Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (pmjdy)

• Reduce taxable income by up to Rs. 1,50,000 deduction under section 80C**
• Convenient payment options - annual, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly premium payments
• Do more with plans that offer pure protection, retirement planning and investment options

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a government scheme that was launched on 15th August 2014 by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.  The scheme ensures that the people belonging to the financially weaker section have a bank account and get to enjoy the benefits related to it. The plan aims to ensure that every family in India has at least one bank account and gets access to other banking facilities as well. This scheme also provides the account holder with an inbuilt accident insurance cover worth Rs.1 lakh. The person availing this scheme will also be given a RuPay debit card which would allow him/her to withdraw cash on a regular basis.

A PMJDY account can be opened in any Business Correspondent (Bank Mitr) outlet or a bank branch. Accounts opened under PMJDY without the chequebook facility do not have any min. balance requirement. However if chequebook facility is availed, the account holder will have to adhere to a min. balance requirement.

Documents required to open a PMJDY account

A person can open an account under this scheme by producing any of the following documents:

• Driving licence
• Passport
• Permanent Account Number (PAN Card)
• Aadhar Card
• Voter’s Identity Card
• Following documents as notified by the Central Government in consultation with the regulator:
• A letter issued by a Gazetted officer which also includes an attested photograph of the applicant.
• An identity card having the person’s photograph issued by the state or the central government departments, public sector undertakings, public financial institutions, commercialised banks, or Regulatory/Statutory Authorities.

What if the account holder does not have a valid identity proof?

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), any person who does not have any of the above-mentioned proof of identity can open ‘small accounts’ with a bank. A 'small account' can be opened by providing a self-attested photograph, and giving a signature/thumbprint in the presence of an official of the bank. These accounts have certain limitations which the account holder will have to adhere to. The person cannot have an aggregate credit of more than Rs.1 lakh and cannot withdraw more than Rs.10,000 on a monthly basis. The account balance must never go beyond Rs.50,000 at any time. A small bank account will be active only for a period of one year and will be allowed to be active for a further twelve months provided that the account holder provides any one of the valid identity proof within a year of the opening of the account.

Special benefits a person can enjoy under PMJDY

1. An accidental insurance cover of Rs.1 lakh.
2. No minimum balance required.
3. In case the account holder dies, the beneficiary will be provided with a life cover worth Rs.30,000.
4. Easy transfer of money.
5. The account holder will receive interest on a deposit.
6. The account holder can get access to insurance and pension products.
7. The beneficiary will be eligible to receive the claim under Personal Accidental Insurance under PMJDY provided that the account holder has used his/her Rupay debit card to perform at least one successful transaction within 90 days prior to date of accident including accident date.
8. A person who is a beneficiary of a government scheme will get to enjoy the Direct Benefit Transfer facility under a PMJDY account.
9. The account holder will get to enjoy the overdraft facility provided he/she has successfully operated his/her account for a period of six months.
10. The overdraft facility worth Rs.5,000 will be available to one account in a household, preferably if the account holder is a female member of the household.  

The administrative structure of the Mission PMJDY