A Video Conference to review the progress in Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was held here recently under the chairmanship of Shri Anurag Jain, Joint Secretary (FI) & Mission Director, PMJDY. The meeting was attended among others by Executive Directors of Public and Private sector Banks, representatives of IBA, NPCI and UIDAI.

As per status presented in the meeting, as on 22.12.14, banks have opened 9.83 crore accounts under PMJDY and have issued 7.28 Crore RuPay Cards. While appreciating the improvement, need to cover the gap in issuance of RuPay Card was emphasized. Banks committed to cover the gap in issuance of RuPay cards and account opened, including of their RRBs, by 15th January, 2015.

As per status presented, 99.73% survey work has been completed and 95.30% household coverage has been achieved where survey has been completed. It was agreed that all Banks would take-up the task in a planned sweep mode and cover all the households before the end of December 2014. Thereafter, public feedback route to ascertain and open accounts of left-out household, if any, would follow. Banks expressed confidence to meet the deadlines barring certain difficult areas in LWE districts, North East, HP, J&K and areas affected by migration.

In order to achieve universal access of Banking, banks have deployed Bank Mitras in 1.23 lakh SSAs leaving a gap of 6031 uncovered SSAs. Banks were asked to complete deployment of Bank Mitras latest by 15 Jan 2015, and display details of Bank Mitras on their web site and SLBC web site and ensure that all Bank Mitra devices are online interoperable through RuPay cards and AEPS.

Issue of remuneration to Bank Mitras was discussed. Only 21.50% of Bank Mitras are getting remuneration of more than ₹ 5000/-. In order to ensure sustainability of Bank Mitras, banks were asked to ensure minimum earnings of ₹ 5000/- per month to Bank Mitras by crediting the same directly in his / her account. Banks while agreeing to the principle informed that it would take some time as issues related to contractual management will have to be suitably addressed.

Banks were also asked to complete issuance of Passbook to all account holders and activation of RuPay cards. Banks agreed to complete this task by 15th January 2015.

Issue of settlement of life insurance claim was discussed at length and focus was given on speedy disposal. Banks and LIC were asked to make claim forms readily available in their website. LIC was asked to settle the claim within 15 days from the date of receipt of claim, if otherwise in order. The settlement process should not exceed 30 days in any case.

Financial inclusion expansion through universal banking access, agent deployment, payment-card activation and expedited insurance claim processing. The PMJDY review required banks to complete account opening, payment-card issuance, passbook distribution and household coverage through planned sweep operations and public feedback, while recognizing rollout challenges in certain regions. Banks must deploy and list Bank Mitras, ensure device interoperability via the national card and AEPS, address remuneration and contractual issues to guarantee minimum agent earnings, and expedite life-insurance claim processing with accessible claim forms and short settlement timelines for compliant claims.