While lauding the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) on Saturday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that 55 percent Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 67 per cent belong to rural and semi-urban areas.
On the occasion of 7th Anniversary of PMJDY, Sitharaman flagged off a mobile ATM van of Tripura State Co-Operative Bank Ltd and inaugurated ‘My Pad My Right’ Project – a menstrual hygiene project for rural women – at Killa village in Tripura’s Gomati district.
Speaking on the occasion, Sitharaman said, “The PMJDY completed its seventh year today. The government started the PMJDY scheme so that every poor person has access to a bank account and a RuPay card. Out of every 100 Jan Dhan accounts, 55 belong to women. The main beneficiaries of PMJDY are women. In those areas where bank branches are not possible, the Bank Mitras do the job of providing banking services.”
“The mobile ATM van will cover all gram panchayats/village committees of South Tripura District. It supports ATM cards of all banks. It is fitted with an LED TV for demonstration of digital financial literacy related videos and promotion of different banking products. Through PMJDY, during the lockdown last year, the government could transfer Rs 1,500 directly to the accounts of women. Out of total 43.04 crore PMJDY accounts, 36.86 crore (86%) are operative. Total RuPay cards issued to PMJDY account holders: 31.23 Crore,” she said.
“The journey of PMJDY led interventions undertaken over a short span of seven years has in effect, produced both transformational as well as directional change thereby making the emerging FI (financial inclusion) ecosystem capable of delivering financial services to the last person of the society-the poorest of the poor,” she said, adding that the underlying pillars of PMJDY, namely, Banking the Unbanked, Securing the Unsecured and Funding the Unfunded has made it possible to adopt multi-stakeholders’ collaborative approach while leveraging technology for serving the unserved and underserved areas, as well.
PMJDY was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day in 2014. While launching the programme on August 28, he had described the occasion as a festival to celebrate the liberation of the poor from a vicious cycle.
She also interacted with women Self Help Groups (SHG) members trained in handicrafts under Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDP) of NABARD at Killa village in Gomati district.
On ‘My Pad My Right’ Project, Sitharaman said, “It is a unique initiative of NABARD and NABFOUNDATION to bring livelihoods and menstrual hygiene closer to rural women by way of grant, wage support and capital equipment.”
Under the MPMR project, SHGs are given one sanitary pad making machine, raw materials for two months, wages for 50 days, packaging materials for two months and other accessories, and five days training in three phases.
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