Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana: Benefits, Eligibility, Steps To Apply & More To Know

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is one of the biggest financial involvement by the government. It was launched on 28th August 2014, at the time of addressing the scheme he described the scheme as a festival for the citizens of India.

About the scheme

The scheme was launched 9 years ago in India. This scheme focused on the growth of all sectors of people and helped them improve economic development. The report of the Ministry of Finance revealed that more than 51.93 crores have benefited from the scheme among which 56% of holders are women and 67% of account holders are from rural and semi-rural areas. Rs.222,582.26 Crore is reported in the accounts of beneficiary accounts under this scheme. Since the program's launch, more than 50 crore beneficiaries have applied for the scheme.

Currently, there are Rs. 2,03,505 crore in total deposit balances under PMJDY Accounts. The PMJDY account count climbed 3.4 times between March 2015 and August 16, 2023, reaching 50.09 crore from from 14.72 crore. To date, 33.98 crore RuPay cards have been provided to PMJDY account holders, according to the Ministry of Finance. The accomplishments accomplished under PMJDY were also acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records. It issued a certificate saying that the Department of Financial Services, Government of India, has, between August 23 and August 29, 2014, established the most bank accounts in a single week as part of the Financial Inclusion Campaign comprising 18,096,130 accounts.

Objective of the scheme

The most important objective due to which this scheme was introduced is to give accessibility of financial services and aid to people in need. Furthermore, the scheme provides and introduces technology to widen the knowledge of lower financial services.

Eligibility

• The person must be an Indian citizen.
• The person must be the head of the family or the earning member of the family.
• The person must be of age 18-59.
• The beneficiary must have a RuPay Card or Biometric card linked to the bank.
• Only one person in a family can have the provided services.
• The account of the beneficiary can be any bank in India even small account holders are eligible for this scheme.

Advantages of the scheme

• In case the person does not have a bank account, a basic bank account will be opened for them.
• There is no need to check the minimum balance issue in the PMJDY account.
• A person can check for interest income according to money deposited in the PMJDY account.
• An overdraft facility is given to the account holders of PMJDY in which they get access to Rs.10,000.
• A person with a RuPay card linked with a PMJDY account can avail of the benefit of Rs.1 lakh as accident insurance.
• Easy transaction of money across India.
• Accounts in PMJDY are started with a zero balance. However, the account user must meet any minimum balance requirements set by the bank in order to get a cheque book.

Those who are not eligible for this scheme

• Central government and State government employees and families even if the person is retired.
• The person who is a taxpayer in India is unable to avail of the scheme.
• The person who is included in the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana.
• An account holder who has life cover in any other scheme is not eligible.

Documents Required To Apply For PMJDY

• Aadhaar Card/Aadhaar Number
• Self-certification of current address in case of current address change.
• Any one of the following Officially Valid Documents (OVD) is needed if Aadhaar is not available: Voter ID Card, Driving License, PAN Card, Passport, and NREGA Card. These documents can be used as "Proof of Identity and Address" if they contain your address proof.
• If an individual fails to have any of the aforementioned "officially valid documents," but their eligibility is still considered "low risk" by the banks, they can still create a bank account by presenting any of the following documents: Identity card with the applicant's photo issued by the Central or State Government, Statutory/Regulatory Authorities, Public Sector Undertakings, Scheduled Commercial Banks, and Public Financial Institutions; also, a letter issued by a gazette officer, with a duly attested photograph of the person.

How To Apply For Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)?

Interested candidates can download the PMJDY form by visiting this link: https://pmjdy.gov.in › files › forms. They must duly file the form with the required credentials and details and submit to their respective bank branch by self-attesting the copy. The owner of a Jan Dhan Account is eligible for passbooks, debit cards, online banking, and mobile banking. You have access to all of these channels for checking your balance too.

In case of any assistance, accountholders can call 011-23361571,011-23748738 or write a letter to this address: Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Room No. 106, 2nd Floor, JeevanDeep Building, Parliament Street, New Delhi - 110001.