12 per cent of Jan Dhan bank accounts in Maharashtra have zero balance: Official

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Maharashtra has 3.16 crore bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme, but 12 per cent of them have zero balance and currently not operational, a senior banker said on Monday.

Banks need to reach out to these account holders and make them financially literate so that they are able to undertake regular transactions and keep the accounts active, he said after a State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting in Aurangabad in central Maharashtra.

The SLBC meeting was chaired by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Karad and it was followed by a press conference.

Speaking at the press meet, Vijay Kamble, General Manager, Bank of Maharashtra (the seed bank of Maharashtra), said, "There are 3.16 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts in Maharashtra. Out of these, 37 lakh accounts have zero amount and are inactive. This figure is 12 per cent of the total number of such accounts."

He said Jan Dhan accounts in Maharashtra have Rs 10,938-crore deposits.

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Karad asked officials to reach out to youngsters who have crossed the age of 18 and persuade them to open bank accounts under the scheme.

"To increase the number of Jan Dhan accounts in the state, banks can refer to the voters list to identify new electors. Newly enrolled voters can be encouraged to open their bank accounts," the Union minister said.

Talking about new bank branches in Marathwada, an underdeveloped region of Maharashtra, Karad said, "On an average there are 14 branches for every lakh of people (at the national level). This average is 15 in Maharashtra. But in Marathwada there is a need for 70 more branches and this target will be completed by December 2022."

There are 33 villages in Maharashtra which are still without banking services and they will be provides these facilities in the near future, he said.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched by the Centre in 2014 as part of a national mission for financial inclusion. PMJDY encompasses an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country.

The scheme envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility.

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