Jan Dhan Yojana enters Guinness Record Book

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has entered the Guinness Book of World Records, as 11.50 crore bank accounts were opened in less than five months – the shortest possible time period. The Guinness Record authorities officially acknowledged it with a certificate to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 28, 2014. It had a target of covering 7.5 crore households by January 26, but exceeded the target. Still, many rural areas and Maoist-infested regions are out of the scheme. The government will make all efforts to cover them.

In addition, the government will have another major challenge to make all these bank accounts operational. Only 28% of the total accounts are active as of now. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley thanked all banks and state government for participating in the campaign and sought their help in expanding the scheme further.

The main features of Jan Dhan Yojana include Rs 5,000 overdraft facility for Aadhar-linked accounts, RuPay Debit Card with in-built Rs 1 lakh accident insurance cover and life insurance cover of Rs. 30,000.