In August 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the “Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana” (Prime Minister’s People’s Wealth Scheme, or PMJDY) to provide 75 million unbanked Indians with zero-balance bank accounts—delivering access to a full range of financial services, including pension, credit and insurance. The actual accounts numbers have exceedingly surpassed these estimates.
The initiative’s results are clear: Many more Indians now have bank accounts. Financial Inclusion Insights show that a little less than two-thirds of adults (63%) are financially included, with over six in ten (62%) having bank accounts. The country remains one of the largest and poorest in the world, ranking 160th in per-capita GDP, with nearly two in three citizens (65%) living below the $2.50/day poverty line. Now, however, consumers have access to insurance and can receive government benefits delivered to a debit card rather than less-secure means. Growing financial inclusion will open up services to poor, rural and other disadvantaged groups, population segments that have not always had easy access to financial services in the past.
Financial Inclusion
Poverty
Banks
True or false
More than 60% of all bank account owners are active users (i.e., have used their account at least once in the past 90 days).
What percentage of Indians have used a savings or lending group within the past 90 days?
What percentage of the Indian population has access to digital financial services through banks?
True or false
More than half of poor Indians who receive G2P payments used banks to receive the payment.
What percentage of financially included women have PMJDY bank accounts?
True or false
69% of bank account holders are located in urban localities in India.