Amid pandemic, Haryana sees 2% rise in dormant Jan Dhan a/cs

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 12

Reflecting poor financial literacy, Haryana has seen almost a 2 per cent rise in inoperative Jan Dhan accounts during the Covid period and is one of the few such states in the country. On the other hand, many states have seen a dip in inactive accounts.

As per information of the public sector banks, there were 70.22 lakh Jan Dhan accounts as on March 25, 2020, in Haryana. Of them, 10.93 lakh (16 per cent) were inoperative accounts. As of July 28 this year, there were 75.78 lakh Jan Dhan accounts, but 13.40 lakh (18 per cent) of them are inactive.

Daman and Diu, Delhi, Ladakh, and Mizoram are the other states that have seen a rise in inoperative accounts. In Delhi, the inoperative accounts increased from 18 per cent to 19 per cent while in Mizoram, it jumped from 33 per cent to 47 per cent, which is the maximum.

On March 25 last year, the overall inoperative accounts stood at 6.7 crore, but they dipped to 5.82 crore till July 28, 2021. Of the total, the inoperative accounts of women are approximately 2.02 crore. This constitutes around 35 per cent of total inoperative accounts. The inoperative accounts, however, have dipped from 18 per cent to 14 per cent during the Covid period in the country.

The facts come to light in reply to a question by the Finance Ministry in the Rajya Sabha on August 10.

Moreover, in neighbouring Punjab, 11.68 lakh accounts (19 per cent) were inactive of total 61.27 lakh on March 25, 2020. However, on July 28, 2021, it got reduced to 11.30 lakh (17 per cent) of a total of 66.32 lakh accounts.

In Himachal Pradesh, there were 1.78 lakh (14 per cent) inactive accounts of total 12.80 lakh on March 25, 2020. These reduced to 1.68 lakh (11 per cent) of a total of 15.06 lakh accounts. Chandigarh also witnessed a dip from 24 per cent to 23 per cent.

The Finance Ministry informed the House that as per the RBI circular dated September 17, 2013, banks have been advised to ensure that the direct benefit transfer payments to accounts are not rejected due to the savings bank accounts being classified as inoperative or dormant.

The ministry added that the RBI had advised the financial literacy centres and rural branches of banks to conduct outdoor camps for customers in collaboration with the ground-level stakeholders at the district, panchayat or village level for Jan Dhan accounts. They also conduct specific camps for target audiences like farmers, small entrepreneurs, self-help groups, senior citizens and women.

About the scheme

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is a flagship programme of the NDA government on financial inclusion.

Its objective is to ensure access to financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, need-based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension to the excluded sections — weaker and low-income groups.