Modi hails achievements of 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana'

New Delhi, Aug 28: The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana that was launched with an ambitious aim of banking the unbanked completed six years on Friday, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi wrote, "Today, six years ago, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched with an ambitious aim of banking the unbanked. This initiative has been a game-changer, serving as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives, benefitting crores of people. #6YearsOfJanDhanYojana." The Prime Minister added that the high number of beneficiaries of this scheme are from rural areas and are women.

"Thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the future of several families has become secure. A high proportion of beneficiaries are from rural areas and are women. I also applaud all those who have worked tirelessly to make PM-JDY a success," he wrote in another tweet.

The Prime Minister also shared some infographics which stated that till August 2015, 17.90 crore PM-JDY bank accounts were opened whereas till August 2020, as many as 40.35 crore bank accounts have been opened. The key features of this scheme are--Opening of basic saving bank deposit account with relaxed KYC, zero balance, and zero charges.

Another being, the issuance of debit cards, with free accident insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh and micro-insurance, overdraft for consumption, micro-pension, and micro-credit facilities.

Another infographic stated that over 63.6 per cent of the PM-JDY account holders are from rural areas while 36.4 per cent are from urban areas. Over 55 per cent PM-JDY account holders are women.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a government scheme that aims to expand and make affordable access to financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, credit, insurance and pensions, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2014.