PM Jan Dhan Account Holders Cross 41 Crore Mark

On Tuesday, the Finance Ministry said that over 41 crore people benefited from the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a flagship scheme of the government to promote financial inclusion. As on 6 January 2021, the total number of Jan Dhan accounts stood at 41.6 crore.

"Govt. committed to #FinancialInclusion to all citizens. As on 6/1/21, #PMJDY accounts cross 41 Cr. and Zero Balance Accounts decline to 7.5% from 58% in March 2015. Clearly showing the use and adaption by every account holder," the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.

The Jan Dhan Yojana, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address in 2014, was launched on 28 August in the same year.

In 2018, the government launched PMJDY 2.0 with enhanced features and benefits. Under the new version, the government decided to shift focus from 'Every Household' to 'Every Unbanked Adult' and free accidental insurance cover on RuPay cards doubled to Rs 2 lakh for PMJDY accounts opened after 28 August 2018.

At the same time Overdraft (OD) limit too doubled to Rs 10,000 and facility of OD up to Rs 2,000 without conditions was brought in.

As per extant RBI guidelines, a PMJDY account is treated as inoperative if there are no customer induced transactions in the account for over a period of two years.

In another tweet, the Finance Ministry said banks have issued 1.8 crore Kisan Credit Card (KCC) with the credit limit of 1.68 lakh crore as on 8 January 2021.