Modi govt's schemes benefitted poor families: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, Nov 12: India Banking Conclave (IBC) 2019 was held in New Delhi from Nov (12, 13) 2019) organised by Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) along with its knowledge partner and government Think Tank, NITI Aayog. The conclave was aimed at making India's banking sector more adaptable to face multiple future challenges in the coming years.

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday inaugurated two day India Banking Conclave event organised by CEPR. Kshetra Sanghchalak Dr Bhagwati Prasad was also present on the occasion. The CEPR is responsible for advising the Central Government on economic matters.

On 26 May 2014, from Pessimism to Optimism:

While addressing the gathering, Union Minister Jitendra Singh during the event said,'If we wind the clock back to 2014, on May 26, when BJP came into power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for the first time, promised many schemes for poor, higher-paying new jobs, greater business investment opportunities, higher rates of privatisation and less corruption. However, one of the good examples for this are - Jan Dhan Yojana that has ensured near-total financial inclusion.

The Narendra Modi government had launched the Jan Dhan scheme in August 2014, three months after coming to power. It was launched to provide universal access to banking facilities to all Indian households. It also increased bank's penetration in the country. The Jan Dhan bank accounts brought some associated benefits for the poor.

In the past five and half years, the BJP government has claimed that they have lowered the burden on the poor considerably with these number of schemes.

Jan Dhan scheme, which was once criticised for zero balance or no deposits in a large number of accounts, has been gradually changing the saving behaviour of poor and rural people in the country. The average deposit balance under Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has more than doubled since the launch of the scheme. There was a consistent rise in the account balance despite a slowdown.

Jitendra Singh also believes that India's dream of becoming a five trillion dollar economy started from Jan Dhan Yojana.

Minimum pension scheme benefited every poor:

Jitendra Singh also said minimum guaranteed pension will benefit 100 million people earning a monthly salary less than Rs 15,000. He also recalled the incident when an elderly woman from Chandigarh got the benefit of it, how she had thanked the government.

Singh also said that Modi government showed the way how society can be developed by changing the banking sector of the country. After that, many such schemes were tried to give Indians the courage in which they do not think of themselves as inferior.

Along with this, he also said that Swachh Bharat, Ujjawala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Mudra Yojana are many such schemes which the government launched for the poor and the backing sector played an important role.

About Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR):

The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) was founded in 1983 to enhance the quality of economic policy-making within Europe and beyond, by fostering high quality, policy-relevant economic research, and disseminating it widely to decision-makers in the public and private sectors.

Drawing together the expertise of its Research Fellows and Affiliates, CEPR initiates, funds and coordinates research activities and communicates the results quickly and effectively to decision-makers around the world. The Centre is an independent, non-profit organization and takes no institutional policy positions.