Jan Dhan Yojna: National Payment Corp scrambles to issue RuPay cards

Although close to 4 crore bank accounts have been opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana so far, there is a huge backlog in the issuance of the Rupay cards by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), the sole issuer of ATM cards for these new accounts.

Over the weekend, Financial Services Secretary G S Sandhu had said that banks had opened 4 crore accounts so far and mobilised about Rs. 3,700 crore as deposits in these accounts.

'Although the number of accounts opened are very high, about 20 lakh (RuPay) cards have been issued so far,' National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) managing director and chief executive A P Hota said. There is a lag in production of cards which usually requires three weeks to get cleared, according to Hota. 'Personalisation (of cards) takes time because the name has to be embossed on the card. This is such a big order coming all of a sudden. Nobody expected that in one go so many accounts will be opened,' he said.

However, he said the backlogs are likely to be cleared in next three weeks.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 August with an aim to boost financial inclusion.

Under the Jan Dhan scheme, account holders will get an overdraft facility of Rs. 5,000. They would also be provided with RuPay debit cards and Rs. 1 lakh accident insurance cover.