Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): A step towards financial inclusion in India

Financial Inclusion programme has become an integral part of an economy which is required not only in underdeveloped and developing countries but also developed countries for sustainable growth. In India, PMJDY is one of the successful financial inclusion programmes by the Government of India, which provides social and financial security to the deprived section of the population. PMJDY is a program scrupulously designed to help the poor and the backward get their share from the government without the intervention of any middlemen aimed at the financial inclusion of people at the lowest rung. The Yojana, a national mission on financial inclusion, aims to cover all households in the country with banking facilities and have a bank account for each household. The present paper attempts to give an overview of PMJDY, analyse its progress till October 2022 and discuss various related issues. The present study is descriptive and empirical in nature, and secondary data sources will primarily do this work. The information and data for the paper have been collected from the economic survey of India, the Reserve Bank of India PMJDY Brochure, reports, books, and official websites of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). However, the result of the study is subjected to the constraints imposed by the non-availability of data. The paper shows that more than 47.28 crore bank accounts were opened. The performance of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) is at the top with more than 80% contribution in PMJDY, followed by Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Private Banks (PBs) with 17% and 3%, respectively. It also shows that zero-balance account has decreased continuously.