New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday hailed the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) for its 10th anniversary, saying the scheme has played a major role in transforming the country’s economy and society, a PIB press release stated.
In a statement, Singh said the PMJDY had been a “role model of the Prime Minister’s visionary leadership” as it launched in 2014 under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the decision to launch the scheme within months of Modi’s assumption of office reflected the government’s commitment to inclusive growth.
The PMJDY’s success was “vindicated during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the scheme played a crucial role in preventing starvation in nearly 80 crore households by facilitating seamless direct benefit transfers.” He recalled the features of the scheme, saying it offered “zero balance account, RuPay Card free of cost, Accidental insurance of Rs. 2 lakhs on RuPay Debit Card along with overdraft facility of 10 thousand rupees to eligible account holders.”
He said the PMJDY had “empowered women in every household,” with more than 55.6 percent of Jan dhan account holders being women. He also thanked the Prime Minister for his “decisive step” in ensuring the timely disbursal of PM-Kisan instalments and eliminating leakages and pilferages. He said the initiative had “linked each person in the family to formal banking, thereby bringing India on par with global standards of financial inclusion.” He further noted that the scheme has “sparked the aspirations of the common citizen,” making banking “a familiar and accessible part of daily life.”
Also read: PM Modi to release Rs 2,500 cr revolving fund benefiting 48 lakh SHG members