From Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha

67 years after Independence, India still had a large part of the population who had no access to banking services. This meant, they had no avenues for Savings, nor any opportunity to get institutional credit. PM Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana on 28th August to address this fundamental issue. Within a matter of months, this scheme has radically transformed lives and futures of millions of Indians. In a matter of months, 15 crore bank accounts were opened. 13.5 crore Rupay cards have been issued so far. There have been deposits worth Rs 15,798 crores. A record 1,25,697 Bank Mitras (Bank Correspondents) have also been deployed. It also set the Guinness World Record for most bank accounts opened in one week -1,80,96,130.

All this was possible because of PM Modi’s thrust and his power of galvanizing masses and the government machinery. This enormous task was taken up in mission mode and achieved with an exemplary partnership and participation of the government and public.

While the bank accounts have given millions of Indians access to banking services, they have also played a major role in stopping corruption. Now, subsidies get deposited directly in the bank accounts eliminating leakages and scope for any discretionary action. Under PAHAL Yojana, LPG subsidies are directly deposited into the bank accounts. Under this scheme, more than 10 crore people will receive direct cash subsidies, saving around Rs 4000 crores of subsidy.

Once the basic banking facilities for people were in place, the NDA Government embarked on a historic move of providing an insurance & pension cover to the citizens. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana provides accident insurance worth Rs 2 Lakh at just Rs 12 per year. Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojana provides life insurance at just Rs 330 per year. Atal Pension Yojana provides a pension of uptoRs 5000 a month depending on the contribution. Within a couple of days of the launch, around 7.22 (as on 16/5/2015) crore people had enrolled in these schemes. In addition, the Govt also launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojana to give a boost to saving for & educating the girl child.