Jan Dhan: Zero-balance accounts reduced to 20%; 30 crore families benefited in 3 years

New Delhi: As many as 30 crore families have got bank accounts since the launch of India’s biggest ever bank account opening drive, Jan Dhan Yojana, three years back, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday.

About 42 percent of households were unbanked before the Jan Dhan Yojana, which aims to give every household access to banking facilities by offering them zero-balance accounts across all commercial banks.

Speaking at a conclave on Financial Inclusion, he said the number of zero-balance accounts has reduced from 77 percent to 20 percent and even these would become operational once the direct benefit transfer is expanded.

In September 2014, three months after the scheme was launched, 76.81 percent accounts had zero balance. The number of zero-balance accounts has now come down to 20 percent of the total, he said.

99.99 percent of households now have at least one bank account, thanks to the Jan Dhan Yojana.

Jaitley said biometric identification number Aadhaar was an evolving idea under the previous UPA regime and it did not have legislative backing.

The Aadhaar legislation, passed during the BJP rule, will stand test of constitutionality of using the unique identification number for giving government benefits, he said.