Economic Times: New Delhi: Monday, July 17, 2017.
Deposits in
Jan Dhan accounts have touched a new high of Rs 64,564 crore, of which over Rs
300 crore came in the first seven months of demonetisation, according to
government data.
The Pradhan
Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet scheme, aims
at bringing hitherto unbanked areas and people under a formal banking system.
Bank accounts can be opened with a zero balance under the PMJDY.
Finance
ministry data, accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) application filed
by a PTI correspondent, show that there were about 28.9 crore PMJDY accounts on
June 14 this year.
Of these,
23.27 crore accounts were with public sector banks, 4.7 crore with regional
rural banks and 92.7 lakh with private ones.
These
accounts together have deposits of Rs 64,564 crore, the Finance Ministry data show.
Public sector banks account for Rs 50,800 crore, regional rural banks for Rs 11,683.42
crore and private banks, Rs 2,080.62 crore.
On November
16, 2016, there were 25.58 crore PMJDY accounts with an aggregate deposit of Rs
64,252.15 crore, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar had told
the Lok Sabha.
Thus, between
November 16 last year and June 14 this year, Rs 311.93 crore had been added to
Jan Dhan accounts.
The PM had on
November 8 last year announced the demonetisation of 500-rupee and 1,000 rupee
notes.
Following
reports of alleged misuse of Jan Dhan accounts to convert black money into
white after the note ban, the government had warned people that they would be
penalised if they indulged in such activities.
In a press
release issued on November 18, the government had said, "There are some
reports received that some people are using other persons' bank accounts to
convert their black money into new denomination notes."
This, it had
said, had also been reported in Jan Dhan accounts. The government had said such
activities could attract penalty if it was established that the amount
deposited in the account did not belong to the account holder.
"Also
the person who allows his or her account to be misused for this purpose can be prosecuted
for abetment under the Income Tax Act," it had said.
Alongside
other facilities, PMJDY accounts also allow an overdraft facility of up to Rs
5,000 in one account per household, preferably held by a woman member.