It’s now common for anyone in India to have a bank account. But till about a decade back, access to banking was a distant dream for almost half of households in the country even after 65 years of Independence. As poor and marginalized, particularly in rural areas, were excluded from formal banking system, they had no option but to risk keeping their savings at home and seek credit from predatory lenders who charged exorbitant interest rates. This absence of financial security meant they had no chance to dream of a better future. Even more, as a former PM had said out of 100 paise of benefits meant for poor, for only 15 paise reached the true beneficiary and the remaining 85 paise was gobbled up by middlemen.

Jan Dhan Yojana a Game Changer

In this context, the roll-out of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has proved a game-changer by boosting financial inclusion. As this scheme completes its 11th anniversary on 28th August 2025, there is no denying of the fact that it has given a life of dignity to crores of people, especially women, youth and the marginalized communities in the country by integrating them into the nation’s economic mainstream. 

Financial Inclusion

By laying the foundation stone for people-centric economic initiatives like direct benefit transfers, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, life and health insurance cover through bank accounts, PMJDY has proved one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the world.

The success of PMJDY, which ensures access to financial services including banking, credit, insurance and pension in an affordable manner, can be gauged from the fast that over 55.90 crore Jan Dhan Accounts -- which stood at just 14.72 crore in March 2015 -- have been opened till now. About 67% of these Jan Dhan accounts have been opened in rural or semi-urban areas.

As Jan Dhan accounts encourage saving and digital financial habits, these bank accounts have garnered a deposit balance of over Rs 2.63 lakh crore compared to Rs 15,670 crore in March 2015.

Empowerment of Weaker Sections

With features like zero balance account, free of cost RuPay Card, accidental insurance of Rs 2 lakhs on RuPay Debit Card to cover loss of life, disabilities, and income due to account holder’s accident, along with overdraft facility of Rs 10 thousand to eligible account holders providing them with emergency access to funds, PMJDY has truly empowered weaker sections and low-income groups over the past 11 years.

No surprise, Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has seen a surge in enrolments, reaching 7.33 crore by January 2025. The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) has enrolled 22.52 crore individuals, with Rs 17,600 crore disbursed for 8.8 lakh claims. The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) has covered 49.12 Crore people, processing Rs 2,994.75 crore against accident claims.

Elimination of Middlemen

Jan Dhan also became a vital pillar of the JAM Trinity- Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile to eliminate the scourge of middlemen and touts, who for decades thrived in public loot, through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Jan Dhan bank accounts are now used for DBT in 321 government schemes, compared to 28 in 2013-14, including Ayushman Bharat, PM-Kisan for farmers, PM SVANidhi for street vendors, Fasal Bima Yojana, Garib Kalyan Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana or Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana.

The total funds transferred have also increased from around Rs 7400 crores in 2013-14 to nearly Rs 25 lakh crores. This has been estimated to have cumulatively saved the government exchequer around Rs 4.31 lakh crore and helped around 25 crore people escape multidimensional poverty in the last nine years.

Easier Access to Credit

Jan Dhan Yojana has taken out of poor from the clutches of the usurious money lenders as such account holders are now eligible for loans from banks and financial institutions. For instance, loans sanctions under Mudra scheme rose at a compounded annual rate of 9.8 per cent in five years from 2018-19 to 2023-24. This access to credit has empowered individuals to grow their incomes with formal sector lending.

Women Empowerment

PMJDY has emerged as a powerful tool for empowerment of women, especially those working in unorganized sectors who lacked access to formal old-age income security schemes. Their financial vulnerability was exacerbated by inconsistent incomes and limited access to social security.

PMJDY has brought women under the ambit of financial inclusion which is evident from the fact that over 30.37 crore (55.7%) of total Jan Dhan accounts belong to women. Besides ensuring equal opportunities to participate in the formal financial system, PMJDY has facilitated the coverage of women with various social security and credit linked Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana.

As of November 2023, out of the 44.46 crore loans sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), 30.64 crore (69%) were granted to women, with the average credit amount increasing from Rs 39,000 in 2015-16 to Rs 1 lakh in 2023-24. As of 27 January 2025, the Stand-Up India Scheme has benefited 1,94,804 women entrepreneurs with banks sanctioning Rs 62,426.52 crore for promoting entrepreneurship among women and SCs & STs.

Digital Success

PMJDY has facilitated the issuance of over 38 crore free-of-cost RuPay cards and installation of 79.61 lakh PoS/mPoS machines. The introduction of mobile-based payment systems like UPI with India’s digital infrastructure for doorstep delivery of banking services, UPI transactions through RuPay cards increased from Rs 92 crore in FY 2017-18 to Rs 8,371 crore in FY 2022-23. Similarly, the total number of RuPay card transactions at PoS and E-commerce has increased from Rs 28.28 crore in FY 2016-17 to Rs 126 crore in FY 2022-23.

India is today a global leader in real-time payments with a 48.5% share of the total volume with PMJDY playing a key role by bringing crores of unserved people into the formal banking system.

Global Recognition

PMJDY has received international recognition for its role in financial inclusion. India has achieved near-universal financial account ownership, with 89 % of adults now holding an account (as compared 35% in 2011) according to the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 report

A G20 report by the World Bank revealed India achieved its financial inclusion goals in just 6 years which otherwise would have taken 47 years. India made Guinness World Records by opening over 1.80 Crore bank accounts as part of the Financial Inclusion Campaign under Jan Dhan Yojana. India has surpassed China in financial inclusion metrics, says the SBI report of 2021.

Suggestions:

Awareness Campaign: An awareness campaign should be launched in rural and semi-urban areas to educate adult population about the benefits of bank accounts.

Expansion of Bank Network: Network of Bank branches should be further expanded in rural and semi-urban areas for providing easier access to banking services.

Strengthening of Co-operative Banks: Cooperative Banks should be strengthened to modernize operations and adopt financial technology in order to meet credit needs of rural India.

Financial Literacy: Digital and financial literacy programs should be launched to enable beneficiaries to leverage benefits of Jan Dhan Yojana.

Special Financial Product Design: Innovative financial products should be tailored for PMJDY account holders in order to foster deeper financial inclusion. By empowering millions of individuals, especially from marginalized communities, PMJDY has laid a strong foundation for inclusive economic growth for a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Every citizen should now fully participate in and contribute to India’s economic success.

(Prof. Himani Sood is Pro Chancellor of Chandigarh University. Views expressed are her personal. She can be contacted at himani.sood@cumail.in.)