- Recently, Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY)- National Mission for Financial Inclusion, completed eight years of successful implementation.
- More than 46.25 crore beneficiaries banked under PMJDY since inception, amounting to Rs. 1,73,954 crores.
Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY)
- Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY) is the National Mission for Financial Inclusion.
- It ensures access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner.
- PMJDY has been the foundation stone for people-centric economic initiatives. Whether it is Direct Benefit Transer (DBT), Covid-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), life and health insurance cover, the first step of all these initiatives is to provide every adult with a bank account, which PMJDY has nearly completed.
Objectives:
- Ensure access to financial products & services at an affordable cost.
- Use of technology to lower cost & widen reach.Â
Financial Inclusion
- Financial inclusion is defined as the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low-income groups at an affordable cost.
- In a diverse country like India, financial inclusion is a critical part of the development process. Since independence, the combined efforts of successive governments, regulatory institutions, and civil society have helped in increasing the financial-inclusion net in the country.
- Being able to have access to a transaction account is a first step toward broader financial inclusion since a transaction account allows people to store money, and send and receive payments.
- A transaction account serves as a gateway to other financial services.
Way Forward
- There must be an endeavour to ensure coverage of PMJDY account holders under micro insurance schemes.
- Eligible PMJDY accountholders will be sought to be covered under PMJJBY and PMSBY. Banks have already been communicated about the same.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT