All about Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana is a government scheme launched by the government of India to provide easy access to financial services such as Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension, Savings and Deposit Accounts to poor and needy section of our society.

Who offers this scheme?

An individual can consider opening an account under this scheme with any bank branch or Business Correspondent (Bank Mitra) outlet. Further, accounts opened under PMJDY can be opened with Zero balance.

However, if the account-holder wishes to get a cheque book, he/she will have to fulfil minimum balance criteria.

The account holders under this scheme will be given a RuPay debit card which can be used across all ATMs for cash withdrawal.

What are the benefits of the PMJDY Scheme?

Insurance Benefits

The account holders under this scheme will get an accidental insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh (enhanced to 2 lakh for new accounts opened after 28.08.2012) and a life cover of Rs 30,000 (if the account is opened between 15.8.2014 to 31.1.2015) – payment on the death of the beneficiary (subject to conditions).

Loan Benefits

The account holders under this scheme can avail an overdraft facility upto Rs 10,000. This is available against one account per household. The quantum of the loan may look small but definitely is a boon to those below the poverty line and would enable them to reinvest this in more profitable avenues.

Mobile Banking Facility:

Enabling carrying out transactions through a mobile phone facilitates such account holders in checking of balance and also transferring funds with ease across India. The other benefits being:

• The account holders would be eligible for interest on their deposits
• They are not mandated to have a minimum balance in the account
• The scheme allows Direct Benefit Transfer for beneficiaries of Government Schemes.
• Account-holders can get easy access to pension and other insurance products with the PMJDY scheme.

PMJDY Eligibility

In order for individuals to open a PMJDY account, the below given criteria must be met:

• You must be citizen of India
• You should be at least 10 years of age
• You should not have a bank account

Documents required to open PMJDY account

In case individuals wish to open an account, viable documents must be submitted. The list of documents required for PMJDY account under the scheme are mentioned below:

• Passport
• Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card
• Aadhaar
• The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) issued job card.
• Driving licence
• Voter ID
• Identity card with photo which has been issued by the central or state government departments, public sector undertakings, scheduled commercial banks, public financial institutions and statutory or regulatory authorities.
• A photograph which has been attested along with a letter from a Gazetted officer must be submitted.

Rate of interest under PMJDY

Based on the savings account interest rate offered by the bank.