No duplication of A/Cs under Jan Dhan: Govt

Countering reports about duplication of accounts under Jan Dhan Yojna on the rise, Finance Ministry has said, “Based on customers, which the agency MicroSave would have contacted, it has been found that compared to previous surveys, more people are opening a second account.”

“In this regard, the data analysed in the Mission Office of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) shows that the accounts of youngsters in the age group of 10-18 years have increased compared with the last six months,” a statement from the ministry said.

The statement further stated that between August 2014 and July 2015, the account openers in the age group of 10-8 years have increased by 12 per cent, while 38 per cent more accounts were opened by people aged 18-35 years in the said period.

The statement also said that 30 per cent more accounts were opened by people aged 35-50 years and 20 per cent new accounts were opened by people aged above 50 years.

However, between August 2015 and January 2016, 25 per cent more accounts were opened by people aged 10-18 years. The statement said that 37 per cent accounts were opened by people under the age group of 18-35 years, while 19 per cent accounts were opened by people aged 35-50 years and 19 per cent by people above 50 years.

“It is thus clear that there is more than two-fold increase in accounts opened for youngsters. It is also pertinent to note that there is a substantial drop in the account opening in the ?age group of 35-50 ?years. Hence, the survey findings may not be fully correct when the entire country’s perspective is taken,” the ministry said. It further stated that the number of zero balance accounts have decreased substantially from 72 per cent in January 2015 to 28 per cent in March 2016, which clearly shows that more active accounts are now coming to PMJDY.