Over 20 lakh people join modified Jan Dhan Yojana, takes total number of account holders to 32.61 crore

New Delhi: As many as 20 lakh people have joined the modified Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), taking the total number of account holders in the flagship financial inclusion programme to 32.61 crore as on 5 September, according to finance ministry data.

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The government earlier this month relaunched the PMJDY as an open-ended scheme with higher insurance cover and double the overdraft (OD) facility.

The Union Cabinet decided to continue the scheme beyond the four-year period ended 14 August with an aim to take the formal banking system from "every household to every adult".

During the 15 August-5 September period, the total deposits in 32.61 PMJDY accounts witnessed an increase of Rs 1,266.43 crore.

The balance in PMJDY accounts was Rs 82,490.98 crore as on 5 September.

Under the revamped scheme, accidental insurance cover for new RuPay card holders has been raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for new PMJDY accounts opened after 28 August.

Also, the existing OD limit of Rs 5,000 has been increased to Rs 10,000. Further, no conditions will be attached for OD up to Rs 2,000.

The data also showed that nearly 7.18 lakh people, who opened PMJDY account after 28 August, may get the benefit of increased accidental insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh.

Launched in August 2014, the first phase of PMJDY focussed on opening basic bank accounts and RuPay debit card with in-built accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh.

Besides, it provided Basic Banking Accounts with OD facility of Rs 5,000 after six months.

Phase II beginning 15 August, 2018 was planned to provide micro-insurance to the people and pension schemes to unorganised sector workers through business correspondents.

About 53 percent of PMJDY account holders are women, while 83 percent of the total accounts are seeded with Aadhaar.