Net deposits within the no-frills Jan Dhan accounts hit a peak of Rs 1.68 trillion as of April 13, having witnessed nearly regular development over the previous 4 months regardless of the Omicron onslaught in January.
The web deposits haven’t dropped even after the easing of localised curbs, imposed within the wake of the third Covid wave, that opened up avenues of spending since late February. The newest Jan Dhan stability was additionally method above the pre-pandemic stage of Rs 1.17 trillion (within the first week of March 2020).
This lends some credence to the view that farmers might have gained from an increase in commodity costs in latest months and issues in some quarters in regards to the persistence of wide-spread rural misery even after the third Covid wave might have been exaggerated.
Jan Dhan accounts had a web stability of Rs 1.68 trillion as of April 13, greater than that of Rs 1.45 trillion on April 14, 2021 and Rs 1.34 trillion as of April 15, 2020, in keeping with the finance ministry knowledge (see chart).
On March 25, 2020, when a Covid-induced lockdown was imposed throughout India, web deposits had been to the tune of Rs 1.18 trillion.
Of course, the variety of Jan Dhan accounts has risen by 69.4 million prior to now two years to 451.6 million as of April 13. The authorities’s free grain provide underneath the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana prior to now two years, too, has saved the poor households a tidy sum. Moreover, some quantity of precautionary financial savings by the depositors for any Covid-related exigencies can’t be dominated out. However, regardless of accounting for these elements, the online stability nonetheless stays greater than anticipated.
Public-sector banks accounted for 77% of the Jan Dhan deposits, whereas regional rural banks made up one other 20% and personal banks simply 3%.
The Jan Dhan accounts — initially supposed to spur monetary inclusion by making banking facility obtainable to the poor — had been utilized by the federal government to swiftly switch funds for instant aid within the aftermath of the Covid outbreak in 2020. On Saturday, the finance ministry requested state-run banks to return out with concepts to herald next-generation reforms in varied monetary inclusion initiatives, together with the Jan Dhan scheme.
The opening of Jan Dhan accounts acquired phenomenal pace after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the scheme in August 2014, with hundreds of thousands of accounts being added each month. The tempo, nonetheless, began slowing since late 2015, as many of the supposed beneficiaries had been already coated. According to official knowledge, the federal government’s goal of opening one account per family was achieved by as early as January 26, 2015 (barring a couple of areas in Jammu & Kashmir and naxalism-affected districts).
Source: www.financialexpress.com”