Kerala has become the first State in the country to have 100 per cent coverage of all households with bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in a record two-and-a-half months.
For this financial inclusiveness, all banks together have opened 12.8 lakh accounts under the PMJDY since the launch of the scheme on August 28. Nearly five lakh no-frills accounts have been opened. As many as 5.25 lakh RuPay debit cards have been issued and Rs.326 crore collected as deposit from these accountholders.
The State has more than 6,000 bank branches and every panchayat has a banking channel. Akshaya kiosks are serving as banking kiosks. By December 31, the number of Akshaya kiosks in the State is to go up from the present 848 to 1,222. Financial literacy centres have been opened in all 152 blocks.
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The formal declaration of the 100 per cent coverage of households with bank accounts in the State was made by Minister for Finance K. M. Mani at Durbar Hall in the Secretariat here on Tuesday.
The Minister said that without financial inclusiveness there was no financial freedom. “Without this, there is no full participation of the individual in the socio-economic progress of the country.” Mr. Mani said the rare achievement made by the State today built on the firm foundations of inclusive growth that the State had been building up in the past several decades.
At the function attended by bankers and officials, the Minister released PMJDY mission documents and a financial literacy book in Malayalam.
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Minister for Ports and Excise K. Babu; Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, K. M. Abraham; and Executive Director, Canara Bank and Chairman of the State Level Banker’s Committee Kerala P. S. Rawat; spoke.
Under the second phase of the PMJDY, a second bank account is to be opened separately for a woman in each household, RuPAY credit cards is to be issued to all accounts, and Aadhaar enrolment of all families.