The Union Cabinet was apprised yesterday of the progress made with regard to Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) with the following information:-

• PMJDY was launched by the Prime Minister in the national capital on 28th August, 2014 and simultaneous mega launch functions were held at 77 locations across the country, out of which 42 were graced by the Union Ministers. In 19 States, Chief Ministers also attended the function. To mark the launch of this ambitious mission, banks organized 1.04 lakh camps on 28th and 29th August 2014 out of which 0.64 lakh camps were held in rural areas and 0.40 lakh in urban areas.
• Banks opened more than 1.84 crore accounts in the first two (2) days of the launch of the Scheme.  As on 8th September 2014, 3.02 crore accounts have been opened of which 1.89 crore are in rural areas and 1.13 crore in urban areas.  Banks have collected deposits of ₹ 1496.51 crore under the Scheme so far which works out to  be ₹ 495 per account.
• As against 3.02 crore accounts opened, banks have been able to issue only 33.6 lakh RuPay Debit Cards. Banks are making all out efforts to clear this backlog and it is expected to be cleared in about four weeks’ time.
• Because of the incentives announced, many of the existing account holders have opened a new account under PMJDY.  Publicity is being given that the benefits announced under PMJDY can be extended to the existing account holders in their previous accounts as well and new account need not be opened for this.
• A draft Scheme for Life Insurance cover of ₹ 30,000 announced by the Prime Minister during the launch of the Scheme has been worked-out and is under finalization.  An incentive scheme for bankers and district collectors is also under preparation.
• Banks have been asked to hold camps from 8 AM to 8 PM on every Saturday to facilitate account opening.  In order to clarify the customer queries, two helplines have been set-up and a media campaign to further disseminate information under the scheme is being prepared. The helpline numbers are as under:-
  • 1800-180-111
  • 1800-110-001
• Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) based Mobile Banking Service was also dedicated to the Nation by the Prime Minister on 28th August, 2014. At present, on an average, 400 transactions per day are taking place on USSD platform.
• Survey of unbanked households has also been started and is expected to be completed by 15th October 2014.

Financial inclusion via mass account opening under PMJDY, with card issuance backlog and operational steps to boost access. Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana reports rapid account mobilisation with over three crore accounts opened and deposits collected, while RuPay debit card issuance lags and banks are addressing the backlog. A draft life insurance benefit and an incentive framework for bankers and district collectors are under finalisation. Operational measures include extended-hours account-opening camps, two national helplines, a media campaign, promotion of USSD-based mobile banking, and a nationwide survey of unbanked households to inform outreach.