18 million bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana; 7000 camps held

Updated: Saturday, August 30, 2014, 17:54 [IST]

The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojna, an ambitious programme on Financial Inclusion to cover about 7.5 crore unbanked households launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 28, saw more than 18 million accounts being opened in less than 2 days. The government has set a target of opening 7.5 crore bank accounts by Jan 26, 2015, which should be a record in itself.

The government has decided that henceforth, banks will be holding such camps on weekly basis, from 8 am to 8 pm on all Saturdays so that the target of covering unbanked households is achieved well in time.

For more on what the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana is click here

Under the scheme, a person from an unbanked household, opening an account will get a RuPay debit card with a Rs. 1 lakh accident insurance cover. An additional Rs. 30,000 life insurance cover for the accounts opened up to 26th January, 2015 was also announced by Hon'ble Prime Minister. The modalities of this additional life cover are being worked out by the Department of Financial Services.

Beneficiaries, who already have a bank account, are also eligible to take benefits of accident insurance of Rs. 1 lakh and life insurance of Rs. 30,000 under this scheme by getting a RuPay card issued from their bank branch before 26th January, 2015.

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