In midst of farmer’s protest, the finance ministry has recently informed that more than 41 crore people benefitted from the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a flagship programme Prime Minister Modi led BJP government to promote financial inclusion in the country.
The ministry in a tweet said that zero balance accounts have significantly declined from 58 per cent in 2015 to 7.5 per cent in 2015.
The scheme was first announced in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first Independence Day address and launched in the same year on August 28. As per reports, till now the total number of Jan Dhan accounts stood at 41.6 crore approximately.
As per the 2016 reports of Indian Express, it has revealed that bank officials were depositing one-rupee from their own pockets or from allowances kept for office maintenance to reduce the branch's tally of zero-balance accounts.
On the other hand, in 2018, many features and benefits were added to the scheme and the government launched PMJDY 2.0. Under this version, the government decided to shift focus from 'Every Household' to 'Every Unbanked Adult' and free accidental insurance cover on RuPay cards doubled to ₹2 lakh for PMJDY accounts opened after August 28, 2018. At the same time Overdraft (OD) limit too doubled to ₹10,000 and facility of OD up to ₹2,000 without conditions was brought in.
As per the RBI guidelines, a Jan Dhan account is deemed as inoperative if there are no customer induced transactions in the account for over two years.
How to convert your old account into a Jan Dhan account?
Step 1: Go to the bank branch.
Step 2: Then, fill a form & apply for RuPay card.
Step 3: Once you have filled the form, submit it to the bank.
Step 4: After this, your bank account will be converted into Jan Dhan account.
What are the benefits of Jan Dhan account?
The Jan Dhan account comes with huge benefits for its women beneficiaries:
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Interest is available on deposits in Jan Dhan account.
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The beneficiaries get facility of free mobile banking with the account.
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Thirdly, the Jan Dhan account holders can withdraw up to Rs 10,000 from their account by overdraft. However, this facility is available only after proper maintenance of Jan Dhan account for few months.
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The PMJDY will provide you accidental insurance cover up to Rs 2 lakh.
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Also, life cover up to Rs 30,000, which is available on completion of eligibility conditions on the death of the beneficiary are also given.
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The beneficiaries can easily buy insurance, & pension products through Jan Dhan account.
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It is to be noted that, if there is a PMJDY account, then accounts will be opened for pension in schemes example- PM Kisan SammanNidhi Yojana and Shram Yogi Maan Dhan.
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There is no requirement to maintain minimum balance in the PMJDY account. But, if you want the facility of chequebook then you will have to maintain minimum balance.
How to open PMJDY new account?
The ones who want to open Jan Dhan account, must visit their nearest bank. There, Jan Dhan account form has to be filled. All the details have to be filled such as his name, mobile number, bank branch name, applicant's address, nominee, business / employment & annual income and number of dependents, SSA code or ward number, village code or town code etc.
Important Documents:
Certain important documents such as passport, driving license, PAN card number, Voter ID card issued by Election Commission, MNREGA job cord with signature of state government official are required to open Jan Dhan account.
