Close to 18 crore (180 million) accounts have been opened and 15.74 cr RuPay debit cards issued so far under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Ministry of Finance said in an official statement.
Moreover, more than Rs 22,000 crore (Rs 220 billion) has been mobilised in these accounts.
“Banks have been directed to disburse overdraft facility upto Rs. 5,000 under PMJDY,” the statement said.
“As per guidelines, Aadhaar is not mandatory for availing this facility. In this regard, Indian Banks Association (IBA) has been asked to issue revised guidelines to all banks.”
Now, the focus of PMJDY has moved from account opening to the provision of cash-out facilities at an approachable distance to reap the real benefits of PMJDY.
To facilitate cash out facility, the banking network across the country comprises of the following:-
- Network of 1,25,857 branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks as on 31.03.2015, out of which 48557 (38.58%) are in rural areas.
- 1,84,221 ATMs of Scheduled Commercial Banks as on 30.06.2015, out of which 91486 are onsite ATMs.
- In the year 2014-15, 8227 Branches and 21,197 ATMs were added to the network.
- 1,26,062 Bank Mitras deployed as on 08.08.2015.
- Limit for cash withdrawal at POS (for debit cards and open system prepaid cards issued by banks in India) has been enhanced from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000 per day in Tier III to Tier VI centres.
- One of the basic objectives of Financial Inclusion is the delivery of financial services at an affordable cost to the vast sections of the disadvantaged and low income groups. To achieve this objective banks are not levying any SMS/Message charges on Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts and Basic Savings Bank Deposits (BSBD) Accounts.
- The network of bank branches, ATMs, Bank Mitras (Business Correspondents) equipped with micro ATMs, availability of merchant PoS, issuance of Debit Card, and enhancement of limit of cash withdrawal at PoS will help the customers in meeting their cash withdrawal facility at an approachable distance.
