No minimum balance needed for Jan Dhan accounts: Government

NEW DELHI: The government has clarified that the Jan Dhan accounts can be opened with zero balance and there is no requirement of maintaining a minimum balance. The government would, however, look into media report that Rs 1was deposited in many accounts to reduce the number of zero balance accounts.

Over 24 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts have been opened and deposits of Rs 42,000 crore plus have been received in these accounts, finance ministry said in a statement. “In December, 2014, 10.45 crore PMJDY accounts had deposits of Rs 8,353 crore.

The deposits have been rising steadily during this period,” the statement said. “PMJDY accounts can be opened with zero balance and there is no requirement of maintaining a minimum balance. The government is committed to effect direct benefit transfers for which PMJDY accounts are essential in view of their outreach,” the statement said outlining the nature of the accounts.

The statement further said, “it needs to be appreciated that since the absence of balance in PMJDY accounts in no way diminishes the benefits associated with these accounts, there is no requirement of even a small balance in the accounts.”

The government said it would look into the issue to see if there is any misunderstanding at the branch level of the objectives of the scheme.