Each household expected to have at least two bank accounts
More than 1.91 lakh households in the district, who do not have a bank account, will be covered under the financial inclusion plan of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana launched in the district on Thursday.
The launch was part of a nationwide rollout of the Central government scheme. The Mysore district profile indicates that of 5,45,741 households in the district, only 3,54,705 households have a bank account and avail themselves of banking services of any sort. The remaining 1,91,036 households depend on moneylenders practising usury.
The new scheme is expected to ensure that each household has at least two bank accounts and that family members have access to both banking and credit facilities.
Mysore Zilla Panchayat president Pushpalatha Amarnath described the project as a step forward in the empowerment of women as they would have access to a range of financial products.
S. Bangararaju, general manager, State Bank of Mysore, dwelt on the macro picture and said that only 60 per cent of the households in the country had bank accounts. The PMDJY was a major exercise in financial inclusion and banks were poised to expand their network of business correspondents to reach out to households in rural areas,” Mr. Bangararaju said.
Zero balance
New account holders can open a no-frills zero balance account and they will get a RuPay debit card with Rs. 1 lakh as accident cover.
Each account holder and by extension every household will gain access to banking and credit facilities and a range of financial products.
In due course, they will receive insurance and pension and every account holder will get an overdraft of Rs. 5,000.
G. Madhusudhan, MLC, and senior officials of various banks were present. Account kits were distributed to the new account holders.
(The Hindu)
