The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will formally launch Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on Thursday, 28th August, 2014 at a function in the national capital. Besides the launch function at the national capital, simultaneous launch functions of the Yojana would also be held in the State Capitals and other major centres of the States/UTs and all district headquarters. About 76 mega functions will also be organized at prominent places throughout the country to mark the launch of Yojana which will be attended by the Union Ministers and the State Chief Ministers along with other dignitaries.

In order to mark the launch of this mega scheme, different branches of the Public Sector Banks will organize more than 60,000 camps in rural and urban areas on that day. It is estimated that about one crore accounts will be opened on this day. These camps will be successful because preparatory camps have already been organized in order to get the required information from the new account openers.

The Prime Minister had also sent about 7.25 lakhs emails to all bank officers referring to his Independent Day announcement of the PMJDY- a national mission on financial inclusion with the objective of covering all households in the country with banking facilities and having a bank account for each household.

Financial literacy has been accorded priority under the PMJDY. A standardized financial literacy material has also been prepared in vernacular languages to create awareness about the Yojana. It is estimated to cover 7.5 crore households with atleast one account under this Yojana.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana lies at the core of our development philosophy of Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas. With a bank account, every household gains access to banking and credit facilities. This will enable them to come out of the grip of moneylenders, manage to keep away from financial crises caused by emergent needs, and most importantly, benefit from a range of financial products. As a first step, every account holder gets a RuPay debit card with a ₹ 1,00,000/- accident cover. In due course, they are to be covered by insurance and pension products.

Highlights of the scheme :

1.    The Prime Minister will launch the National Mission on Financial Inclusion named as  Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on 28th  August, 2014.

2.    The Mission will be implemented in two phases.

3.    Phase-I from 15th August 2014 to 14th August 2015 envisages

(i) Universal access to banking facilities for all households across the country through a bank branch or a fixed point Business Correspondent (BC) within a reasonable distance

(ii) To cover all households with atleast one  Basic Banking Accounts with RuPay Debit card having inbuilt accident insurance cover of ₹ 1 lakh. Further an overdraft facility upto ₹ 5000 will also be permitted to Adhaar enabled accounts after satisfactory operation in the account for 6 months.

(iii) Financial literacy programme which aims to take financial literacy upto village level.

(iv) The Mission also envisages expansion of Direct Benefit Transfer under various Government Schemes through bank accounts of the beneficiaries of.

(v) The issuance of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) as RuPay Kisan Card is also proposed to be covered under the plan.

4.   Phase-II from 15th August, 2015 to 14th August, 2018

         (i) Providing micro –insurance to the people.

         (ii) Unorganised sector Pension schemes like Swablamban through the Business Correspondents.

5.   The major shift in this programme is that households are being targeted instead of villages as targeted earlier. Moreover both rural and urban areas are being covered this time as against only rural areas targeted earlier. The present plan pursues digital financial inclusion with special emphasis on monitoring by a Mission headed by the Finance Minister.

Financial inclusion: universal household banking with basic accounts, RuPay debit cards, literacy and phased expansion to insurance and pensions. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana establishes a national mission to achieve universal access to banking by targeting households, creating Basic Banking Accounts with RuPay debit cards and inbuilt accident insurance, and permitting a conditional overdraft for Aadhaar enabled accounts after satisfactory operation. The Mission prioritizes vernacular financial literacy, expansion of Direct Benefit Transfer via bank accounts, inclusion of RuPay Kisan Credit Cards, and phases further rollout to include micro insurance and unorganised sector pension schemes delivered through Business Correspondents, with digital inclusion and centralized monitoring under the Mission head.