A bank account for every household, financial inclusion in India

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana created a Guinness World Records for 'most bank accounts opened in 1 week'

In January this year, the government of India claimed that almost 99 per cent of Indian households now have a bank account. Further, many beneficiaries of government welfare schemes now have access to direct transfer benefit, thanks to inclusion in the financial sector and banking services.

In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a scheme aimed at financial inclusion. On the day of its implementation,15 million bank accounts were opened under this scheme. The BJP in January this year claimed that 99.99 per cent of Indian households now have a bank account but some discrepancies were noticed in the numbers later. However, after the introduction of the scheme, lakhs of Indians who had no bank accounts were absorbed into the financial sector.

The scheme created a Guinness World Records. A certificate said, "The most bank accounts opened in 1 week as a part of financial inclusion campaign is 18,096,130 and was achieved by Banks in India from 23 to 29 August 2014". As of July 2017, 29.33 crore bank accounts have been opened. The total savings in the bank accounts are Rs 64,926.37 crore.

The Narendra Modi government declared that every household having at least one bank account was a national priority. The scheme was started with a target to provide 'universal and clear access to banking facilities' starting with "Basic Banking Accounts" with an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000 after six months and RuPay Debit card with inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh and RuPay Kisan Card.

From LGP subsidy to farm loan waiver, bank accounts have come as a blessing to Indians, especially in the rural setup.

OneIndia News