The national mission on financial inclusion popularly known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which was launched on August 28, 2014 has completed almost nine years.
As per the latest reports, the total number of Jan Dhan accounts in Meghalaya is 7,30,888.
Majority of these Jan Dhan bank account holders (6,54,895) are from the rural areas. Only 75,993 are from the urban areas. The balance in all the accounts amounts to Rs 399.56 crore.
Further, 4,54,139 of the Jan Dhan bank account holders in the State have been issued with RuPay cards.
PMJDY offers multiple advantages to account holders such as a bank account without requirement of minimum balance, free of cost RuPay debit cards with inbuilt accident insurance of Rs 2 lakh and overdraft facility of up to Rs 10,000.
PMJDY was launched with the aim to provide universal banking services through opening of zero balance bank accounts for every unbanked household, based on the guiding principles of banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured and funding the unfunded (access to credit).
PMJDY seeks to financially empower the poor by providing them access to a formal banking system. It also seeks to provide a platform for Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) which will curb leakages in government subsidies and thus saving the government exchequer.
Meghalaya has achieved 100 per cent success in implementing PMJDY.
