BharatNotes What is Jan Dhan Yojana?
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is India's National Mission for Financial Inclusion, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 August 2014. Its core promise is universal banking access: at least one basic savings account for every unbanked adult, with zero balance requirement and no minimum-balance charges. It is anchored on six pillars — universal access to banking, basic savings bank accounts, financial literacy, a credit guarantee fund, insurance, and pension.
Key Features
| Feature | Detail (as per scheme portal, pmjdy.gov.in) |
|---|---|
| Account type | Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA), zero balance |
| RuPay debit card | Issued free with every account |
| Accident insurance | Up to Rs 1 lakh; enhanced to Rs 2 lakh for accounts opened after 28-Aug-2018 |
| Life cover | Rs 30,000 (accounts opened 15-Aug-2014 to 26-Jan-2015 only) |
| Overdraft facility | Up to Rs 10,000 (one per household, after 6 months of satisfactory conduct) |
| Premium for insurance | Nil — no premium charged to the beneficiary |
To keep the accident cover active, the RuPay card must record at least one successful transaction within 90 days prior to the accident.
Current Status (as of August 2025)
On its 11-year anniversary the scheme reported (PIB, 28-Aug-2025):
- Over 56.16 crore accounts opened.
- Total deposits exceeding Rs 2.67 lakh crore, with average balance per account around Rs 4,768 (about 3.7 times the level a decade earlier).
- 38.68 crore RuPay debit cards issued.
- About 67% of accounts in rural and semi-urban areas; about 56% held by women.
These figures show the scheme has moved beyond mere account-opening towards rising deposits and active usage.
Significance: The JAM Trinity and DBT
PMJDY is one limb of the JAM trinity — Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile — a concept flagged in the Economic Survey 2014-15. By linking a bank account, a unique identity and a mobile number, the State can route Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) for subsidies, pensions and scholarships straight to beneficiaries, cutting middlemen and plugging leakages. This architecture proved decisive during the COVID-19 period, when relief could be credited directly to crores of women Jan Dhan account holders. The 2018 transition from "every household" to "every adult", with higher accident cover and a doubled overdraft, marked the programme's maturing from access to deepening usage.
UPSC Angle
For Prelims, lock in the launch year (2014), the RuPay accident cover (Rs 1 lakh / Rs 2 lakh post-2018), the Rs 10,000 overdraft, and the components of JAM. For Mains GS3, PMJDY is a ready case study on financial inclusion, women's empowerment and inclusive growth; for GS2 it illustrates technology-enabled welfare delivery and leakage reduction. Treat it as a gateway scheme — it feeds enrolment into PMJJBY, PMSBY and Atal Pension Yojana, so examiners often test it as a cluster. A common confusion to avoid: PMJDY provides the account; the micro-insurance and pension schemes ride on top of it, they are not part of PMJDY itself.
