Deposits in Jan Dhan accounts cross Rs. 1.75-lakh crore as on Oct 5

The total balance in the basic bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has crossed the Rs. 1.75 lakh crore mark.

As per the latest Government data, the total balance stood at Rs. 1,75,225 crore as on October 5, 2022, as the total number of beneficiaries touched 47 crore. Women beneficiaries own a larger chunk in the scheme at 26.16 crore account of which the bulk (31.42 crore accounts) are in rural and semi-urban areas.

“Public sector banks (PSBs) have made significant contribution. Of the total Rs. 1.75 lakh crore balance, PSB’s account for Rs. 1.35 lakh crore, followed by Regional Rural Banks with Rs. 34,573 crore,’‘ a senior official of State Bank of India told.

According to bankers, implementation of some benefits under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) during the Covid-19 pandemic had established PMJDY as the preferred channel to access govt schemes in view of direct benefit transfer and drove people especially in rural areas to open accounts.

“However, the fear about Jan Dhan being white elephants for banks lingers. The average balance in an account hovers around Rs. 3,000, and the average cost of maintaining these accounts for a bank is almost the same. When balances grow, banks tend to benefit from PMJDY. So the Centre needs to make the scheme more attractive or the pace of growth in the number of accounts will be slow,’‘ said a senior executive with a public sector bank.