Under the Government’s initiative of National Mission for Financial Inclusion, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme was launched.
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana is a government scheme introduced by the government of India to assist underprivileged and needy sections of our society with simple access to financial services such as remittance, credit, insurance, pension, savings, and deposit accounts.
The Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi introduced the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme to promote banking and financial literacy among the lower-income group of individuals. The Government wanted to provide the poor population with a simple bank account for organized savings, access to credit facilities, insurance benefits and pension. With the advent of the scheme, the Government wanted every Indian household to have a bank account in their name. Moreover, the account was launched to provide a platform through which other Government welfare schemes could also be launched.
Under the PMJDY scheme, individuals can open a Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBD) in their name. The bank account can be opened with any bank in India or through Bank Mitra outlets. The bank account under the PMJDY scheme can be opened by individuals who have no bank account in their name.
The salient features of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana scheme are mentioned below –
|
S.No. |
Features |
Details |
|
1. |
No. of Accounts |
One account is allowed for one person having no bank account in his/her name |
|
2. |
Interest Rate |
Based upon the savings account interest rate offered by the bank |
|
3. |
Minimum Balance |
No minimum balance is required to be maintained in the account. The account would be operable even when there is a zero balance in it |
|
4. |
Interest Earned |
The amount which is deposited into the account earns an interest rate |
|
5. |
RuPay Debit Card |
A RuPay debit card is offered with the account in the name of the account holder |
|
7. |
Accident Insurance Cover |
An Accident Insurance Cover is available with the debit card offered to the account holder. For accounts opened before 28th August 2018, the insurance cover is for Rs.1 lakh and for accounts opened thereafter, the cover has been increased to Rs.2 lakhs |
|
8. |
Overdraft Facility |
Eligible account holders can avail of an overdraft facility of up to Rs.10,000 |
To open a PM Jan Dhan Yojana account, you can approach any bank and fill up an application form for account opening. Individuals aged 10 years and above can open a PMJDY account.
If you have an Aadhaar Card, no other document is needed to open the account. You can submit the Aadhaar card which would serve as identity proof, age proof and address proof and open the account. If the address mentioned in the Aadhaar card has changed, you can provide a self-certified copy of the new address and it would be sufficient.
If you don’t have an Aadhaar card, then you have to submit any one of the following Officially Valid Documents (OVD) –
If any of the OVD contains your address, it would also serve as your address and identity proof.
If you don’t have an Aadhaar Card as well as any of the above-mentioned OVDs, you can still open a PMJDY account if the bank considers you to be a low-risk individual. For opening the account in this case you would have to submit any of the following documents–
When an individual wants to open a PMJDY account, he or she needs to fit into the following criteria:
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana account provides many benefits to account holders. Some of these benefits include the following –
The PMJDY scheme has seen popularity as it has brought many households under the ambit of banking. Now, the scheme has shifted its focus from even unbanked households to every unbanked individual motivating every individual to open a PMJDY account in his/her name.
The Government launched the Jan Dhan Darshak App for individuals interested in the PMJDY scheme. This application allows individuals to locate the nearest bank branches, post offices, ATMs or Bank Mitras.
Moreover, the Government is also using the application to identify villages where banking touchpoints are not available so that remote villages can also be offered banking facilities for their financial literacy and development.