country while bringing saturation in the bank accounts for adults. It calls technology, collaboration and innovation the key factors in changing the image of the formal banking system in India.

PMJDY offers numerous advantages to the account holders if applied under this scheme. It includes a bank account without the requirement of a minimum balance, free-of-cost RuPay debit cards and an overdraft facility of up to Rs 10,000. Under this credit facility, the account holder can withdraw the funds from their current or savings account even if their bank balance is zero. It is a short-time loan which must be paid back by the lender.

Indian PM Narendra Modi announced this scheme on August 15 from the Red Fort in 2014. While launching the programme on August 28, PM Modi described the day as a festival for the liberation of the poor from a vicious cycle.