Jan Dhan Yojana: Existing account holders can claim benefits under the scheme

NEW DELHI: Government has decided that benefits under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) would be extended to existing bank account holders provided they apply for it.

The benefits would include issuance of RuPay Debit card having inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh, official statement said today.

Besides, there would be an issuance of an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000 after satisfactory operations in the account for some time.

The Government has asked banks to extend overdraft facility to only one member, preferably lady of a household, it said.

"The plan (PMJDY) inter-alia, envisages universal access to banking facilities under which all the six lakh villages across the entire country would be mapped, organised into Sub Service Areas ( SSAs) of 1000-1500 households and allocated to the Banks to provide at least one fixed point banking outlet in form of either a branch or a Business Correspondent (who is named as Bank Mitra)," it said.

The other components of the plan are providing at least one Basic Banking Account to each household with RuPay Debit card having inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh; an overdraft facility of Rs 5000 after satisfactory operations in the account for six months, it said.

Further, an additional life insurance cover of Rs 30,000 is also available to accounts opened up to January 26, 2015, for which detailed modalities are being worked-out, it added.