As many as 11.5 crore bank accounts have been opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), exceeding the enhanced target of 10 crore and covering 99.74 per cent of households.
“Most of India today is included in the banking system. More than Rs 9,000 crore has been deposited in the Jan-Dhan accounts,” said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The Guinness Book of World Records has recognised the achievements made under PMJDY. In its citation, the Guinness Book said: “Most bank accounts opened in one week as part of the Financial Inclusion Campaign is 18,096,130 and was achieved by the Department of Financial Services, Government of India from August 23 to 29, 2014.”
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is an ambitious scheme launched by Prime Minster Narendra Modi, under which the government will provide every household with a bank account and an insurance cover.
The scheme was launched on August 28, simultaneously across the country with the aim to open bank accounts for 7.5 crore underprivileged households by January 26, 2015. The target was later increased to 10 crore accounts.
