Sitharaman describes Jan Dhan scheme as major step in financial inclusion

New Delhi, Aug 29 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman praised Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) as a significant step toward financial inclusion, saying that the success of the program can be judged by the fact that 46 million bank accounts with an account balance of 1.74 lakh crore have been established.

1.74 lakh crore were opened under the program in the past eight yearsIn a statement released to mark the occasion of the conclusion of 8 years of the program on Sunday the Finance Minister stated that the PMJDY has a coverage expansion of 70% in semi-urban and rural areas.In addition it has 56 percent of women who are account holders, Finance Minister said.

The scheme was put into implementation on August 28, 2014 "Continuation of the scheme beyond 2018 witnessed a significant shift in the approach to meet the needs and challenges of the emerging the financial inclusion environment in the nation.There is an evolution in the focus from every household to "every adult" with an increased emphasis on the use of accounts by increasing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) flows through these accounts, and promoting digital payments by making use of RuPay cards, cards, etc," Sitharaman was quoted in the statement.in the announcement.

The Finance Minister also stated that the Jan Dhan Aadhar-Mobile pipeline has allowed immediate direct benefit transfer (DBT) under various welfare programs of the government to beneficiaries who are eligible "The benefit of the structure developed under the financial inclusion ecosystem came in handy in the Covid-19 pandemic.it allowed direct income support to farmers who were receiving PM-KISAN, and transfer of ex-gratia cash payments to women Jan Dhan account holders under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package in an effortless and time-bound way," she added.ans/ .