Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion encompassing an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country. The plan envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility.
Role of Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana in ensuring financial inclusion in India:

• Opening Bank accounts: PMJDY has brought the unbanked into the banking system, expanded the financial architecture of India and brought financial inclusion to almost every adult. As per government data, 55% Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 67% Jan Dhan accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas
• Access to Government schemes: PMJDY has been the foundation stone for people-centric economic initiatives. It has ensured a bank account for every adult which is required to get benefits of schemes like COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, life and health insurance cover. Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, a total of Rs. 30,945 crore have been credited in accounts of women PMJDY account holders during Covid lockdown.
• Formal Financial System: Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana provides an avenue to the poor for bringing their savings into the formal financial system, an avenue to remit money to their families in villages besides taking them out of the clutches of the usurious money lenders.
• Prevent Systemic leakages: In today’s COVID-19 times, there is witnessed a remarkable swiftness and seamlessness with which Direct Benefit Transfer (DBTs) have empowered and provided financial security to the vulnerable sections of society. An important aspect is that DBTs via PM Jan Dhan accounts have ensured every rupee reaches its intended beneficiary and prevent systemic leakage. About 5.1 crore PMJDY account holders receive direct benefit transfer (DBT) from the Government under various schemes and because of PMJDY, the percentage of total DBT failures has decreased from 13.5% (FY 19-20) to 5.7% (FY 20-21).

Going forward, there is a need to move from financial inclusion to financial empowerment by providing credit. The PMJDY should become PM Jan Dhan Vridhi Yojana with universal access to bank credit to the most underprivileged sections of the society. Also, infrastructure needs to be cost effective and there is a need to build up a database to capture the income transaction history of the Jan Dhan account holders on the basis of which credit delivery models can be worked out.