New Delhi:

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which completed ten years of its implementation on Wednesday has had a profound impact on every corner of the country.

The scheme launched in 2014, has proven to be the foundation stone in bringing over 80 per cent of Indian women under the ambit of financial inclusion. A significant boost in the bank account ownership of women in a decade, it has gone up from just 26 per cent in 2011 to 78 per cent in 2021.

Out of the total 53.13 crore Jan Dhan accounts over 30 crore are women’s accounts. Over 35 crore of the Jan Dhan account hail from rural or semi-urban areas. PM Jan Dhana Yojana has diminished the rural-urban divide in terms of bank accounts. The percentage of households that have a bank account or a post office account is now almost the same in urban and rural areas, 95 per cent vs 96 per cent respectively.

PM Jan Dhan Yojana has also bridged the gender gap in access to financial services. The gender gap in accessing financial services was 20 per cent in 2011, and it has been reduced to 6 per cent in 2017 which was less than the Global gap of 9 per cent.

PMJDY has other benefits as well in terms of financial inclusion. As of August 2024, over 36.13 crores of RuPay debit cards are issued without any cost to Jan Dhan account holders. The RuPay debit card is free of cost, it gives an insurance benefit of Rs 2 lakh along with an overdraft facility of up to Rs 10,000 to every cardholder.

The government’s focus on Digital Public infrastructure along with the trinity of Aadhar cards, mobile penetration and Jan Dhan accounts, the JAM trinity has propelled the financial inclusion rate from 25 per cent in 2008 to over 80 per cent of adults in the last 6 years.

PMJDY has been the foundation stone for many more people-centric economic initiatives. Whether it is direct benefit transfers, COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, or life and health insurance coverage.

An SBI report in 2021 observed that states with higher PMJDY account balances saw a drop in crime rates and reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption, highlighting the program’s positive social impact.

The Jan Dhan Yojana has garnered global praise for its transformative impact on financial inclusion in India.

In 2023, a G20 report by the World Bank reveals that India has achieved its financial inclusion goals in just 6 years, a feat that would have taken 47 years without its advanced Digital Public Infrastructure.

India has surpassed China in financial inclusion metrics says the SBI report of 2021. Mobile and Internet banking transactions soared to 13,615 per 1,000 adults in 2020, up from 183 in 2015, while the number of bank branches per 100,000 adults rose to 14.7, exceeding those in Germany, China, and South Africa.

India’s account ownership more than doubled from 35 per cent in 2011 to 78 per cent in 2021. All these are because of the government’s various initiatives for financial inclusion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, citing the World Bank report on India’s digital public infrastructure push, said that the nation has achieved 80% financial inclusion under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The World Bank takes note that, under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji, our nation has achieved 80% financial inclusion in just 6 years, instead of the 47 years it might have taken in the normal course.

The G20 report of the bank acknowledges that the robust Jandhan, Aadhar…

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 8, 2023

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mr Shah said, “The World Bank takes note that, under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji, our nation has achieved 80% financial inclusion in just 6 years, instead of the 47 years it might have taken in the normal course. The G20 report of the bank acknowledges that the robust Jandhan, Aadhar and Mobile Trinity infrastructure built by Modi Ji has empowered millions.”

“The report also highlights that our country has saved $33 billion through the DBT system. Every rupee saved by our nation is a step toward our goal of becoming a fully developed nation during the Amrit Kaal”, Mr Shah added.

World Bank has said India’s Digital Public Infrastructure has had a transformative impact, extending far beyond just financial inclusion.

The international financial institution in a document applauded India, stating what the country has achieved in just six years would have otherwise taken about five decades.

The World Bank document prepared ahead of the big G20 Summit in New Delhi highlighted the key measures taken by the Modi government and the pivotal role of government policy and regulation in shaping the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) landscape.

The World Bank said the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile) trinity — a combination of bank accounts for all, Aadhaar, and mobile connectivity — has propelled financial inclusion rate from 25 per cent in 2008 to over 80 per cent of adults in past six years, a journey which according to it shortened by up to 47 years — thanks to DPIs.

“While DPIs’ role in this leapfrogging is undoubtable, other ecosystem variables and policies that build on the availability of DPIs were critical. These included interventions to create a more enabling legal and regulatory framework, national policies to expand account ownership, and leveraging Aadhaar for identity verification,” the World Bank document noted.

Since its launch in 2014, the first year under Narendra Modi’s prime ministership, the number of PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts tripled from 147.2 million in March 2015 to 462 million by June 2022; women own 56 percent of these accounts, more than 260 million.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) — the national mission for financial inclusion and banking the unbanked – has completed nine years of implementation. The initiative was announced by PM Modi in his maiden Independence Day address from Red Fort in 2014. Later, he launched the programme on August 28, 2014.

PMJDY has brought the unbanked into the banking system, expanded the financial architecture of India and brought financial inclusion to almost every adult.

Further, the World Bank also noted how India leveraged technology to directly transfer benefits to the citizens, besides using UPI for retail payments.

“The DPI in India has also enhanced efficiency for private organizations through reductions in the complexity, the cost and the time taken for business operations in India,” it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)