Previous Year Question
‘Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana’ has been launched for:
Providing housing loans to poor people at cheaper interest rates
Promoting women’s Self-Help Groups in backward areas
Promoting financial inclusion in the country
Providing financial help to marginalised communities
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched on 28 August 2014 as the National Mission for Financial Inclusion. It seeks to connect persons having inadequate access to banking services with the formal financial system.
Financial inclusion does not merely mean opening a bank account. Under PMJDY, it includes affordable access to:
A Basic Savings Bank Deposit account.
Deposit and withdrawal facilities.
Remittance and Direct Benefit Transfer.
Need-based credit.
Insurance and pension products.
RuPay debit cards and digital payments.
A PMJDY account may be opened through a bank branch or a Business Correspondent, commonly called a Bank Mitra. Its principal features include:
No requirement to maintain a minimum balance.
Interest on deposits according to the bank’s rules.
An overdraft facility for eligible account holders.
Accident insurance cover linked to the RuPay debit card.
Direct receipt of government subsidies and benefits through DBT when the account is appropriately linked with Aadhaar and a mobile number.
Access, subject to eligibility, to social-security schemes such as PMJJBY, PMSBY and Atal Pension Yojana.
Current status (2026)
PMJDY remains operational. After 2018, its focus was expanded from covering every household to reaching every unbanked adult.
Under the present framework, eligible PMJDY account holders may receive an overdraft facility of up to ₹10,000. For new PMJDY accounts opened after 28 August 2018, the accident insurance cover linked to an eligible and active RuPay card was increased to ₹2 lakh.
PMJDY currently functions as a foundational financial-inclusion platform for DBT, RuPay, Aadhaar-enabled payments, micro-insurance and pension schemes.