(ET)
Jan Dhan is probably the most aggressive scheme undertaken by any government for financial inclusion. Between December 2014 and December 2016, the number of accounts increased from 104 million to 262 million and further to 288 million by May 2017. However, the challenge is to get people to use these accounts and get into the banking habit, so that they could move up the ladder and use a credit facility or remittance or third-party product offered by banks. How successful has this scheme been?
The thrust was on numbers to begin with and, hence, having 288 million accounts indicate that virtually every family has access to an account. The average balance held in these accounts, however, is critical as it indicates whether or not the banking habit has been cultivated.
