Banks to offer loans to Jan Dhan beneficiaries by tracking digital footprint: DFS secretary to Moneycontrol

File: Women wait outside a bank to withdraw money from their Jan-Dhan account during the Covid lockdown (PTI)

The government plans to expand the coverage of PM Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which marks its 10th anniversary on August 28, by leveraging the digital footprint of account holders to offer tailored products and services such as insurance and loans, M Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, said in an interview to Moneycontrol.

“Based on the digital footprint of Jan Dhan account holders, we will be able to assess the eligibility of different products,” Nagaraju said, detailing the future plans for PMJDY.

The secretary noted that the government was also working towards linking more services with banking. He highlighted that PM Vidya Lakshmi scheme, which provides education loans to students, would also have an online portal by the end of the year.

Watch: Jan Dhan has revolutionised lives of rural women- DFS Secy

Nagaraju noted the benefits of the government’s flagship account opening scheme, which has helped open 530 million accounts over the last decade.

"What we have achieved in a decade would have ideally taken fifty years for the country to achieve. We have worked on mission mode to make accounts available,” the secretary said, adding that the ministry is now looking to offer more products to these account holders.

“Most of the unbanked people have been covered, we are near saturation. Nothing could be more revolutionary than PMJDY,” Nagaraju said.

He highlighted that schemes like Unified Payments Interface, MUDRA and direct benefit transfer could not have been a success without the PMJDY scheme.

The scheme covers 530 million customers with nearly Rs 2.31 lakh crore in accounts.

The secretary pointed out that 450 million PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (accident insurance), 200 million Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (life insurance) and 70 million Atal Pension Yojana (social security) accounts have been added, besides nearly 500 million MUDRA accounts.

The secretary also highlighted that the ratio of inactive accounts under PMJDY scheme was similar to the banking industry average of 20 percent.

Nagaraju also underlined how PMJDY accounts play a crucial role in advancing women empowerment with enhanced financial inclusion and control.

Nearly 55 percent of the accounts have been opened by women under the scheme.

The secretary also addressed concerns on the rising instances on bank frauds in India. “We have adequate framework and robust mechanisms, but there is a need to do more,” Nagaraju said.