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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that financial inclusion is a major step towards inclusive growth which ensures the overall economic development of the marginalised sections of the society. She said the success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) since August 28, 2014 is reflected in terms of opening of over 46 crore bank accounts with deposit balance of Rs 1.74 lakh crore with its expanded coverage to 67 per cent rural or semi-urban areas as well as 56 per cent of women Jan Dhan account holders.

Sitharaman said continuation of PMJDY beyond 2018 saw a marked shift in approach to meet challenges and requirements of the emerging FI (financial inclusion) landscape in the country. There has been a shift in focus from 'every household' to 'every adult', with added emphasis on usage of accounts by enhancing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) flows through these accounts, promoting digital payments through the use of RuPay cards, etc. She observed that the underlying pillars of PMJDY -- namely, banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured and funding the unfunded -- has made it possible to adopt multi-stakeholders' collaborative approach while leveraging technology for serving the unserved and underserved areas as well.

The minister further said the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) pipeline created through account holders' consent-based linking of bank accounts with Aadhar and mobile numbers of the account holders, which is one of the important pillars of the financial inclusion ecosystem, has enabled instant DBT under various government welfare schemes to the eligible beneficiaries. The advantage of the architecture created under FI ecosystem came handy during the COVID-19 pandemic when it facilitated direct income support to farmers under PM-KISAN and transfer of ex-gratia payment to women PMJDY account holders under PM Garib Kalyan Package in a seamless and time-bound manner.