Nirmala Sitharaman says financial inclusion major step towards inclusive growth

Financial inclusion is a major step towards inclusive growth which ensures the overall economic development of the marginalised sections of the society, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday. The success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana since August 28, 2014 is reflected in terms of opening of over 46 crore bank accounts with deposit balance of ₹1.74 lakh crore with its expanded coverage to 67% rural or semi-urban areas as well as 56% of women Jan Dhan account holders, she said on the eighth anniversary of the flagship financial inclusion scheme. Instant DBT enabled by JAM She also said the JAM pipeline created through account holders' consent-based linking of bank accounts with Aadhar and mobile numbers of the account holders, which is one of the important pillars of the financial inclusion ecosystem, has enabled instant DBT under various government welfare schemes to the eligible beneficiaries. The advantage of the architecture created under FI ecosystem came handy during the COVID-19 pandemic when it facilitated direct income support to farmers under PM-KISAN and transfer of ex-gratia payment to women PMJDY account holders under PM Garib Kalyan Package in a seamless and time-bound manner, Ms. Sitharaman said.