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The Indian government has several social security schemes in order to boost the financial security for the citizens and support the economic development of the country. Here is an overview of a few important social security schemes currently operating in India. <keyword id="2473706" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Jan-Dhan-Yojana">Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword> (PMJDY) Announced by the Prime Minister on 15th August 2014, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana aims at the comprehensive financial inclusion of all households in the country. The aim of the scheme is to facilitate universal access to banking facilities for all households. The scheme wishes to ensure at least one bank account to every household besides promoting financial literacy, pension facility, insurance and access to credit. PMJDY provides unbanked individuals easy access to banking services combined with an awareness regarding financial products by creating financial literacy programs. The additional facilities these bank accounts carry are RuPay debit card, accident cover of Rs 1 lakh, overdraft facility to those showing up satisfactory credit history over six months. <keyword id="2750528" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Jeevan-Jyoti-Bima-Yojana">Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana</keyword> (PMJJBY) The PMJJBY is provided for persons in between 18 and 50 years with a bank account. Aadhaar is the primary KYC for the bank account. The persons consenting to benefit from this scheme must enable auto debit from their account. This scheme provides Rs 2 lakh risk coverage in the event of the death of the individual on any reason. The annual premium for this scheme is Rs 330 which will be auto-debited from the subscriber’s bank account before 31st May of every year during the coverage period. <keyword id="2747429" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Suraksha-Bima-Yojana">Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana</keyword> (PMSBY) Available to people between the age group 18 and 70 years, the individuals must have a bank account to benefit from this program. This scheme provides a risk coverage of Rs 2 lakh for accidental death and Rs 1 lakh for partial disability. The annual premium of Rs 12 per year is auto debited from the individual’s bank account through auto debit facility. <keyword id="2746514" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Atal-Pension-Yojana">Atal Pension Yojana</keyword> (APY) APY is available for all persons with a savings bank or post office savings bank account between the age group of 18 and 40 years. The subscribers to this program will get a guaranteed monthly pension of Rs 1,000 or Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000 or Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000. In the event of his death before 60 years, the pension will be given to his spouse till the original subscriber would have otherwise attained the age of 60. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana There are three sub-schemes under this program. Shishu gives a loan of Rs 50,000; Kishore gives a loan anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakhs and Tarun gives a loan anywhere between Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs. These loans do not need collaterals. This scheme intends to create the first generation of aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small businesses that wish to expand. Stand Up India Scheme The Stand Up India scheme provides a bank loan between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore to at least one borrower from the scheduled caste or scheduled tribe category and at least one woman borrower per bank branch for the purpose of setting up greenfield enterprises in any one of the sectors including manufacturing, services or trading. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana This scheme is aimed at benefiting persons beyond the age of 60 against a full fall in their income due to some unexpected market conditions. Under this scheme an initial lump sum payment of any amount between Rs 1,50,000 to Rs 7,50,000 will entitle the individual for a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 per month to Rs 5,000 per month depending on the payment made. A guaranteed return of 8% per annum will be paid to the individual on a monthly basis.

Here’s a snapshot of social security schemes in India

<ul><li>The <keyword id="2473706" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Jan-Dhan-Yojana">Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword> scheme was launched in August 2014 with the aim of ensuring a bank account for every household. </li><li>The scheme has been modified to target <keyword id="6371468" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bank-accounts">bank accounts</keyword> for every individual while overdraft restrictions have been loosened. </li><li>Around 325.4 million bank accounts had been opened under the scheme by the end of August, 60% of which are in rural or semi-urban areas. </li></ul>In August 2014, a few months after the current BJP-led government came to power, the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana scheme was launched to great fanfare. Under the scheme, which was announced by <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> during his first Independence Day speech as India’s Prime Minister, the government said it would ensure <keyword id="107911" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Financial-inclusion">financial inclusion</keyword> for all by ensuring a bank account for every household in the country. And now, four years after Jan Dhan’s launch, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced the relaunch of the financial inclusion scheme with a few important changes. In response to what he termed the scheme’s “runaway success”, Jaitley said the scheme would now target bank accounts for every individual as opposed to every household. In addition, the scheme’s overdraft restrictions were loosened. The overdraft limit for all accounts opened under the scheme will be increased from ₹5000 to ₹10000. Account-holders up till the age of 65 will also be able to avail of a ₹2000 overdraft facility without any conditions whatsoever. Finally, the free accident insurance coverage has been doubled to ₹200,000 for all accounts that have been opened after August 28th, 2018. Significant progress but some hurdles While not exactly a “runaway success”, the Jan Dhan scheme has shown a considerable amount of progress since its launch. According to the scheme’s website, <a href="https://www.pmjdy.gov.in/account">325.4 million</a> bank accounts have been opened under the scheme by the end of August, 60% of which are in rural or semi-urban areas. Additionally, around 245 million <keyword id="597447" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rupay">RuPay</keyword> debit cards have been issued to account-holders. However, the scheme has drawn a fair bit of criticism in the past few years due to the prevalence of inactive accounts, which indicates that the scheme’s progress in achieving financial inclusion could be overestimated. A few months after the scheme started, around 77% of the accounts had no funds in them. In September 2016, the Indian Express <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/banking-and-finance/how-banks-cut-their-zero-balance-jan-dhan-accounts-one-rupee-trick-3028190/">reported</a> that bank officials were quietly depositing ₹1 in accounts in order to ensure they weren’t classified as “zero-balance”. The government subsequently sought clarification from the banks and ordered them to impose tighter standards. A year ago, Jaitley announced that the ratio of inactive accounts had decreased to 20%. All things considered, the scheme’s added incentives could convince more Indians to enroll. In expanding the mandate of the scheme to every individual, the Indian government will also correct any gender inequality seen under the scheme so far.

India to relaunch its Jan Dhan "bank accounts for every household” scheme with some key changes

<ul><li><keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>’s newest payments bank was launched on 1 September.</li><li>The <keyword id="3388668" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Post-Payments-Bank">India Post Payments Bank</keyword> will use the infrastructure and employees already within the umbrella of the <keyword id="594063" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="postal-network">postal network</keyword> to implement this initiative. </li><li>The bank aims to promote <keyword id="107911" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Financial-inclusion">financial inclusion</keyword> by integrating people currently employed in India’s informal economy.</li></ul>India’s new public-sector company, the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is set to be the next biggest bank in India with financial inclusion at the helm. It terms of its network size, it’s already the largest payments bank in the country with a network that extends into the rural corners of the country. The post office already has 34 million savings accounts that will now be able to avail <keyword id="1460938" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-Banking">digital banking</keyword> services once they link their accounts to the IPPB. That being said, it’s important to remember that payments banks are different from commercial banks in a number of ways. And, while the Minister of State for Communications, Major Sinha, claims that this will launch the ‘<a href="https://www.firstpost.com/business/india-post-payment-bank-will-launch-the-second-wave-of-financial-inclusion-says-minister-manoj-sinha-5067621.html">second wave of financial inclusion</a>’, the first wave of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana is yet to be effectively implemented. The largest <keyword id="6354778" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Banking">banking</keyword> network The postal network in India is one of the most comprehensive. Using the post offices that are already in place and the postmen familiar with their routes, the IPPB can capitalise on the existing resources it has on hand. Rather than having to employ and train a whole new workforce, the postal service already has postmen in place that can go door-to-door for customer on-boarding, answering account statement requests, coordinating third-party services and other tasks. Starting Monday, nearly 11,000 postmen have already started on the job across urban and rural areas. And there’s not need to construct additional infrastructure either with post offices already established in far-flung corners of the country. That being said, while the IPPB has the same functions as an ordinary bank, it can’t issue credit lines via loans or credit cards. But then again, there’s no minimum balance requirement either. And, herein the lie the biggest boon of the initiative. The bank doesn’t rely on fines and loans to generate revenue, but on deposits and and transaction charges instead. It means that individuals can be a part of the initiative and have a bank account without necessarily needing a continuous flow of income, making the IPPB an affordable and accessible solution. The impetus on financial inclusion The underlying aim of launching the IPPB has been to promote financial inclusion. The smaller savings accounts and easy money transfers serve to empower migrant labourers and low-income households to integrate themselves with the formal economy. The crux of issue lies in the fact that 80% of India’s labour is currently employed in the informal sector. While the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna had the same aim in mind, financial literacy was an obstacle that they were unable to overcome. The IPPB plans to overcome this obstacle by running a campaign around digital literacy. The QR card in place of debit card should enable financial transactions without having to remember complex passwords or pin-codes. On the day of its launch the IPPB inaugurated 650 new branches and 3,250 access points co-located at post offices. In a phased manner, the government has plans of establishing 155,000 access points by the end of the year. The IPPB can accept demand deposits of upto ₹100,000 and offer remittance services. The bank also facilitates mobile payments, net banking and debit cards.

India’s newest financial institution is set to be the country’s biggest bank

When people queue up at banks to exchange their Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, the government is keeping a check on cash deposits in bank accounts opened under the <keyword id="2493676" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Jan-Dhan-Yojana">Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana</keyword>. 
 "If we find suddenly there are large deposits in <keyword id="4193108" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jan-dhan">Jan-Dhan</keyword> accounts in one area, we will find out where this money has come from,” a government official, who did not wish to be identified told the <keyword id="6474066" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-times">Economic Times</keyword>. 
 The deposit limit in Jan-Dhan accounts is Rs 1 lakh and for a lighter version of account that does not adhere to full know-your-customer or KYC norms, the limit is Rs 50,000. The <keyword id="6354335" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> has already asked banks to keep an eye out for possible misuse of Jan-Dhan accounts. 
 
As many as 25 crore Jan-Dhan accounts have been opened, making them susceptible to abuse wherein those holding these accounts are offered incentives to launder money. The government has said all deposits of over Rs 2.5 lakh in bank accounts would be under scrutiny to ensure that cash deposit is consistent with the declared earning of the depositor. 
 
(Image: India times)

Government is keeping a check on Jan-Dhan Yojana accounts while people exchange notes

A government committee headed by external affairs minister <keyword id="6355111" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sushma-Swaraj">Sushma Swaraj</keyword> has decided to frame a national policy that would benefit women. The government is aware of the fact that women in Indian society are often deprived of convenience that men enjoy. Keeping that in mind, the policy may lower income tax for single women, bring in Aadhar-linked health cards for basic health checkups at zero cost and introduce cashless medical facilities for pregnant women. The long standing demand from women to make <keyword id="4503887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sanitary-napkins-free">sanitary napkins free</keyword> would be dealt by waiving off taxes over women hygiene products. Another major issue that cripples movement of women on road is lack of proper sanitation. However, this policy would ensure availability of clean public toilets. There have often been incidents where NRI women are affected by matrimony related disputes including domestic violence. The policy is being framed keeping the same in mind. By 2030, each workplace across the country would be asked to have at least 50% of workforce comprising of women. For the women from rural background, the government intends to start <keyword id="251740" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kisan">Kisan</keyword> credit cards, which would have lower interest rates for women. Prime Minister’s pet project <keyword id="6392137" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jan-dhan-Yojana">Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword> and Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan would cover all rural women and aim at making them 100% literate.

A new policy on women to exempt taxes on sanitary napkins soon

Arresting the trend of withdrawals that began in December, the net balance in <keyword id="2494045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="jan-dhan">Jan Dhan</keyword> accounts swelled by Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 63,971.38 crore during the week ended April 5, as per a <keyword id="6367495" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PTI">PTI</keyword> news report. The net balance in the accounts opened under the <keyword id="2473706" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Jan-Dhan-Yojana">Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword> (PMJDY) was Rs 62,972.42 crore on March 29, as per the <keyword id="47209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword>'s data. Total deposits in these accounts had increased to a record high of Rs 74,610 crore on December 7 and thereafter, started declining gradually. As per the PMJDY data for April 5, it is for the first time the net balance in the accounts has shown an increase on a weekly basis. PMJDY was launched in August 2014 to increase banking penetration and promote financial inclusion in the country. Meanwhile, the number of Jan Dhan accounts have increased to 28.23 crore of which 18.50 crore have been seeded with Aadhaar. The deposits in the accounts had surged following demonetisation of old Rs 500/1000 notes in November last year. After setting a cash deposit limit of Rs 50,000 in Jan Dhan accounts, the government had on November 18 cautioned account holders that they will be prosecuted under the I-T Act for allowing misuse of their bank accounts through deposit of black money in Rs 500/1,000 notes during the 50-day window till December 30. The directive came against the backdrop of reports that some persons were misusing other people' bank accounts to deposit demonetised notes.

The curse over Jan Dhan bank accounts seem to have ceased

<keyword id="2494045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="jan-dhan">Jan Dhan</keyword> accounts have witnessed net withdrawal of Rs 5,582.83 crore since December 7, the day deposits in these accounts soared to all time high in the backdrop of demonetisation. 
 Total deposits had increased to a record high of Rs 74,610 crore on December 7 and thereafter, it started gradual decline to close at Rs 69,027.17 crore on January 11, according to the latest <keyword id="47209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword> data. 
 
During the period (December 7 to January 11) the total deposit have came down by Rs 5,582.83 crore. There are about 26.68 crore Jan Dhan accounts. 
 
The monthly upper withdrawal limit for Jan Dhan account has been fixed at Rs 10,000 per month from November 30 to check misuse of these accounts. 
 
The upper limit for deposits in Jan Dhan account is Rs 50,000. 
 
As of November 9, the day demonetisation of Rs 500/1,000 notes became effective, there were 25.5 crore such accounts with a deposit of Rs 45,636.61 crore. 
 
Total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts surged by around Rs 28,973 crore in about a month after the announcement of ban on old high denomination notes. 
 
Meanwhile, the number of Aadhaar seeded Jan Dhan accounts have increased to 15.36 crore in the week ended January 11 from about 13.68 crore on the demonetisation day. 
 The Pradhan Mantri <keyword id="6392137" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jan-dhan-Yojana">Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword> was launched in August 2014 to increase banking penetration and promote financial inclusion in the country.

SHOCKING! Rs 74,610 crore
deposited in Jan Dhan accounts after note ban

Amidst a growing culture around the world characterized by “if you’re not with us, then you must be with ‘them’”, I hope my post will be read with an open mind and will be taken in the right spirit. 
 A lot of eminent people have lauded the recent move by the government to ban R.500 and R.1000 notes as bold and a master stroke. Any objections to this move have been primarily based on the day-to-day inconvenience it is causing to common people. Proponents of the move have urged their fellow citizens to bear with these inconveniences for the larger good - the interest of the nation. But is there a clear case for its effect on the <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> to be positive? 
 
The key assumption behind the move is that the large informal economy in India (estimated to be almost equal in size to the formal economy), will now be forced to integrate with the formal economy giving it a huge boost. While the note ban would no doubt stifle the informal economy, have we created the other necessary conditions for the informal economy to join the mainstream? Clearly, no. If we do not create these facilitating conditions alongside with the measures to restrain the informal economy, then we are addressing only a part of the problem, and further aggravating the situation. It is like demolishing slums without creating alternative housing for the slum dwellers. Let me explain it better by taking the example of one important part of the informal economy - the informal lending market. 
 The informal lending or credit market exists in parallel to the formal credit markets such as banks (state, private, co-operative), non-banking finance companies (<keyword id="6354598" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NBFCs">NBFCs</keyword>), micro-lending institutions etc. The informal credit market, which is estimated to be nearly equal in size to the formal one, consists of local moneylenders, pawnbrokers, politicians etc. The annual interest charged in this market could range from 18% to 300% and the lenders are typically portrayed as villains. Despite their many ills, many studies around the world have established the important role played by these players and the informal credit markets in supporting the formal economy. 
 
This is because the borrowers in this market are typically small entrepreneurs, uneducated and unskilled laborers, slum dwellers etc. who are assessed as non-creditworthy by the formal lending institutions and hence do not have access to formal credit. Informal markets are the only source of credit for these borrowers, who nevertheless contribute significantly to the economy through millions of small businesses. The scale of operations in this market is very small with the loans ranging from R.500 to R.5000, there is hardly any collateral and the entire money circulation is typically in cash. 
 Now I urge you to assess the impact of the note ban on this constituency. Because the high denomination cash is rendered worthless, a major part of the supply is cut off, at least temporarily. But the demand is still there! And there are no alternative sources of credit available to these borrowers. It is true that millions of bank accounts have been opened under the recent Prime Minister <keyword id="6392137" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jan-dhan-Yojana">Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword>, but that doesn’t make a difference as the banks’ lending conditions (need for collateral etc.) remain unchanged. Do you think banks will start lending to them overnight? No chance! So you will see a skyrocketing of interest rates in the informal market in the short term, much beyond the already exorbitant rates. 
 
Over a period of time new cash will be generated, but meanwhile, the squeeze on the borrowers, who are probably the true middle class, will be immense. A significant proportion of this borrower-base consists of small entrepreneurs who contribute to a large portion of our economic activity. It will be great if they can be brought into the mainstream economy but any measures for doing that are conspicuously missing in the recent announcement. 
 
So the ‘inconvenience’ to the common man is not going to be merely temporary as being assumed by the government. In fact, unless the government comes up urgently with a series of mechanisms to facilitate the integration of the informal economy with the formal, this move has all the potential to even bring down the government in the next election. 
 
To repeat, it has similar political and moral implications to demolishing slums without creating alternative housing. The key difference, in this case, is that the affected population is not just marginal, but actually constitutes the core India, arguably the real India. Politicians can go against them at their own peril. Viewed from this perspective, you have to agree with the experts that it is indeed a bold move! 
 
The author is Dr. Raveendra Chittoor, Associate Professor of Strategy and Canada Research Chair, University of Victoria, Canada

This Indian Professor tells us exactly how the demonetization will fail to curb black money.

Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> will review next week the implementation status of some key decisions taken by the Union Cabinet, including those taken way back in July 2014. 

	Scheduled for February 17, this will be the second such review meeting that Modi will undertake with the Council of Ministers in just about three weeks.
 

	The 27 decisions of the Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs whose implementation status would be reviewed include the amendments to the Factories Act and the Apprentices Act, which were cleared over one and a half years ago in July 2014, sources told PTI.
 

	PM Modi had chaired a similar meeting of the Council of Ministers on January 27 as well.
 Other decisions slated for implementation status review are setting up of a <keyword id="974618" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Credit-Guarantee-Fund">Credit Guarantee Fund</keyword> for providing guarantees to loans extended under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, operationalisation of Budget announcement of 2015-16 on the Atal Pension Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. The prime minister will also check progress in the <keyword id="2473706" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Jan-Dhan-Yojana">Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword>, the <keyword id="6562839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swacch-Bharat-Mission">Swacch Bharat Mission</keyword> for urban areas, the Housing for All by 2022 mission, the <keyword id="946830" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Skill-Development-Mission">National Skill Development Mission</keyword>, the National Health Mission and the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. 

	Other such decisions relate to the National Ayush Mission, amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014, setting up three new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Mangalagiri, Nagpur and Kalyani and strengthening of the drug regulatory system.
 

	The decisions relating to setting up of six new IITs and IIMs, amendment to the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the nationwide celebration of 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar will also figure in the status review.

You Searched For "Jan Dhan Yojana" and got 9 results

Here’s a snapshot of social security schemes in India

BI India Bureau

India to relaunch its Jan Dhan "bank accounts for every household” scheme with some key changes

Dilsher Dhillon

India’s newest financial institution is set to be the country’s biggest bank

Prabhjote Gill

Government is keeping a check on Jan-Dhan Yojana accounts while people exchange notes

BI India Bureau

A new policy on women to exempt taxes on sanitary napkins soon

BI India Bureau

The curse over Jan Dhan bank accounts seem to have ceased

SHOCKING! Rs 74,610 crore deposited in Jan Dhan accounts after note ban

BI India Bureau

This Indian Professor tells us exactly how the demonetization will fail to curb black money.

Guest Author

PM Narendra Modi to review implementation status of Cabinet decisions for the second time in 3 weeks

BI India Bureau

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