States asked to route subsidies via Jan Dhan bank accounts

7.71 crore bank accounts opened under the scheme

November 23, 2014 10:42 am | Updated 10:42 am IST - Mangaluru:

Though nearly 75 per cent of bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana have no deposits in them, the scheme will pick up once the subsidies are linked to the bank accounts, said Snehlata Shrivastava, Additional Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Union Ministry of Finance, here on Saturday.

She was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Corporation bank’s Jan Dhan mega camp at Vamanjoor on the outskirts of the city.

Ms. Shrivastava said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to the States to ensure that beneficiary payments for State government schemes are made through aadhaar-linked bank accounts.

“LPG subsidy, scholarships and other benefits will be given directly through the accounts. This way, at least some money will be present in the accounts,” she said. As of November 19, 7.71 crore bank accounts have been opened under the scheme, with deposits reaching Rs. 6,091 crore.

This represents a progress of nearly 74 per cent across the country, with States in the North-East, Andhra Pradesh, and flood-ravaged Jammu-Kashmir lagging behind. However, she conceded that the number of aadhaar-linked bank accounts were low, with just around 30 per cent of the accounts being linked to the Unique Identification Card.

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